ANOTHER IMPROVEMENT IN ENERGY SAVINGS

When I first bough BIANKA in the fall of 1995 she had two clip on lamp fixtures each with a 60 watt incandescent bulbs. I used them for the cabin  illumination when I was tied up to the dock as they used 120 volts AC. They worked well as long as you did not drop them when they were on as the hot filaments were very fragile. I replaced them a number of times. Then a few years ago along came compact florescent lights. They only used about 16 watts for the same amount of light as the delicate 60 watt incandescent they replaced. They were not as susceptible to damage but, I still did manage to break one in the cabin when it fell. Since these lamps also contain mercury it is a good idea to clean it up ASAP. This spring in order to avoid another accidental mercury spill this spring I bought some new TCP LED 60 Watt Equivalent Light Bulbs. These bulbs are even more efficient than the compact florescent bulbs they are replacing.  The TCP bulbs use only 9.5 watts compared to the compact florescent 16 watts. An energy savings of 40%. The bulb cover seems to be made of a high strength plastic not glass too. So there is no chance of filament and glass breakage like the incandescent technology or glass breakage and Mercury leakage like with the compact florescent bulbs.  Since I am also using my Ames 48 volt inverter more and taping into the electric propulsion battery bank the low wattage of the LED bulbs also means I'll be using  less power for the same illumination.  In short it is a big improvement in illumination and safety on board the boat .

TIPS FOR THE GALLEY: Cooking Pasta

One of the staples I carry on board when cruising is various forms of pasta. I enjoy an occasional meal of pasta usually with my own homemade sauce. Problem with cooking pasta on board is the instructions say to start out with a big pot of boiling water. Something like four or five quarts. Water on board is precious commodity especially if you don't have a water maker. So is the fuel needed to boil the water. I came across this video which allows one to make pasta using only a little bit of water and fuel compared to doing according to the instructions on the box. Looks like a great technique to use on the boat:

HARVESTING THE MOTION OF THE OCEAN

Though it was a shortened season for me having worked all of July hundreds of miles from the boat. It still was an enjoyable one. I was also pleased at how little I needed to fire up the Honda Generator this season. Despite having added some new energy using items on board. Adding an 100 watts of Renogy Solar panels helped with the house bank and also the 48 volt Marine Air-X wind turbine also did it's share of adding energy to the propulsion bank. Which I also tapped into using a 48 volt Inverter and powered a  bread maker with it. The nice thing about having an electric boat is the number of ways one can capture and store energy easily for use at a later time. Something that is not easily done with fuel consuming conventional on board internal combustion engines. I'm always keeping an eye out for new ways to add more energy into the mix.   Boats even when at anchor or at a dock are still often at motion. Some research at Georgia Tech offers some interesting ideas on maybe harvesting some of that energy from this motion. Something to keep an eye on.

HARVEST TIME

I was glad to be on board to once again see the full moon rise over the harbor. It was the Harvest Moon and probably the last one I see before I put the boat on land for the winter. Watching that Harvest Moon I began thinking that BIANKA has been back on the mooring for over two weeks. In that time I have not had to fire up the Honda 2000 eu generator to charge the two battery banks on board. Which is a good thing because as efficient as the Honda is it is still fuelish to use it. Instead BIANKA has be harvesting all the energy it needs from the solar panels and 48 volt Marine Air X wind turbine. So there has been no need to fire up the generator. No doubt the addition of the new 100 watt Renogy solar panel has added enough power to make up for the additional refrigeration I added this year.