That's an impressive solar generating setup you have for tiny SeaWeed, and it serves you well, Janice. Plenty of chilled cantaloupe for you now. :) I hope you figure out the alternator conundrum so that you can generate power as you putt around.

Cantaloupe is a definite favorite Pam. I love fruit chilled too. It is little things. It may sound silly to some to replace a refrigerator for a fruit. That is not the exact way it happened though.

First I came to this coast. Well even on the east coast there were times when I couldn't use the reefer when the wind was non-existent. But over here it flat out disappeared. Àrgh.

Then a friend in the east coast quoted his figures for a 3.1 cubic foot rest, the two-door version and I wanted one. A lot!

I am not an ice cream fan, however a cube refrigerator doesn't do well in that department. Items right under the freezer compartment stay icy. That is good for longer term storage of meats.

This one s absolutely fabulous. I have the freezer filled with my favorite hotdogs. At Aldi's they are called turkey sausages, jalapeno flavor, by Kirkland. Anyway a hotdog is just 100 calories. I use them as a meat in many meals because they are easy.

My dogs are delicious too. My grocery list quite often has "my dogs" and "bird dogs" for the critters. I took some pictures of my latest pair. They are still a little wary.

That's it from here. It rained like the Dickens this morning. My get up and go brought me back to my bunk for a nice nap. Take care Pam. Thanks for commenting.

I have a chicken Andouille sausage I really like. It chop it up in a lot of my veggie dinners. It adds great flavor and protein. Oh, boy, I want to see the photos of your new flock members!

Why don't you do an article on your alternator? Show Pictures. Lots of them. Some reader may write you back on how to precisely hook it up. Eh?

Years ago I went to one of those warehouse super stores. It had several precooked chicken sausages. I was very surprised. The flavor and texture were amazing.

Your meal sounds yummy. Since I started this diet thing I have begun purposefully eating more vegetables. By being careful not to overcook the veggies I have discovered that I like them more than ever.

Yes I took pictures of Scout and Scout. Two that for all apparent examination look alike. After the scallions vignette (which follows the final in this series) ... Soon. I may go ahead and upload Wednesday's article tomorrow. Frankly I am anxious for more relaxing time. I have books on Kindle.

Today is Amazon Prime Day. Be still my heart. So far I have avoided the site. I just cannot spend on wants, not right now. There are too many bills incoming. The Shingles vaccine is being hyped. Two doses separated by two months at a co$t of $180 per dose. Ouch. I have an acquaintance who is suffering a flare-up and she's adamant her friends do the prevention shots. Apparently too this is so much superior to the original version, even those individuals who had the first need this updated thing. That said $360 is a ton of cash.

I will think about it, and eventually knuckle down and get the shots. But not today! J.

I may just do that one of these days. First though I am taking a bit of R&R. Rest and Relaxation, along with my Kindle sounds just about perfect. I enjoy Kindle time. J.

Hi Janice. I too have 390ah of solar with a Victron 100/30 MPPT solar charger and a 400w wind generator with its own charger on my boat. A question for you. How do you separate out the charging of your batteries with two different charging systems going at the same time? Do you have a switch to turn one or the other off or do they cohabit peacefully without confusing each other with the soc on the batteries? I have also picked up on your idea of charging the battery on my dinghy from the main batteries and it works a treat. Thanks for the idea:):) John

Quite frankly my setup is not ideal Cap'n John. I have been studying Calder's. What I am going to do is run each of my battery banks to their own buss bars. Right now then are all inline. Andina says that's wrong. Andina is an interesting resource for how to's. They do battery electricals.

Presently the wind gen feeds bank two and solar feeds bank one. I monitor via voltage meters visible everywhere on the boat. Thus far I have not seen any conflicts. My Perko is always set at Both.

You've got a fabulous monitor. I've read about those Victron's. Nice!

I wish I knew more about solving the dual charging issue. This is really above my scope of understanding at present. Eventually I will figure it out. I hope!

Happy boating. Congratulations on your setup. You've got great bones. It seems to me like both charging systems should come to a common feed with voltage/amperage readings taken from the batteries, not the feed. But I don't know for sure. Yet!

Good luck Cap'n. Thanks for your comment.

Thanks Janice. It seems like these systems that we have are somewhat of a "black art" in working out the specifics of any individual system:).I dont have the latest Calder so the charging by wind and solar have developed somewhat since he wrote the one I have.My two banks are one for the motors x2 for cranking and 1 for house x2 180ah giving me 360ah for house. They do run off bars so that seems right and the BEP monitor monitors both sets seperately so soc on house is both volts and amps going in and start volts only.one difference from your system is that when running the engines I use Both on my battery switch but when at anchor I use 2- house only for charging through solar and wind. Perhaps I should try Both and see what happens. I am fortunate to be able to have the Victron it is a nice bit of kit and so am wanting to use it to the best advantage. Like you I will work it oput one day. Thanks for your input and Knowlege I appreciate it. Right now I am sitting on my mooring in Middle Harbour which is an offshhoot of Sydney Harbour Australia. Wind is predicted to reach 20 knots so we will see how that goes with a clear sunny day as well with Temp predicted for 18c which in the middle of winter is still pretty nice. Happy day to you for today.John

Calder's is definitely worth paying retail for the latest edition. His battery and electrical sections have expanded greatly.

I should be studying it, then making improvements in my system. Instead I went for a short boat ride. Next week I am determined to get the bilges clean. I need to tighten the stuffing box too. Possibly replace the packing. Plus hose clamps. I notice a couple that are questionable so will replace all. I am already tired, and haven't started!

That said, I am on a boat in Florida. Life is pretty wonderful.

Your area seems so immense. Majestic too. What a great area to explore. Enjoy.

Take care and thanks for your notes. They are very much appreciated. J.