Narrowboat shore power setup - 16A hook up or sort out proper solar?

Been down this rabbit hole myself on Periwinkle (57ft trad stern, currently moored on the Shroppie).

Started with a 16A hookup whenever I could get a marina berth, but honestly the combination of mooring fees plus electric charges was eye-watering. Switched to solar two seasons ago and haven't looked back.

Running 400W of Renogy panels across the cabin roof feeding into a Victron MPPT 100/30, with a pair of Fogstar 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries. On a decent summer day in the Midlands — and yes, decent is doing a lot of heavy lifting there — I'm generating more than I burn. Winter is the honest test though. November through February you'll want a backup plan; I run a Sterling Pro Charge Ultra off the engine alternator for those months.

The real question is how you actually use the boat. Continuous cruiser? Shore power becomes almost irrelevant. Mostly marina-based? The maths shifts considerably.

A few things worth thinking about:

• Roof space — traditional stern boats are tight, widebeam owners have it much easier
• Shading — bridges and trees are proper solar killers on canals
• Usage profile — inverter loads like laptops and coffee machines chew through it fast

My honest take: solar and a decent alternator setup beats shore power dependency every time for cruising. Shore power's a nice occasional top-up but building your life around it feels like threading a needle.

What's your current battery bank? And are you cruising or mostly static? Makes a big difference to what anyone here can sensibly suggest.

KentOffGrid | 847 posts | Solar Evangelist 🌞

@HalfAJob Cracking boat name! I'd seriously consider a proper solar setup rather than relying on hookups - marina berths on the Shroppie aren't exactly abundant, and the daily fees add up sharpish.

For a 57-footer you've realistically got decent roof space. I'd look at 400-600W of panels feeding a decent MPPT controller (Victron SmartSolar is hard to beat) into a lithium bank if budget allows, or AGM if not.

The continuous cruising lifestyle actually suits solar well - you're often moving in daylight when the alternator's topping things up anyway. Combination of solar plus a decent 12V alternator upgrade covers most liveaboard needs through summer easily.

Winter's the honest challenge though - what's your actual daily consumption looking like? That'll determine whether you need supplementary shore power or a small genny for Dec-Feb.

CaddyCamper | 312 posts | ☀️ Caddy → Motorhome → Cabin (the slippery slope is real)

@HalfAJob Worth knowing that narrowboat solar has one brutal enemy that caravans and cabins don't suffer quite as badly — trees. The Shroppie is gorgeous but those overhanging mature oaks will absolutely murder your yield for chunks of the day.

From my motorhome days I learned that partial shading on a conventional string setup doesn't just reduce output proportionally — it collapses it.

If you're going solar on Periwinkle, budget for either:

• Individual MPPT per panel, or
• Optimisers on each panel

That way one shaded panel doesn't drag the whole array down. Victron's SmartSolar range handles this well and integrates nicely with their battery monitoring ecosystem — which you'll want when you can't just glance at hookup power.

The 16A shore power is still worth keeping for winter mooring, mind.

CornishNomad | 1,203 posts | ⚡ Floating & Off-Grid (somehow simultaneously)

Running a Victron MPPT on my narrowboat means I've genuinely forgotten what a marina berth costs — accidentally becoming one of those smug solar people I used to mock.

The Shroppie has some lovely open stretches for decent solar yield, so you're in a good spot (literally). Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 batteries paired with a decent MPPT and you'll laugh at hookup fees within a season.

Main thing most folks overlook: roof clutter on a trad stern — cratch board, chimney placement, and the odd low bridge all conspire against panel placement, so measure twice before ordering.

Tango | 634 posts | ⚓ Cabin/Narrowboat/Solar bodger

Running similar on my boat - 400W of panels on the roof feeding a Victron SmartSolar 100/30. Cruising the system means you're actually generating decent power when moving anyway, so shore power becomes less essential than you'd think.

That said, winter on the Shroppie is a different beast entirely. November through Feb I'm pretty much dependent on either hookup or running the engine. No getting round it with panels alone at that latitude.

My honest take: do both gradually. Get the solar sorted first - Fogstar lithiums are decent value if you're doing a battery upgrade alongside it. Then shore power becomes a backup rather than a lifeline.

16A hookups on the Shroppie can be patchy too depending which CRT facilities you're near.

Steve1993 | 847 posts | 🔋 Midlands | Solar + LiFePO4 convert

Lovely boat name, @HalfAJob! I'm on the Shroppie fairly regularly actually, might have passed you.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - worth thinking carefully about panel placement on a trad stern. You've got less roof real estate than a cruiser stern, so you might need to get creative. I ended up mounting some panels on a angled frame at the back which works well but does catch the wind something rotten going through bridges if you're not careful.

Also with shore power, the hook-up fees at marinas along the Shroppie vary wildly. Some are reasonable, others will absolutely rinse you over winter. Once I'd done the maths properly, solar + decent battery bank paid for itself quicker than I expected. What's your current battery setup like?