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Turning Our 40-Year-Old Sailboat Fully Off Grid | Solar & Lithium Install

7 February 2025 · 13 min · 1K views · California

What this video covers

The owners of a Nordicat 43, *Sand Dollar*, overhauled their electrical system to support off-grid cruising.0:24 They installed 1,100 amp-hours of lithium batteries, replacing the previous lead-acid house bank, while retaining a separate lead-acid circuit for the engine and windlass.2:00 The new system centers on a Victron MultiPlus inverter/charger, managed by a Cerbo GX and three solar charge controllers.1:17 The solar array includes four 100-watt flexible panels on the cabin top and two 200-watt bifacial panels mounted on the stern rails.7:16 A DC-to-DC charger isolates the lithium house bank from the engine start battery.3:47 During a forced relocation between marinas, the crew experienced a fuel-gauge failure, resulting in an engine stall 200 meters from the dock.9:23 They subsequently ran aground at a temporary restaurant dock due to inaccurate depth charts, relying on a floating dock to keep the vessel upright during the low tide.10:09 The boat eventually reached Safe Harbor Marina for final preparations before a planned passage to Mexico.11:41

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Boats in this video

Nauticat 43Their boat

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