A serious contender now has to be fuel cells. They are small units that charge the batteries whenever necessary at low to medium currents (5-10A). They are therefore working most of the time, but since they are so quiet and compact, its not a problem

You can see some installations at:Fuel Cell Systems.

I should add that I haven 't had experience of them myself, but my neighbour has and attests to their efficiency and effectiveness.

One consideration is that you do need high purity methanol. This is available in many places - but not universally (e.g not in Caribbean)

I would be interested to know the real-life experiences of some owners as I contemplate the retirement of my aged, over-powered and noisy fixed, diesel generator

While cruising for several years, we found that one of the most 'lively ' discussion topics among cruisers was, "Which method of generating power works best?" Occasionally, there would be an enthusiastic proponent for one form over another, but more often than not, the discussion was far more complex. I think it might be useful for us to share our experience with different forms of power generation and different equipment options within each category.

So far, we 've learned:

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[/ul]diesel generators are still a very reliable and relatively economical option as long as you can carry enough diesel

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[/ul]solar panels are not as reliable as most would think, especially when the climate tends to be cloudy (Ireland/UK) or days are short (Caribbean) or when parts of the panel are obscured (which can shut the whole panel down)

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[/ul]wind generators tend to be noisy/vibrational and don 't work very well downwind (tradewinds sailing) or in protected anchorages

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[/ul]towed water generators attract BIG fish

That said, we have a diesel generator that works rather flawlessly. Although upon adding AIS, a second navigation system, watermaker, etc, we know we 'll need more power.

We are considering adding a wind generator that can be hoisted into the rigging to catch wind or towed overboard while underway. We are also eagerly awaiting the new generation of solar panels that is supposed to provide a dramatic improvement in efficiency. Does anyone have advice and experience to share that would help us make some decisions on the best gear to add in these departments?

Vice Commodore, OCC