Thanks to all who responded to my inquirey concerning an automatic switch to
replace my manual generator selector switch.  Once again I am well educated by
the list and have determined very quickly that what I had originally thought
would be an expensive installation turned out to be an outrageous expense.
Honestly, I had figured maybe something in the $500-600 range, turns out the
least expensive switch I could locate that would do the job was $1700  and
some ran as high as $5000.  Guess I will be crawling over that gen-set to flip
the breakers for a long time to come?

Also wish to thank all who had responded over the last few weeks with info on
various marina locations for us to consider for summer dockage.  Turns out we
actually stumbled upon a great spot here in the Keys at the Boca Chica Naval
Air Station near Key West.  We have taken a permanent slip here and will base
from this location for the foreseeable future.  Seems I finally found
something worth while in the form of benefit from Military Retirement (besides
my meager pension).  Unfortunately this also meant we have formed some land
based ties again, like we just bought another car.  I had gone nearly a year
without one, which is the first time I had not owned an automobile since I was
16 years old, lots of years (don't ask).

After nearly a year on the move we are now planning some projects for the boat
that we had been putting off like re-decorating the interior, etc.  One major
project I am considering is replacement of the carpet in the salon with a real
wood floor.  I am considering either a Rosewood or Teak & Holly.  I am not
real skilled when it comes to wood work so am wondering if I might be wise to
hire a pro to do the job?  Would like to hear comments about this from any who
have gone down this road.

Jim Alexander
Serendipity
Boca Chica NAS

James Alexander wrote:
Thanks to all who responded to my inquirey concerning an automatic
switch to
replace my manual generator selector switch. << snip>> I have determined
that what I wanted would be an outrageous expense.

REPLY
Jim's predicament highlights why I feel DC gensets are superior in small
vessels under 70 feet.  DC gensets can more readily be paralleled, the
energy can be stored, and by using inverters the overall system weight
can be reduced since the battery bank and inverter can handle start
surges as much as 3X the nominal running load current.

Several manufacturers now offer inverter models which can be stacked in
tandem to produce any reasonable amount of power up to around 20 Kw or
40 Kw if you go three phase.

In addition DC gensets and the main propulsion engine can be arranged to
work in tandem. Something not possible with AC gensets.
At this time all the necessary components are available off the shelf.

And added bonus for world travelers is the ability to be frequency and
to some extent voltage immune when docked in foreign ports having 50Hz
230V  shore power and you are equipped to use 120V 60Hz.

It's a concept whose time has come. Given the weight reduction possible
with this arrangement I should think power cat designers would be giving
it a real hard look as a replacement for the conventional AC genset
approach.

Cheers

Arild