Boating Solutions: Powering your PC during distance trips

While one of the 'benefits of sailing' is getting away from the entrapments of everyday life, in certain situations you may still need access to some of those entrapments such as your low wattage electronics. To accomplish this you can outfit your boat with a big (and heavy inverter) which is good for long distance cruising, if weight is an issue or if your use of the inverter is more sporadic- it is a bit of overkill. One solution that we've used on 'Karma' in racing the MAC is using a low wattage plug in inverter which converts DC power to AC power.

Enclosed is a real simple one that has the capacity for 300W (sufficient to run a pc and other low wattage items) through a 12V DC outlet on your boat. If you secure this someplace on the cabinetry with double face velcro it will work just fine. It will allow you to power your pc off the boat batteries during long range trips (i.e the MAC). It is a real inexpensive solution, lightweight and can easily be stored when not in use on or off the boat.

It’s available via online and big box retailers such as Amazon or most electronics stores.

Enclosed are the specs:

Model: Jensen JP 30 300W inverter
Dimensions: 12 x 3 x 9 inches ; 2.2 pounds
Retail price: $79.99