doing the numbers by Mark

So...
Stray Cat has 4 , 8D lead-acid batteries onboard to power all the little things that make her a home like lights, freezer, frig, water pump, fans, radios, computers, microwave, coffee pot, etc.  Each 8D battery consists of 130 lbs of lead and acid.  So that's 520lbs of lead and sulfuric acid total.

Installing the batteries a few years back

 On a full charge,  these batteries will last about two days (48hrs) at a constant discharge rate of 10 Amps.  This is Mark by the way.

Charging the batteries we have 385 Watts of solar cells and a wind generator.  The solar cells do the bulk of the charging. The "Sea Breeze" wind gen spins in the wind and puts up a good show but it is useless unless we get 15 to 20kts of wind.  In 10kts it will only do about 1.5 Amps of charge but below that you get nothing.  Unfortunately 10kts or below is what we see in the anchorages.

The Power Plant

Anyway, the issue is that a constant discharge rate of 10 Amps is too much and the batteries are getting behind on charge. The main problem is the freezer and frig.  They are old and not that well designed so they are running nearly all the time.... thus the constant 10 Amps.  We will need to do something about this.

The crew accuses me of being a power Nazi.  I do admit I lose several minutes a day gazing into he gauges watching the power In vs. the power Out...  It's a little hobby of mine.

Solution:
I will have the Frig and Freezer serviced or replaced if needed in Ft Lauderdale.

In other news:
Jon and I added a new batten to the Bimini on the starboard side above the helm.  This required busting out nearly all my tools and the sewing machine so it was a good day.

Saggy Top over Helm

Jon Working

Jon and Mark Working

Jon and Mark Working

Suzanne Working

...and DONE!!   Happy Top!

We also started work on a side enclosure for the cockpit area by cutting out a template on pattern material.  Today I hope to transfer and cut the pattern to the actual Stamoid material I have onboard and start sewing it together.   (no pictures yet)

As for the travel schedule, we decided to stay here is Lake Worth in North Palm until Tuesday.  We have a week to kill and this is a nice place to kill some of it.  Its a well protected anchorage and a good place to work on projects.  As we move south from here the anchorages get fewer and dock space gets more $$ so it makes sense to stay here a bit longer.

Today we will attempted a land assault.  This will prove to be interesting because boat (dinghy) access to the shore is very limited here and I'm not sure it exists at all.  You see, Lake Worth is surrounded by private mansions and mega yacht docks.  Neither of these are welcoming to sail-boater types who want to get ashore in a dinghy.

We must overcome these obstacles to make shore!

And for the part of the Blog where Mark gets himself into trouble....

This is good...

But I think this better...  ;-)

(In full discloser I don't have a smart phone.  In fact, I have a "special needs" phone so maybe there is some jealously at play here?)