Howard, That idea is both clever and cost effective. I found one web site that said by purchasing individual cells you could save roughly half the cost of a solar panel. Of course, they sold the individual cells. A quick check of the prices at West Marine confirmed the claim. steve Steve R. M-15 #119 Lexington, KY ************************************************ Here is a wild idea for a solar setup. I got the idea after seeing the solar cars the college kids build. Essentially, the idea is to turn the hatch cover into a solar collector. You buy the cells and glue them to the hatch cover. It takes a certain number of cells of a certain size to get the charging voltage where you want it to be. They are then covered by Lexan so they don't get damaged. Out of the way and always on. Howard