Energy on a sailboat

Energy balance on a sailboat is a concern especially when anchored out. We have spent most of our time in the Chesapeake in a slip – plugged in. Energy usage has not been a great concern. But once we get in the ICW proper after Nov 1st and offshore in the Bahamas we will be at anchor most of the time.

Presently on board and consuming energy we have a fridge/freezer, SSB radio, VHF radio, chart plotter, various lights, pumps etc. and we are about to install a water maker (Little Wonder). To supply our energy needs we have the engine, a 100W solar panel and a 400W wind generator (Air-X). All these charge a battery bank. The fridge and the water maker will use the bulk of the energy. It is a nuisance to run the engine once or twice a day to bring the batteries up so that is why we installed the wind generator in the last few weeks. My objective has been to minimize the engine usage (and hence dependence on diesel) with the addition of the wind generator (only works when the wind blows though).


Water maker decision

When we talked with other boaters we found out that water is not cheap in the Bahamas and often in short supply. Where it was available there were often long line-ups to fill jerry cans. Even though water makers are expensive we wanted the lifestyle of having water readily available. We can have showers, wash the salt of the boat, use fresh water in our head and wash dishes and clothes. The Little Wonder will put out about 32LPH. We have talked to several cruisers who run theirs once a week for a couple of hours and this provides them with enough water to do all of these things. Another advantage of this system is that it can be ordered in modular form with it components able to be installed in various sections of the boat. With a small boat like ours where space is limited, this does not become an issue.