We have now been out and on the hook for a month, and wanted to provide some updates on how things are progressing. Key West is where we are putting the boat to the test. We planned for being here for a couple of months to see what works and what needs changing.
Basics:
Power- Solar is king. Even thou we are in the shorter days of the year, we are still averaging around 120 amp hrs a day from the solar panels. Peak times we can see as hi as 24 amp/hr if the demand is there. This is when we typically run the Water maker or Inverter for projects. Wind is abundant this time of the year, and almost every evening wind gen runs most of the evening putting in 1-5 amp an hr. This more than offsets the usages overnight, and has allowed us in the first month to only need to run the generator twice for a total of 2 hr runtime. This has covered all of our needs for power to date. We have two 240watt solar panels running thru a Blue Sky 3024i MPPT controller. Very very happy with this setup. Power $ to date, Fuel $3.94
Water- I can say the water maker is #3 on my list of things we bought that makes life great on the boat. Gives us ability to take longer showers, not lug water back from shore every day or so, and in less than two weeks running every other day, we have made in the neighborhood of around 400 gallons of drinking water. This is the Spectra 200T water maker capable of 8 gal/hr at 9 amp draw. Cost for water to date, $0.00. And yes i know at some point filters, etc.
Food- The boat is capable of feeding us without shore visits, oh for somewhere in the time frame of 2 years without needing to restock. This was due to planning for two years in the islands, and we bring on the Zombies.. lol. But yes, we have been enjoying the sights and foods of Key West. The greatest saving is found at happy hours on the Island. Low price drinks, food and appetizers will make your food budget go far. $ this month pending.
Transportation- Your dinghy is your car, and you need a reliable car, maybe not a range rover, but not a Yugo either. We have had the biggest issues with the outboard since arrival. likely carb issues, so its at a repair shop again. The Dinghy itself is great, we opted for the bigger tube size on the West RIB350. A very dry ride overall, plenty of cargo and people space. Fuel costs have not been bad, maybe $65 for the month. And add an additional $89 for the month dinghy dock here in Key West. No Fuel needed yet on the Sailboat.
Cleaning- Purchased a small portable washer/spin from Amazon for $89. A 8 Lb load takes maybe 5 gals of water to wash and rinse. And runs from the inverter. For daily wear light weight clothes, it is perfect. So figure one load every 5 days, barring heavy towels and suck we hold for onshore laundromats.
Additions since arrival:
We added a few items since arriving in Key West to improve quality living on the boat. First, Instant on hot water showers. This nifty items uses propane on an external unit provide hot showers anywhere you have water and propane. We hang it in cockpit, drop the shower hose into the main bath/shower (or on deck) and at 2 gal/min perfect hot showers, no more brisk cold showers. (Works great!). From online Lowes, L5 Propane, $113. Next, we just received the GOSun Solar Sport Grill. This uses solar power to totally cook your meals. Was looked at before, but waited till we got here to try it out. Fantastic reviews, and very well build. On sale from their site at $199. Lastly finally hooked up the inverter to run the countertop ice maker. Ice in 10 minutes! Thanks to great solar power.
Weather- It has been the best weather, Hi of 80, low of 70. A few squalls, anchored up in Fleming Key area, we have dropped two anchors spread about 40 degrees apart, and after setting the first day, haven’t moved more than 5 feet in a month being here. Local knowledge and experience down here shows this pattern works for here.
And things that work better than expected – One item that we have been using every night is a Rail light from Mantus. We hang this in the cockpit and will run 2-3 days a charge from USB. This allows you the ability to see and be seen around the anchorage.
Reflective Tape- If there is one recommendation i can make, is in a crowded anchorage especially, the ability to pick your boat out of a field of 50 in the dark, rainy, rough night will ease tensions staying ashore past dark. We sampled many types of reflective tapes over the last 3 years of visiting friends in the keys looking for the right mix. We found some thru a local graphics shop that is the SOLAS grade reflective. We used this at several high points on the boats mast and structures to allow us a night to see the reflective glow from nearly a half mile away. Many people put reflective tape in the area of the toe rail, but this tends to hide behind other boats. By placing it in high points on the boat, this is rarely hidden. This includes using it on the flag edges. Try it, you will be amazed the visibility.