Things have moved on in the last few years and if I were starting again knowing I was going to doing extended cruises with solar and wind generators with currently available hardware I would do things rather differently.
I would have taken out the two VRLA batteries from under the navigators seat and put two or three low profile AGM's, probably 120 Ah, under the starboard bunk moving the fresh water pump to make space for the third if fitted (I moved the pump last year anyway when I moved the water tank). They would have been configured as a single bank saving switching and a battery monitor.
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| 2 Solar panels with a max output of 115 W and the 914i wind generator. |
The gantry solar panels, Rutland 914i and hybrid regulator would probably be as I currently have, but I might been tempted by the Rutland 1200 wind generator and 1200 hybrid regulator which has better performance in low wind speeds - but it would be over £400 more and might be tricky to install as it needs to be higher up to give clearance for the longer blades. I probably would not bother with the 25W solar panel on the cabin roof as I now usually carry the dinghy there to give more room in the forepeak for sails etc. and to reduce weight forward.
The gantry could usefully be 6" higher to give better clearance between the wind vane steering and the solar panels (I have to put them horizontal sailing up wind when using the wind vane steering), but again that could have led to problems mounting the wind generator.
Fusing and switching would be simplified with only the starter battery and a single service bank. A galvanic isolator and consumer unit for the shore power as now would certainly be included.
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