use of "plug and play" solar for temporary use

[BOAT]

"Yes, Herschel, you nailed it!"

God bless you! I'll grab my Mac 26 marine electrical "GED" and skedaddle...

Is that tassle on the Cum Laude side?

[Herschel]

"Yes, Herschel, you nailed it!"

God bless you! I'll grab my Mac 26 marine electrical "GED" and skedaddle...

Is that tassel on the Cum Laude side?

Boat, I'll let you know about the Cum Laude when I get my battery monitor installed and check the readout. Proof is in the pudding as they say.! As for the picture, it is from my graduation in 2001 when I earned my Ed.D. from the University of Central Florida here in Orlando. I probably should have just bought a newer, bigger boat for my "mid-life crisis" project, but I went the academic route instead. But I am fairly certain, my school teacher Mom smiled at me from the the great grad school in the sky as I "walked" that day.

[BOAT]

God bless you! I'll grab my Mac 26 marine electrical "GED" and skedaddle...

Is that tassel on the Cum Laude side?

Boat, I'll let you know about the Cum Laude when I get my battery monitor installed and check the readout. Proof is in the pudding as they say.! As for the picture, it is from my graduation in 2001 when I earned my Ed.D. from the University of Central Florida here in Orlando. I probably should have just bought a newer, bigger boat for my "mid-life crisis" project, but I went the academic route instead. But I am fairly certain, my school teacher Mom smiled at me from the the great grad school in the sky as I "walked" that day.

For a Doctorate? Well, yeah, I would think so.
So being Marty McFly to Professor Emmit Brown let me just say, "Okay Doc", perhaps we should skip the metering and go right to the metered.

It's the battery.

The only reason we monitor is to save the battery from destruction, GEL batteries are prone to damage and do not withstand abuse.
Lithium batteries will take all the abuse you can throw as them and keep right on going.
My point here is that if you use the LiFePO4 chemistry no monitor is even needed.

Here is a place to do some study: https://battlebornbatteries.com/

[Herschel]

Boat wrote:

The only reason we monitor is to save the battery from destruction, GEL batteries are prone to damage and do not withstand abuse. Lithium batteries will take all the abuse you can throw as them and keep right on going. My point here is that if you use the LiFePO4 chemistry no monitor is even needed.

I certainly agree with you that LiFePO4 are the technology of the future. But, at my age (almost 76) and boating on inland lakes in fresh water, I am not doing much to abuse my batteries, and I have a pretty good track record of not having any problems with AGM ever since I shifted over to them about 12 years ago. I stuck with Optimas over the years. I use three deep cycle batteries at a time, one on my travel trailer and two on the Mac. I can pick up my Optimas, when I need new ones, (and that runs about every five years), at the AutoZone down the street. I can save about $15 a month at my marina by not using shore power coupled with my charger to keep my batteries topped off. I just make a point to run my boat every 2-3 weeks sufficient to keep the batteries healthy (and my own mental health). I want to use my new to me battery monitor to make sure I still have good reliable batteries whenever I go out. When my Merc was on its last legs/props, I had to endure several BoatUS tows back to marinas. It is really not good to be stalled underway. I don't want to subject my wife or other crew to that experience if at all possible. So, when I consider the cost of three batteries, the $750 for three AGM Optimas looks pretty good compared to the $3,000 for the LiFePO4. I know that is short term costs and that over the lifetime, it averages out, or even saves money, to go LiFePO4. Nevertheless, I try to build on the technology I have already mastered, and, as you can see, I put a lot of thought into making changes. And I prefer to chip away at improvements rather than attempt dramatic steps with which I can drift into the unknown. I think if I were to venture away from Optimas, I might try one Firefly Oasis in my travel trailer and see how that goes. I do use LiFePO4 batteries for power tools, electronics, etc. I'll study your tutorial. Perhaps, I might be persuaded to think differently, but LiFePO4's will have to line up behind new bottom paint this winter.

[BOAT]

I forgot about the water over there - I think "ocean" all the time and I forget that most folks on site here are close to shore most of the time. There was a place off Highbanks Road where they would let us park our camper for the night. That was a very long time ago and I do not remember much but the water was calm and there were many lakes in the area and there was a restaurant there that had a big alligator hanging from the ceiling. I think I even remember a boat ramp but I could be wrong. I remember that area as having everything a boater would need every half mile.
Anyways,
You are right - with so many facilities near Sanford you really do not need to worry about the batteries. Over here if you tie to the dock instead of a slip you pay very little for the spot if you do not need power. If it were me I would take a dock over a slip and just throw up a solar panel. I like docks better because I do not have a boat on every side.

[Herschel]

I forgot about the water over there - I think "ocean" all the time and I forget that most folks on site here are close to shore most of the time. There was a place off Highbanks Road where they would let us park our camper for the night. That was a very long time ago and I do not remember much but the water was calm and there were many lakes in the area and there was a restaurant there that had a big alligator hanging from the ceiling. I think I even remember a boat ramp but I could be wrong. I remember that area as having everything a boater would need every half mile.
Anyways,
You are right - with so many facilities near Sanford you really do not need to worry about the batteries. Over here if you tie to the dock instead of a slip you pay very little for the spot if you do not need power. If it were me I would take a dock over a slip and just throw up a solar panel. I like docks better because I do not have a boat on every side.

