Electric dilema - new alternator or alternative sources

Sailing for prolonged periods away from shore power is going to challenge the electric power system. The prospect of running the engine for three hours a day just to top up the batteries is an anathema to this boater. What to do?

* Upgrade the alternator * Add more battery capacity * Introduce alternative power sources, wind and solar. * Install a smart regulator to control the charging process. The first two really go hand in hand, increasing the capacity of the battery capacity by adding a third battery is a good idea but the charging time will increase proportionately. To keep the charging time the same the alternator needs to be upgraded. Since delivery, the boat has increased its battery capacity by 30% but the original 50Ah alternator is unchanged. To keep up with the new battery configuration I have no choice but to upgrade the alternator. Alternative power sources seems like a good idea. They can deliver a trickle charge when the boat is not in use so the batteries are always topped up, ideal for weekend sailors. This would be useful but for the fact I will be using the boat every day. Even at anchor there will be consumption from lights, water pumps, radio and not least the laptop publishing the blog. The trickle charge will be swamped by the flood of demand. No, daily running of the engine can not be escaped but with the alternator upgrade at least the running time is reduced. I once boiled the acid in one of my batteries. I had been on shore power overnight so the house batteries were fully charged. The engine had not been run for a while and since the starter battery was on a different circuit it wasn’t charged overnight. I then went sailing and had to use the engine a lot. The alternator charged all three batteries and the starter battery drew a lot of current while the house batteries were full and simply got too hot. No real damage done, other than a wrecked battery, but a lesson hard learnt. A smart regulator would have delivered power only to the batteries that needed it. I will be visiting the annual London boat show next week so I hope to get some good insights into the best solutions. This is a great opportunity to get around different suppliers and pose the same question. I doubt I will get the same answers but I reckon I might just place the order for the alternator and regulator.