The arch was designed so that solar panels could be fitted giving an unobstructed view for the sun. We have relied on the Rutland 1200 wind generator and a single 80w solar panel on the coachroof to see how the power management worked. The result is it didn’t keep up with demand. Certainly when it’s windy the Rutland is great but it doesn’t always blow 20+ kts, so we spoke to Marlec and have bought 2 more 80w panels which have been fitted on the arch. 
We now have 240w of solar panels and the Rutland all controlled by the mppt which is great. We recently spent 4 days away at anchor and the power input was more than usage, we ran the generator for an hour a day to create hot water, not starting the boat diesel at all. We are completely confident with our charging options !!! This photo was taken on a sunny yet windless day here in the UK showing over 13 amps with fully charged batteries 🙂
It isn’t all work though, we bought an inflatable stand up paddle board which will be great fun and good for core fitness…. but it does something else too, If you stand up whilst being towed by the RiB it doubles up as a giant wake board 🙂 The instruction manual certainly doesn’t cover it ! When I’ve figured out how to add video I promise it’ll make you smile, however, Charlotte has decided we need more social media interaction with a youthful aspect, so she has started a facebook version which she is going to run….. yikes!!! http://www.facebook.com/sailingsilhouette which starts off with the video!
yachtsilhouette.com 