Power: Solar, wind, lights, towed....???

[Captain Smollett]

Shouldn't be much of an issue. I'm willing to be that your outboard would run just fine on a 40:1 mix.

I don't know what kind of ob this is, but I do know that in every model of Johnson that I have read Manufacturer's Shop Manuals for, they specifically recommend AGAINST doing this kind of thing - even just a little bit.

For what it's worth...

[CapnK]

Craig/Faith is a certifi(able ) outboard mechanic (Yamaha?), and he told me that the leaner oil/fuel mixes were mostly due to EPA mandates WRT what was coming out of the engine post-combustion, that running an o/b richer with oil (to a degree, of course) is actually *better* for the outboard in the long haul.

IIRC, of course. Maybe he'll put us straight on this, but the only issue that I think it might cause is fouling plugs a bit more/frequently, and I don't think that little bit would make too much difference.

(How unequivocal is THIS post? )

[AdriftAtSea]

CapnK?

That was my understanding as well.  And having it a little richer in oil strikes me as a far better option than having it too low in oil.  One will damage the engine permanently, the other will not.

[s/v Faith]

A couple of points before Dan makes his 3000th post.. Yea Dan! 

I was on the boat for 6 weeks last fall. I have 4 golf carts and 2 -130watt panels......snow is melting

  Wow, I can hardly fit a dingy onboard... 4 golf carts?  Really?  Wow!  That is really something!   

I was a Yamaha/Honda motorcycle & ATV mechanic in the 80's, we worked on pretty much everything Yamaha made other then the musical equipment.  Our training was done in modules, and I recall the tech rep teaching us about the evils of alcohol in fuel... in 1985. He also told us that the Yamaha 2 strokes were going from 50:1 to 100:1 . but that we could / should continue to run them at 50:1.  IIRC, the jets were changed to run a bit richer when they went to 100:1 to allow more of the fuel with less oil to get into the motor.  IIRC the tech rep said fuel mixed 100:1 was only good for something silly like 45 days!

  If anyone here have ever messed with British seagulls, you know that some motors can run on 20:1, or you can change the jet and needle and run it on 32:1.

  Keep in mind there are 4 considerations, really 5, that come into play with a 2 stroke motor.  The oil not only lubricates the 1.) top end, it also 2.) lubricates the lower end and 3.) increases the octane of the fuel, all while 4.) changing the damping of the reed valve(s). and last but far from least you are 5. Changing the flow characteristics of the the motor... the volumetric efficiency, the scavenging port utilization, even the exhaust efficiency (especially when unburnt oil builds up).

  Wow, all that from Sonny Meyers (Team Yamaha tuner back in early 70's) port and polish lessons from my youth.... 

[AdriftAtSea]

I'm trying to figure out where he stashed the two 130 watt panels.  I've got two on my boat, but my boat is 18' wide...

[Mr. Fixit]

The two solar panels are on a hard dodger--I think I posted a picture of this set up. The 4 golf carts are located in the same place that the trans for the atomic 4 was located. I gained a lot of room by converting to a Volvo and saildrive. They fit under the steps to the cockpit

[haidan]

Gene, was it this one? (pic attached)

If so, how noisy is it? Can you give us an idea as to its dimensions?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66619

I have a little generator with me I use when I have to do work on the boat with power tools it's real handy although I know someone who uses a extra alternator to run power tools off of also uses it as a welder, a really nice welder at that smoothest one I've ever used makes the rod feel like butter, he says you just adjust the throttle till the power tool sounds right and there you go. It's a good way of being self sufficient on a small boat.

The generator is an old Coleman one someone gave me it's not too loud but sure is heavy to haul around they make them lighter now (and I've heard they don't last as long either... hmmm) it has a 12v outlet too that I could potentially use to charge my batteries if I kept an eye on it, I don't know if that's standard these days, it's the only one I've ever seen like that. I going to pick up some 4 used 60 watt panels from another boater in the next couple of months until then, I just charge my batteries with a 65 amp alternator off the inboard, I have a xantrex multi-stage smart external regulator, and a xantrex (heart) echo charger, 4 trojan t-105s and a separate starter battery, the echo charger dumps current (while charging) over to the starter battery to keep it topped up so I don't have to worry about switching the charge on the batteries and the external regulator senses the charge of the house bank and chooses the appropriate field current for the alternator so as not to cook the batteries. At least that is how it's supposed to work, went for a sail today around the bay, first of the season since I came out of the river and it all seems to work as it's supposed to so far, time will tell.
I have all leds on my boat, anchor, nav, interior I haven't measured but calculations for all the lights on shouldn't be much more than an amp or two, (aren't leds great) I do have a computer I could use for nav but haven't bothered to hook it up yet, I think I like the handheld gps (garmin 76) with a paper chart better. the computer makes it seem more like playing video games, plus pulls another 2 amps out of the system.