So we didn't :-) Instead we had a leisurely morning and a nice day in town. Above is our view of Sarasota on this fine evening.
Running the 5kW Onan genset one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening replaces the approximately 75A/day that Nellie has been using while we sit on the mooring.
I was startled to realize how inefficient using the genset to charge the batteries is. Of the 10kW available only 1kW is going into the batteries! The limiting factor is the speed at which the batteries can absorb the power.
This is why solar makes so much sense for charging batteries: the solar panel's output better matches what batteries can absorb.
Conclusion: for Nellie's battery charging while on the hook we'd be better off with a $260 panel than the $5,000 Onan. It would be lower maintenance too.
0nm today and 74nm for the trip. DBH
