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Hi everyone! Boatcat and I are considering making an offer on a boat we viewed yesterday, and as newbies I thought i'd post here to see what those more experienced than us (that's pretty much everyone!) thinks. We've gained so much knowledge from this forum - it's an invaluable resource. We've seen the results of the hull survey in May and they seem good - i know some of you don't put too much faith in surveys though! Here's the link: http://bit.ly/Xb3pPE we'll be cruising most of the time so our main concerns are with the current electric setup which is as follows. 300w inverter 8kw beta marine generator (bolted in) 200w (I think) solar panel with mppt charge controller 2 leisure batteries (220ah total) 1 engine battery 1 generator battery 50l calorifier and immersion heater galvanic isolator smartgauge I'm quite happy with the solar setup as we should be able to add more panels in the future. However i'm sure we will be needing more batteries and a larger inverter at some point (though 300w will be a good excuse to cut down on our usage) Our main concern is with the immersion heater and calorifier (currently situated under the bed) I know this means we will have to run the generator in order to heat water and this seems like a bit of a waste considering its size. if its a case of running it for a hour a day i suppose that's ok but not sure if that will provide enough hot water for the day, and how economical the thing is. At 8kw it's actually about the same size as the engine - the thing is huge! I'd rather get rid of it at some point and free up space in the boatman's cabin, the only practical use I can see for it is running the washer/dryer. I have heard of people running a 12v immersion heater from a wind turbine/excess solar but am not convinced that would cut it. Would the best long term option be to install a instant hot water/paloma style heater? our other main concerns are less pressing - the colour scheme (from the outside I think it's OK but boatcat thinks it's quite awful) and fit-out, inside some of the tongue and groove is mismatched (i.e. vertial horzontal and diagonal) not to mention that burgundy! look forward to hearing what people think . . . .