1) Understanding your energy needs is essential to determine how much solar you need. Start by making an "energy budget". List all your consumers and their daily usage. For example, if your LED lights use 1W per bulb and you have eight bulbs on for 5 hours a day, that would be 8 Watts for 5 hours or (8x5) 40 Wh (Watt hours). I like to use kWh to keep things consistent. 40 Wh = 0.040 kWh. It's a good idea to list what you're using while at anchor and another list of what you're using while underway (for instance, you don't use your autopilot at anchor). Remember to list everything: fridge, freezer, watermaker, autopilot, nav lights, chart plotters, etc. For example, here aboard Athena, with an electric galley, fridge, freezer, watermaker, two computers, etc, we use an average of 5.5 kWh per day. 2) To give you a quick estimate, use https://globalsolaratlas.info/ to find "Global horizontal irradiation" per day for your location. Take your daily energy consumption from step 1 and divide that by the number of solar hours. In the case of Athena, located in the Caribbean, that would be 5.5kWh per day / 5 sun hours = 1.1 kW solar array. Keep in mind that this is a theoretical number that does not take into account the shading or degradation of the panels over time. Let's add 30%. 1.1 x 1.3 = 1.43 kW. You can now divide that number by the panel's Nominal Power output. In the case of Athena, our panels are 400W SunPower panels. 1430W / 400W = 3.6 panels needed to cover our 5.5 kWh per day consumption. 3) Understand that the amount of solar you can install on a small sailboat is limited by the size of the boat and heavily influenced by shading and, of course, the boat's location. The size of the panels might also be defined by the height of your stanchions or the size of an existing solar arch. Figure out where you're able and willing to install panels. That will dictate the size and number of panels. 4) Use Victron Energy's MPPT Calculator to calculate what MPPT is ideally sized for your solar panels and expected output based on location. Based on our experience in the Caribbean, the estimate provided by the guide is reasonable. https://www.victronenergy.com/mppt-calculator. Remember that it's best practice to avoid combining panels with different specs on the same MPPT. #sailboat #sailboatproject #boatwork #saillife #liveaboard #liveaboardlife #saltlife #sailing #sailingadventure #travel ingcouple #livingonaboat #solar #sailboatsolar

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Discover how a mooring line with a protective cover can make a big difference in durability and safety! In this quick video, see how the cover is added to the Dockline to protect it from wear and tear, extending its life and ensuring reliable performance even in harsh marine environments. Perfect for boating enthusiasts and marine professionals alike! https://www.premiumropes.com/dockline #MooringLine #MarineSafety #BoatLife #DockingTips #MarineEquipment #ProtectiveCover #BoatingEssentials #BoatMaintenance #NauticalGear #MarineSupplies #SailingLife #Watercraft #OceanReady #HarborLife #Anchoring #Maritime

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Just two more sleeps and the racing counts for real. Who will win the PRADA Cup? Who will take on Emirates Team New Zealand for the America's Cup? SUBSCRIBE to the official America's Cup channel: www.youtube.com/americascup Like America’s Cup On Facebook: www.facebook.com/americascup Follow America’s Cup On Twitter: www.twitter.com/americascup Follow America’s Cup On Instagram: www.instagram.com/americascup Stay up to date with the America’s Cup newsletter: www.americascup.com/en/newsletter The 36th America's Cup presented by Prada will be contested by the winner of the 2017 America's Cup, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron represented by their team, Emirates Team New Zealand, and the winner of the Prada Cup, the challenger selection series which takes place in January–February in 2021. #AmericasCup #AC36 #Auckland2021

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Why Nanni Engines Rock Your Sailboat! #sailing #boat #shorts

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#volaresmipasión #veleros #planeadores #vueloavela #vuelosinmotor #soaring #gliding @glidingpictures @vueloyvela @glidingchannel @glidingzone @vueloaveela @just.soaring @fuentemilanosairfield

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