Boat, what a great memory. Swamphouse Grill, one of my favorite watering holes. Just a "stones throw" from Blue Spring where the manatees winter over.

[Be Free]

I spent a lot of time camping and fishing along that stretch of the river. The road just above Highbanks marina was a favorite spot for drag racing. I don't know if they ever paved it, but back then the only time my tires were not spinning was when I was shifting gears.

[Herschel]

I spent a lot of time camping and fishing along that stretch of the river. The road just above Highbanks marina was a favorite spot for drag racing. I don't know if they ever paved it, but back then the only time my tires were not spinning was when I was shifting gears.

Last time I was by there about a year ago, it was still sand. The St. Johns River is a great venue for Mac's. You can cruise at a respectable speed, explore side channels until the overhanging trees, or shallow water, suggest that you stop, sail the lakes and upper stretches around Green Cove Springs and Jax. Most sailors don't seem to have made peace with "brown water" boating on rivers and head for the keys. Just as well, leaves this piece of old Florida to us few who know the peace of a slow moving river. Besides, after a year on the Mekong (June 68-May 69), I don't mind a little brown water and a gator or two. Feel right at home.

[Be Free]

Shh. That's our secret.

[Herschel]

Shh. That's our secret.

Roger that. I would be curious just how far up the Steinhatchee River you can take your Mac, and where in the gulf you like to sail. As I said at the beginning of this thread, I am hopeful of doing some cruising next spring around Florida. Haven't actually finalized my route at this time. Definitely down the St. Johns and south on the ICW for a ways. Not sure after that.

[Tomfoolery]

Sooooo, I've kind of lost track at this point. What did you decide to do about solar?

[Herschel]

Sooooo, I've kind of lost track at this point. What did you decide to do about solar?

Good question. Boat persuaded me to install a battery monitor so I could really see what the (as yet unbought) electric cooler/frig was doing to my house battery usage and examine that data that first. If the drain is too great, then the plan would be to install a solar array sufficient to handle the draw on the system. Between the experience of folks on this forum and various YouTube channels I watch, especially the Pacific Yacht Systems videos (https://www.pysystems.ca/), I think I feel confident enough to skip the plug and play separate systems. Hope that answers your question; it sort of does my original one doesn't it?

[Be Free]

"Roger that. I would be curious just how far up the Steinhatchee River you can take your Mac, and where in the gulf you like to sail. As I said at the beginning of this thread, I am hopeful of doing some cruising next spring around Florida. Haven't actually finalized my route at this time. Definitely down the St. Johns and south on the ICW for a ways. Not sure after that. "

I can get about 2 miles up from the mouth of the river. That is the state road 51 bridge. It is too low to get under with the mast up. There are restaurants, marinas, and two boat ramps in that stretch. I've been another 2 miles up river from the bridge with the mast down.

I'm usually somewhere between Crystal River and Steinhatchee. I've not found anything in that stretch that I don't enjoy. The Suwannee is great for motoring, but a little hard to sail, like the upper St Johns where you are. Crystal River is easier, but can get crowded on the weekends.

It is my goal to see the entire Florida coast from offshore and to sail all of the navigable rivers.

[Herschel]

I'm usually somewhere between Crystal River and Steinhatchee. I've not found anything in that stretch that I don't enjoy. The Suwannee is great for motoring, but a little hard to sail, like the upper St Johns where you are. Crystal River is easier, but can get crowded on the weekends. It is my goal to see the entire Florida coast from offshore and to sail all of the navigable rivers

My son and his wife and friends often go up that way with his center console fishing boat during scalloping season. As for navigable rivers in Florida, certainly the St. Johns is the main player, but the Peace River and Caloosahatchee River should be interesting. I am keen to try the Okeechobee Waterway across the peninsula at some point. We have reservations in the fall at Hontoon Landing Resort on the St, Johns just to get out of the house and enjoy some of our favorite river spots with our Mac. Nothing new, but still good places to chill.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Sorry to post in such an old thread, but the topic is interesting because I have done it with my 100w flexible solar panel so that I could use it on both my sailboats. The most interesting use is where I built a pvc frame for the panel and then it is the perfect width to act as a 'bimini' for my cs17mk3 that I did the Everglades Challenge on. I have some alligator clips which attach the controller to the battery so that when I want to use it on my Mac26X, I just use some bungies to the solar panel frame (without the 'legs' that are used on the 17) attached to the top of my Mac bimini...Its worked like a charm for 4-5 years now and in fact, talking about Steinhatchee, I used the panel on a Mac trip I took there in Dec 2022. Not sure about picture posting here yet..but lets just see if I can post a pic from a public post on facebook:



Looks like that worked! Not sure if I could do that with a non public pic, but I'll try at some point. And btw, you can see the very top of my old Garmin GPSMAP 5 in GPS which I originally bought for my Mac 26X almost 20 years ago. I bought a second mount and cable from Garmin and now I use the same (old but very reliable) GPS unit on both boats too. I also went modern with a much newer handheld, but the old stuff is sometimes hard to beat...kind of like this forum!