Friday, March 16, 2018

Powering a Sailboat While Cruising

Easter is rapidly approaching. Are you a grandparent out during prime time cruising season? Are you going to miss your grandchildren giggling and laughing while scrambling to find those precious colorful eggs? How do you find the balance of family and passion?

The internet has change many things for the better.  It is helping travelers stay connected to family and friends during sentimental times by connecting them through videos and chat.  Now you can even go “Live” to share instant moments on platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat.  Traveling Grandparents can watch special moments that parents caught on their phones.

To share in those precious moments you must stay up with technology. You must power the many devices, which can be a challenge while traveling in your home on the water.  This challenge can be  sore spot in many traveling couple's relationship. The constant management of power can be exhausting.  The constant drain on stored energy these devices take can add up fast. Oh and the components needed to transfer that energy.  What the heck is an inverter and why do we need it?

Since all vessels work on DC power like a car the DC power must be converted to AC power to operate most devices.  Inverters are used to convert the power.  Generators are also used to create AC power.  You may also use solar or wind to fill battery banks up then invert the DC power to AC.  You can also simply run the engine to generate the power. Each Captain has their own preference and pocket book to which process they will use on their vessel.  All this work to operate that laptop or phone to watch those precious videos of your grandchildren's first Easter egg hunt.

I know I am one of these grandparents. I too will be missing a very special boy's first Easter egg hunt. I will make sure my devices are charged and my Wi-Fi connection is strong. So you are not alone.

I asked a few groups of travelers.  Many of them expressed their sadness of missing those special moments but felt traveling was worth it. Others felt their fellow travelers were now their family.  Yet others said they were very content with the videos because it shielded them from the drama that sometimes comes with visits with family.  I admit, I am with those people. I dont mind the videos and pictures.

Maybe I can kidnap my GMan one day. Hehe





No comments:

Post a Comment