As we're thinking through the mini-refit on Winterlude, one of the issues is power. We have solar and wind as well as a Honda 2000 for those times there's no wind and no sun. Technically we should have enough power. Problem is, the fridge eats too many amps ... yes, we've re-insulated the boxes and done everything we can think of to minimize amp consumption. And we don't want to run the generator any longer or more often that absolutely necessary.

Obviously this falls into the category of "nice to have" and not necessity.

We can't seem to keep the laptop (MacBook Pro) powered and miscellaneous other a/c rechargables -- my camera battery, etc. We're thinking that it's probably not cost effective to add another set of solar panels to the boat setup, we're maxed out & would need all the peripheral stuff too (controller etc).

On the other hand, the only things we've found that seem likely to power &/or charge the laptop are expensive. According to Apple, I'd need somewhere around a 60 watt panel (does that sound right?). Anyone charging the laptop separately from the house system with solar or ???

I know, I should buy a newer less power hungry laptop, but I love this old MacBook Pro. Ideas? Or we can continue to have the daily battle about I'm not allowed to use the laptop longer than a half hour....

Thanks! Jan