I agree, keep it simple. I built an ECO5.5 in 2020 and it is solely used for cruising using a small electric outboard plus 1640 watts of solar panels on top charging a 10Kw LifePo4 battery bank. Every year I go for a two to three week trip never plugging in but allowing only solar to charge the batteries. In order to make this work I have to sacrifice some luxuries as I have no inverters for running appliances. For refrigeration I use a Yeti cooler and ice that I replace every five days or so.
I have not seen any 100% solar electric craft in my size . I see many adds for huge catamarans worth multiple millions that are solar electric but they all have generators as well.
For efficiency I use as a best case scenario a 45% x my total wattage of 1640 watts. This represents an average hourly charge between 8am and 5PM in Ontario Canada in Aug. All panels are on the canopy and in a slight arc. At some hours I produce more than 740 watt hrs but this is an average. On overcast days I may be averaging 20%. On days like that I reduce my speed which reduces? power exponentially.
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Regards
Phil
