Hello Adam,

Welcome to the Westsail Family!  I'm sure you will get many responses regarding renewable power sources. 

We are currently using one 30 watt solar panel mounted on the stern pulpit of our boat.  It provides all the amperage we need for local cruising on and around Puget Sound.  We power our instruments (DS,KM,VHF and GPS), Autopilot, interior lights (LED) and running/anchor light (LED), Refrigeration and Forced Air Heating from the output of the 30 watt panel.  During the summer months with the long days the 30 watt panel is sufficient.  In the winter months when we are using the Forced Air Heater all day, we do need more amperage than a 30 Watt panel can provide.

On a previous boat that we cruised to the South Pacific we had two 55 Watt Solar panels that provided for our electrical needs.  BUT, back then we cruised with only basic electronic equipment, we did not have SSB, Chart Plotter, Ham, Watermaker, DVD player or Computers.

It seems now days cruisers are loading a lot more electronics on their boats so the need for power is increasing.  We had friends when we were cruising that had wind generators and were quite happy with them, although some commented on the noise.  I recall meeting a couple that also had a trooling generator that they were happy with. 

I recently was aboard a boat preparing to go offshore that had more than 700 Watts of solar panels and a wind generator in addition to an onboard diesel generator.  The boat also had a 60 inch TV in the main saloon.....!

There are so many possibilities now !

Kevin

Thanks for the reply, Kevin. I've definitely considered a stern pulpit mount or a pole attached to the boomkin to get a solar panal up above any possible shading. I'm sure a single pole would be able to support a small panel on an adjustable mount. A larger panel might need a stronger stand. The concern I have with this type of panel positioning would be ease of accessing the panel to orientate it towards the sun. Do you happen to have a picture of your set up? Is voltage drop a concern?

Thanks for the photos and the response, Tony. My future vision is similar to your set up. I'm very curious how shading effects your set up. Do your panel contain diodes? How does the shading of the boom effect output? Are you running all of your panels on one controller? Where is your controller mounted? As I plan to cruise when my work contract is finished, I will need a beefier set up, similar to yours. And lithium batteries will be considered. Also, I'd love to see some photos of your wind generator mounts and hear your experience with the KISS. This would be my first choice when factoring in output, price, noise and durability. I'm also considering a 6-blade generator. 

Really appreciate the responses guys. I'm very new to all of this so every little bit helps.