Solar Panel Wiring

Now that the solar panels are perched to collect the suns solar energy, it is time to write the system up and feed our electrical needs. 

I ran the wires from the panels to the battery switch, and then let my friend Bob Blood do the electrical connections. Bob Blood is an ABYC certified electrician and does gorgeous work that lasts! 

The solar panels lead to the charge controllers, which then feed the battery banks. These charge controllers are by Genasun and are significantly less expensive than other brands. They are made in the USA and have a reputation for being work horses, but they don't have the fancy display screens of other brands.  

Instead they have a single LED light that blinks. Slow, for ready; fast, for charging; stay, for charged; red, for fault. 

The solar panels are able to feed the house bank (315 amp hours and 12V DC) as well as the electric motor bank (210 amp hours and 48V DC).

The electric motor produces its own power while we sail, up to 4 amps at 48V DC! When we need to charge up the motor bank, we simply sail on a beam reach and bring up its charge! 

The solar panels are the equivalent of a trickle charge for the motor bank, but they can help float the batteries while at anchor for a long time.  

On the house side of our electrical system, the biggest consumer is our fridge. The fridge is 14.5 cubic feet with a freezer section and consumes a lot of amps! With the solar panels off, the house bank will drop to 11V when the refrigerator compressor turns on. With the solar panels on, the voltage stays at 12.3V with the fridge on and 13.3V with the fridge off (in between compressor cycles).

While we only have 100W of solar panels (at 12V DC), we also only have meager electrical needs. Our cabin lights and running lights are LED, and don't consume much electricity at all. Our other electrical needs are to power a small garmin chart plotter, depth sounder, and VHF radio. The only big consumer is our massive refrigerator. 

By keeping the systems in the boat simple, we are also able to keep our demands low, which allows us to spend less money on solar panels to power these electrical conveniences. 

Barber Hauler

When sailing downwind, you will ease your headsail sheets to let them catch more wind. The sail will tend to twist when eased too far, losing efficiency and costing you speed through the water. This is where the Barber Hauler comes into play, controling twist while keeping the headsail eased.

Barber haulers are simply sheet leads that are set closer to the beam of the hull than your regular jib sheet tracks. This allows you to sheet the sail to the toe rail rather than far inboard.

If you are sailing downwind in light to moderate airs, attaching a snatch block to the toe rail close to where the clew of the sail is will do wonders. This gives the sail a strong downward pull which will eliminate twist from the sail while putting less tension on the foot of the sail. The end result is a very full sail with minimal twist that will fill with air and send you rocketing downwind.

The reason snatch blocks are ideal for this set up is they can easily be removed from the sheet should you change to an upwind course. Removing the barber hauler is as simple as opening the snatch block and removing the sheet. If winds are very light, this can be done with the sheet under load (as long as you can safely hold the sheet under tension). If the winds are stronger, it is idea to jibe onto the opposite tack and remove the barber hauler now that the sheet has become the lazy sheet.

Next time you are sailing downwind, consider using a barber hauler to control headsail twist and enjoy the added speed through the water while on your run.

Tobacco Cay

While snorkeling along Tobacco Cay Reef, we came across something amazing that made me realize how similar we all are!

A conch shell had ended it up at the top of a large formation of elk horn coral and the coral had begun to grow onto it! At first glance, I began to think of the crew on the Flying Ducthman from Pirates of the Caribbean: "part of the crew, part of the ship"

It made sense that these two completely different animals could grow in such a compatible way though. Coral polyps grow on a skeleton of calcium carbonate and the conch shell is made up of this same material, to the coral polyp, the conch shell is just another compatible structure to grow on!

While corals are endangered, these coral heads are vibrant and colorful (with only a slight amount of bleaching present). Hopefully, the oceans acidity will stay under control and this coral head will survive to completely cover the conch shell to produce a conch shaped elk horn coral.

Honeymoon in Belize

For our honeymoon, we wanted to travel someplace warm where we could relax on a beach and go swimming. Coco Plum became our destination of choice. It's a small reef island with a few huts on it. 

The only issue is getting to this remote island. 2 jets, a tiny propeller plane and a boat ride to get here!

Maddie was a trooper, hopping onto the smallest commercial plane she had ever been on to get there. She is used to large organized airports with different terminals and pathways to get you to your plane, but she went along with the relaxed attitude in Belize where you walk out onto the tarmac to find your small propeller plane. 

My favorite part of this was the local security inspection:

Security officer: "Do you have anything you shouldn't have?"

Me: "Nope."

Security officer: "Ok."

No hassle with metal detectors or strip searches, just walk into the airplane and hold on for the flight! We will be spending a week on these reef islands, relaxing and enjoying the tropical waters for our honeymoon.

Spotting an Uncharted Shoal

When cruising near coastlines, knowing how to spot a shoal can prove to be an invaluable skill!

New shoals can appear along a coastline, especially after periods of heavy rainfall. The runoff will carry sediment out into the water and deposit them near the shore. These shoals won't appear on charts, but they do present a very real navigational hazard.

These shoals are easy to spot, even if the bottom is not visible. The trick is to watch the waters surface! As swells approach the shore, the enter shallow water along the beach and turn into breaking waves. Shoals along the coast will have the same effect on the swells, converting them to breaking waves and warning mariners of their presence.

This birds eye view of a river draining into the sea clearly shows how the waves break along the shallow water bottom contour. While sailing along at sea level, these characteristics are not as visible, simply knowing to watch out for an area where all the waves break can warn you that you are heading towards a shoal.