I just spoke this evening to an English couple on a Roberts 38 called "Serenity" who've been out cruising for years and are now doing the Great Lakes after...Brazil...
Anyway, they have an Ampair wind gen, and they commented that they make their real power (6-10 amps) towing the thing behind the boat on downwind runs. As they sensibly pointed out, the wind genny barely moves on a run, so you might as well tow a generator.
I would get wind generator for the caribe over solar if I had to choose. My own experience is that a couple of 80 watt fixed panels and a wind generator will reliably give you over 100amps a day on average. More can be had with an MPPT contoller and my experience was in th Bahamas with this set up. There is significantly more wind in the Caribe though many anchorages are protected from the trades by high land.
BUT you must get a wind generator with big blades...not the multiple small ones if you want amp production in 10 knots or less which is what you get in most anchorages. See Practical Sailor review from the last 2 months! KISS or FourWinds would still be my top choices. Either of these and fixed 160 watt solar panels is less expensive than a solar stik with 100 watt panels which is the only option offered on their site.
This is why I figure you pay more for the SolarStik to solve a small boat problem of not enough deck space/no arch than for its benefits. It's a compromise, like everything else. If you have enough room for two or three 130 W panels (about $1,500), plus a wind genset ($1,000-$1,500), it's cheaper to put 'em up facing the zenith and forget about them and you will likely get the same amps or better than two 50 W panels exquisitely and optimally aimed off a pole bolted into the transom of a 30 footer...and which will cost the same as the "passive" panel set up.
Of course, in the first scenario, you continue to make power on breezy nights and cloudy days.
This is a rare case where having a bigger boat actually saves you money, because the "real estate" is cheaper.
Valiente,
Thanks for the sanity. If you are actively sailing, nothing comes close to the output of the water towed generator. Duo-gen has a plus as it is convertable to wind generation for at anchor charging. I would regard it as a more reliable source of charging as well, because it will be charging when you really need your batteries up, underway. If your bank is down at anchor it's generally not a crisis. If you're running low at sea it can be a problem.
Valiente,
Thanks for the sanity. If you are actively sailing, nothing comes close to the output of the water towed generator. Duo-gen has a plus as it is convertable to wind generation for at anchor charging. I would regard it as a more reliable source of charging as well, because it will be charging when you really need your batteries up, underway. If your bank is down at anchor it's generally not a crisis. If you're running low at sea it can be a problem.
Yes, shaft generators do a similar thing with less chance of shark bite incidents (recall the Walker Log and how many cruisers in the '60s would lose to hungry fish?).
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I am installing a feathering prop to reduce drag under sail. I suppose the beauty of the towed generator is that it can be pulled out and stowed when you're topped up, and you don't necessarily have to convert it back to "air use" until you start close reaching.
