Captian Sandler, I have used on numerous boats a group 24 or 27 deep cycle battery that has been charged with a Solarex 10 watt panel and regulator. Current setup on M-17 is small 25 AH sealed aircraft battery, regulator, 10w panel. Items that operate off the battery are - cabin light -12w incandescent, running lights 2) 12/12w incand., MP3 player and amplifier (all day long), B&G network Speed/Log (all times), Garmin 276 GPS (intermittently). Battery is "salvaged from my buddies C-150 (won't start the engine) as it is not airworthy, holds 85% + of charge from panel and has been maint free to date -approx. 1 year, when it holds 65-70% or less I will replace the battery for the type use it gets at boat. Gasoline generator would be overkill, expensive, noisy and dangerous. Good Luck, Take Care,Have Fun Gary O. M-17 #316a Look for Seans new Heavy weather video @ Havasumontgomerys ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com