ENVIRONMENTAL ENERGY

I have long been concerned about the environment; however, my initial interest in adding environmental energy sources to Shepherd Moon was to increase my independence during voyages (I wanted to be able to cruise remote areas for extended periods of time without being tethered to the availability of fossil fuel). Because I wanted little compromise in comfort (micro-wave, watermaker, radar and other electronics, autopilot, fans, laptop, fridge, freezer with the all-essential ice cream, etc.), I did not imagine that I could depend totally on environmental energy. This disposition was supported by the power hungry nature of systems that I wanted, the meager energy expected from modest sized environmental collectors, and my unwillingness to have to either tend collecting systems or have them in the way on a normal sailing vessel. I also knew of no such un-compromised net-zero or renewable energy sailboats. Being a college faculty member in mathematics and physical sciences and having several years of time available proved to be a dangerous (expensive) combination. The energy design and outfitting of the boat soon got way out of hand and became an adventure before the adventure.

ENERGY EQUATION

Initially the projected energy budget and the expected environmental sources were so far apart that I could well understand why cruisers tend to rely on fossil fuel energy production. It was clear that the challenge would be to work with both sides of the energy equation (efficient collection of energy and efficient use of energy)

With only a few designated places on the boat for solar panels, I searched for what I considered to be the most efficient panels available (B&G lazar cut mono-crystalline), some of which had to be purchased in Canada. The hard dodger was designed to accommodate three 90-watt panels (with line protectors at their corners), five 50-watt folding panels can form a bimini across the arch (or be stacked to reduce windage), one 50-watt panel is on the seahood next to two 6-watt panels (for the engine battery). None of the panels were designed to be adjustable and their projected energy collection reflected this choice. A small 100-watt wind generator and a 100-watt hydro generator (on a retractable stern pole) completed the energy system. The relative wind, even downwind, offshore is greater than cruisers seek at their sheltered anchorages, so I chose an AmpAir for a small stable (does not "hunt" in a seaway) unattended wind generator A Plexiglas guard separates the wind generator and the crew from each other. The wind generator was very quiet….we called it "Whisper" and largely forgot about it. The hydro generator was part of a Windhunter windvane self-steering unit which was purchased, but never commissioned as the British company went bankrupt while I was troubleshooting installation (a story in itself). I am too embarrassed to reveal how much money I lost in the transaction……I just tell people that I have the most expensive 100-watt hydro generator on the ocean. The Hydro generator gives a low growl which we grew to ignore, although one crew likened it to a "junk yard dog".

To monitor and manage energy, I installed two SALT units which provided details of how much energy was produced by each system each day and which battery bank (House or Electronics) it went to. (The engine battery is a third bank).In a 21-day ocean passage from Neah Bay (Washington) to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii (brisk for a 35-foot classically built sailboat) we deployed 370 watts of often partially shaded solar panels with an average collection of 87 amp-hours a day, fairly split between the House and Electronics battery banks; the wind generator averaged 20 amp-hours a day (downwind) which went into the House bank; and the hydro generator averaged 61 amp-hours a day which went into the Electronics bank.

Finding sometimes minute ways to shave energy consumption was interesting and initially got odd looks from marine contractors and craftsmen. Running lights, cabin lights, bilge light, etc. were replaced with LED lights; use of the radar and auto pilot was somewhat budgeted, the boat was almost totally rewired, etc. A major energy savings came from designing a largely vacuum panel freezer to fit inside of the existing Island Packet insulated ice box. This came late in the outfitting when my unconventional projects were well known around boatyards, so it did not even raise an eyebrow. This resulted in a two-cubic foot freezer and a three-cubic foot fridge that use less than 20 amp-hours per day between them (note that the AmpAir can handle this load…even downwind). We docked in Hawaii with ice cream still in the freezer. Another major way to save energy was by using energy management wisely. During the day the batteries are often full, so available solar energy is wasted. By operating the watermaker, microwave, and freezer/fridge during the day, this "load reduction" energy can be used. (The holding plates in the freezer/fridge want to cycle every 22 hours, but no great harm results by turning the switch on every 24 hours.). Minor energy savings resulted in placing frozen foods in the fridge a day before use so that the thawing would assist the cooling of the fridge (also no energy was needed to thaw foods). An environmentally friendly ethanol-gel canned heat is used to heat water for the coffee-shop thermos. It takes 20-minutes, but as one crew said, it's not like we have somewhere to go and have to hurry.

BATTERIES

The battery banks are not large by modern cruising boat standards. The House Bank and Electronics Bank each have three Group 31 AGM batteries and the Engine Bank has one Group 31 AGM (105 amp hours storage per battery). The hand-switching system that I designed allows any one bank to operate the entire boat or any battery bank to be taken offline to be recharged by its environmental energy system. The battery banks can also be combined in various ways and can be charged in any combinations either by shore power or the engine (which has a 100-amp alternator). Several times during the maiden voyage to Hawaii we ran the engine to provide hot shower water (burned eight gallons of soy diesel fuel between Neah Bay and Kona). We had planned to use the microwave only when running the engine and not to use the fridge at all after some initial ice melted. We forgot to turn off the fridge and found it unnecessary to do so; and also unnecessary to run the engine for the microwave.

Marine batteries are often advertised as to their ability be deep-cycled with the assumption that this will happen a lot between charging by fossil fuel means (this also encourages a larger storage capacity). With some environmental energy sources working 24-hours a day we found that our batteries did not deep cycle at all (the lowest voltage recorded on any battery bank during the entire trip to Hawaii was 12.3 volts and that was seen only once). Our batteries seemed to behave a lot like car batteries….with energy always going into them. I do not know what this phenomenon will mean in terms of battery life.

REFLECTIONS

During the maiden voyage, the House systems used less energy than projected and the Electronics used a bit more (we got intrigued with tracking weather on radar and indulged in using the autopilot more than expected). I am pondering whether to shift one 50-watt solar panel from House to Electronics (a twenty-minute wiring job), but tropical freezer/fridge energy may be more…and more use of cabin fans can be expected (even iced drinks?). A major disappointment in the outfitting of Shepherd Moon was the failure of the windvane steering after construction of stainless work to accommodate it (which also, to date, has excluded the installation of an alternate windvane system). We had plenty of energy for our oversized B&G autopilot, which only idled on the voyage, but I would have preferred a windvane system. The propane stove that came with the boat was not used on the maiden voyage, but is likely to be used some this year. This is a use of fossil fuel and inconsistent with the philosophy of the vessel, so I plan to soon replace the stove with one using renewable energy (and with less potential for explosion). To be a true net-zero energy boat; however, I would have to even avoid renewable fuels and use only the microwave (probably possible on Shepherd Moon).

I could not be more pleased with the environmental energy systems so far. Three voyages are planned for 2005: Hawaii to Tahiti in May, Tahiti to Fiji (with stops) in June-July, and Fiji to Australia in August-September. A faculty member from my college who teaches environmental science and oceanography has been funded to crew on Shepherd Moon this summer. Another faculty crew member has also been funded. Educational contact will be maintained with students in my home town of Neodesha, Kansas and probably students in Hawaii as well.

ADVICE FOR OTHERS

Much of the expense of outfitting Shepherd Moon was in design and planning things that are not normally done on boats and without knowledge of what the benefits would be. I think that it is feasible to be totally self-sufficient for a lot less by starting with windvane steering and having some confidence in the benefits of super insulation, LEDs, "load reduction", and other small energy saving practices….. that add up. (If a refitting is already needed, then the additional expense would also be less.) Success also depends on a persons definition of un-compromised cruising.