Hi Gene,

Lots of inefficiency in any inverter, even with small devices on boats as small as ours, those losses can add up pretty quickly...

I've tried to go only with devices that can be charged/powered with a 12V cigarette lighter plug, it's not hard to do if you shop around...

Something like a cell phone, that's a no-brainer, you can easily find a car charger for those... Same thing with stuff like an alarm clock, truckers use alarms powered by cig outlets that will wake the dead... (important for a singlehander like me (grin))

I have De Walt cordless tools/lights aboard, largely because all of them can be charged with the same 12v charger... All my entertainment stuff - TV, digital/analog converter, DVD player can be powered by a lighter outlet. All my camera batteries can be reciarged with a car charger, and after a bit of searching, I found a guy who makes a 12V adapter for my MacBook (I'll never understand why Apple doesn't make one), and that results in a big energy saving during a cruise...

I still have an older Freedom 1000 aboard, and a couple of small inverters, but with a bit of judicious shopping in the various crap you drag aboard, you can greatly reduce the reliance upon inverters, and save a surprising amount of wasted amps...

best regards,

Jon