Rayxt

You can buy a complete solar 'kit' from Hugh Swann's SOLAR BOATS in Reading. Download the pdf file from his site http://www.solarboat.co.uk/ Depending on if a NB or widebeam you have either one ot two highly efficient powerful UK made Lynch (LEMCO) 48v 10KW DC motors powered by a 800AH or 1200AH 'battery' consisting of 24 x 2V lead acid cells. This is the best value/performance solution to store power - with a guaranteed life of over 10 years. Weight is 1 - 1.5 tonnes You want silent ecological hydrocarbon free cruising, this is the way to go. Ray

"If you are restricting to 24" I think a four blader would be best, as the boat is so heavy it would reduce cavitation when manoeuvring etc. A typical blade area ratio for a standard four blader is approximately 0.70 (70%)." With lots more widebeam canal boats being built, weighing 25-30+ tons, and builders only too willing to sell 60-80HP engines (for Continental cruising they say) maybe 4-bladed 20" props (or larger) are the way to go on these boats to handle the power but keep drafts down for UK waterways. Has anyone asked Crowthers about 'small' diameter 4-bladed props for 60HP+ engines? Rayxt

I looked into washing machines, trying to find the most energy efficient model. Apart from when the machine electrically heats the water (which is optional) the only power drain is the motor turning the drum. This seems to be about 650W. A lot less than a peak of 2.5KW needed to heat the water and keep it hot. Many units have cold and hot water inlets. Putting in hot water from your calorifer (unless that is electrically heated) can cut a washing machines power requirements by up to 75%. Soaking a wash takes no power at all. You can always soak then use the rinse cycle (4 rinses) with the 1st rinse to wash (you add hot water by hand) with 3 rinses not 4. Looking at the wider picture of diesel & electric power was a stern lesson. There a no free lunches. And you can waste a lot of money on them. Misapplied Travel Power units may be one. The Electrolux TRAVEL POWER generators are just that. Designed to run when you are travelling, and by definition the boat's diesel engine is running for a normal cruising speed. The following table I got from Beta Marine is helpful to understand the pulley design and performance at different generator speeds. Generator RPM 3.5KVA 7 KVA 3000 1000 watts 3200 watts 3600 1800 watts 5100 watts 5500 3500 watts 7000 watts In short, IF your Travel Power generator has the wrong pulley size you will never be charging anywhere near the unit's full capacity, when you are out cruising. And trying to get either unit to deliver even 50% of it's power output while moored will have your engine roaring along - at cruising revs, which is hardly silent running! In my opinion the most cost effective setup would be to combine the 3.5KVA Electrolux (or a 24v 170AHr) generator with a good 3-6KVA inverter / charger and 6 (or 12) x 2v 800 Amp/Hr lead acid traction batteries (60Kg per 2v cell) and you can charge and deep discharge these powerhouses more times than you will ever do in your lifetime on the canals. And as for longievity, don't worry - they will outlast you, and possibly your beneficiaries' future interest in the boat! Quality gel batteries will also do the trick. But they cost more per Ampere hour of storage, although you can stow then anywhere in any position if space is tight. Couple this with a landline supply (when you have it) and a small efficient silenced generator as backup, and a wind generator, and hopefully you're squeezing the maximum KW/Hr out of every drop of diesel and the capital cost to generate and store it. The idea being you put money into the batteries, so they always have the 'reserve' to meet you occasional need of peak power, (through the inverter) rather than overspec on generator capacity, which for 99% of the time is never used at peak power. And when you do have it running the batteries store the energy efficiently. At least I would like to believe that's the case! Ray