What do I actually need?

The Golden Cloud 19/12/11


And so the Christmas season is most defiantly upon us. I'm sat now curled up in a blanket on mums rocking chair, sat by the fire while the dogs sleep to either side of me. It's so nice to be home and the Christmassy homely feel is definitely what the doctor ordered.


I spent the first few days after getting home doing a RYA Powerboats License. I sometimes find myself doing something fantastic like this. I spent 2 days courtesy of my job at uni, spinning around in a high spec. powerboat, doing over 35knots, racing ferry's, the rib's equivalent of a handbrake turn, j turns, 8 turns and donuts! FANTASTIC. Apparently this will also be something that will help the work I do, and will mean they give me more hours. What more can I ask for!?!


I've come back in the evening and spent my spare time reading the various books I've bought off amazon as reference material for the project. Many things have caught my eye, from chutneys and jams, to fish traps and lobster pots. Fingers crossed I'll have the time to try them out.


One particular book has been fascinating bedtime reading; Low Cost Living by John Harrison. One chapter that has captured my thoughts Energy.


Energy on The Golden Cloud is something of a critical point. The boat is designed to run on 12v produced by the inboard 10hp diesel engine. However, this has a number of stumbling blocks. 1st  the previous owner was in the middle of an electrics refurb, as a result the boats internal 12v circuit is incomplete and not operational. 2nd if the electrics were operational I will not be going to sea for the foreseeable future, and as such, the diesel engine that charges the batteries will not be running to charge the battery, the battery will soon run dead.


Now I also have a number of decisions to make with regards to energy. I could a) run off the extension lead that I will be supplied with from the boatyard, on metered mains 240v, at ~15p per unit. Or b) spend some of my years savings on a solar panel or wind turbine to charge the battery, and then set up the 12v circuits, with the free power from the sky!


The answer that slaps me in the face is GO FOR THE RENEWABLE, after all I want to be sustainable, and this will also be adding value to the boat. However, going down this route will cost me ~£500 for a set up for a 100watt panel, or £700 for a 500watt turbine. 


It will also limit me in the wattage I can use onboard. Yes I will not use all my electrical items all the time, and yes by producing my own energy I'm more likely to be careful with what electric I use, but it does mean I need to work out what wattage is a want and what wattage is a need.


So I wrote it down and worked it out. If my heating comes from the wood burner, and my cooker runs on gas. I'm left with the fridge (optionally works on gas) ~50w, the Laptop ~30w, phone charger ~5w, lights over the cooker, bed, forward cabin <10w each. Total under 100w. Other things I may need are optional extras, they're wants, not needs, The TV, the PS2, I really don't need in all honesty, I don't need lots of lights. Its also more than likely that I will only have the fridge, the laptop and a light on at one time. If I find I need something that I haven't put down for, worst comes to worst I can use the extension lead supplied.  


In a lot of ways this final bit of the blog is more of a survey than anything else. Other than light, laptop, phone and fridge is there anything anyone can think of that I will need electricity for?


Merry Christmas.