Need ideas for Sailboat LED grow

Hello fellow tokers,
I have spent a great many hours reading and researching LED grow possibilities for a very unique enviroment. This forum, Physicnole, redline and other very intelligent growers here have been my primary resource for LED grow information and comparisons.:clap: Consequently I purchased the following:

-6x Luxeon III Royal Blue
-6x Luxeon III Blue
-24x Luxeon K2 Red
-6x Luxeon K2 Natural White
-6x Luxeon K2 Warm White
The idea is 6 "banks" of LEDS that could be moved around 3 plants.

My wife and I will be leaving our house in 4-5 months to go live on a sailboat and sail around for a little while. My dilema comes from not know which grow method would best suit the enviroment of a moving heeling sailboat.

I need the grow container to be completely closed off, will be behind a false wall covering the quarter birth. We will be traveling international so smell is a factor, was thinking of carbon filtered and ejected below waterline (probably was more costly energy wise than it would be worth, but looking for ideas...)

The idea is to program a PIC microcontroller to control timings of light cycles, watering, humidity and temperature. As much automation as possible to avoid unnecessary exposure. The setup will be run off a dedicated 400+ amp/hour deep cycle battery with wind and solar rechargers, also have a honda generator if it comes down to it. Pulse width modulation is something I am currently doing research into and would love some feedback about DIY PWS setups.

That all being said I am looking for any help, suggestions, experience and opinions on this matter as possable. I am trying to be well prepared with a fully functional model to be built in my basement within the next month so I can get a harvest out before we leave. I will be using Bubalicious seeds for the model grow.

Thank you for your help.

Hopefully highSailin :jointsmile:

Fucking awesome. I am jealous. Great plans man. Weezard, Opie, redline...those guys will be able to help you design wise. I jsut grow with the pre-fabs for now...lol
whiskeytango

wow sounds very interesting.. sorry no info to offer just wanted compliment your idea

Thanks for the words of encouragement! This has been stressing me out a bit over the last few months.

My current promising idea is a dutch style wicking hydro system. The reason being a fluid level sensor would be easy to install and interface with a holding tank of nutrient solution for automatic solution refill. Thinking it would be possible to seal the solution holding area, beneath the rich soil, better than any other hydro system. Also fewer powered pumps and moving parts with this system compared to other hydro setups. Power is VERY important.

Chemical solutions are a lot easier to carry on a sailboat than a ton of soil. Anyway, thoughts are welcome.

I appreciate your time and brain power towards this unique project.

For your safety, don't do it.

I love sailing myself- I'm currently limited to my fucking tiny ass sunfish but in the market for my dream singlehander, a little San Juan, in the spring. Your problem is that the Coast Guard has more power of search than the land cops and Customs combined, as they are functionally cops, customs, INS, safety inspectors, fish-n-game enforcers, etc... and they need NO reason beyond performing a safety inspection to come aboard and root around in your bilge. And you could land yourself in an ASSLOAD of shit going in and out of international waters, and crossing state lines, with a cargo of pot, live or otherwise, and live is harder to hide.
How do I know this? Guess what branch my military service was in?

Happy sailing, and most important- SAFE sailing!

Thank you for the heads up!
I have dealt with Coast Guard down in FL when learning to sail and was aware of their boarding capacity, but what I am hazy on is if they have schematics for the boats that they board to know if a section of the boat is not properly setup.

Would they know if a quarter birth was transformed into an extra "holding tank", say for water or waste or fuel? Boats can be customized quite a bit inside, provided you are handy at carpentry, and can be made to have a lot of hidden cargo space.

I have heard of the CG going through drawers and such but never of them questioning interior space usage and build. I would very much like to know more about the thoroughness of our water protection agency, if you care to shed some light on it.

Thanks again,

Nick

Hi Nick, I agree with Stinky too risky. I would worry more about the coast guard from other countries with ugly cannibis laws.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by highSailin

I have dealt with Coast Guard down in FL when learning to sail and was aware of their boarding capacity, but what I am hazy on is if they have schematics for the boats that they board to know if a section of the boat is not properly setup.

Would they know if a quarter birth was transformed into an extra "holding tank", say for water or waste or fuel? Boats can be customized quite a bit inside, provided you are handy at carpentry, and can be made to have a lot of hidden cargo space.

---

Yes, they absolutely do- even if they don't have them on hand for every model of yacht ever built, they are uncannily good at finding these spaces. It's like the Sixth Sense of the boarding party- what they are professionally trained to do.
We can't really get into smuggling talk here, but a very significant way by which drugs we don't talk about are brought into the US is by private yacht- it is easy for a touristy-lookin', yuppie, middle-class couple to create storage compartments in their anonymous-looking Luders44, and ride the tide right into a comfortable retirement... IF you don't get busted. What you are hoping to do is even HARDER to hide, because of space requirements and the smell produced by a flowering plant.
Add to that the fact that drug dogs don't need schematics, and YOU don't need the headache of minding a garden's needs, and avoiding Johnny Law, while you're searching for your lost shaker of salt... :jointsmile:

And when you get to Dee Islands, ask this guy ->:rastasmoke:

I'm so jealous, though. Really. I was up fishing at Gloucester Light earlier this month and just wanted to say the hell with it and go knock on hatches until someone needed a wench to clean fish and polish teak... :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by highSailin

Thank you for the heads up!
I have dealt with Coast Guard down in FL when learning to sail and was aware of their boarding capacity, but what I am hazy on is if they have schematics for the boats that they board to know if a section of the boat is not properly setup.

Would they know if a quarter birth was transformed into an extra "holding tank", say for water or waste or fuel? Boats can be customized quite a bit inside, provided you are handy at carpentry, and can be made to have a lot of hidden cargo space.

I have heard of the CG going through drawers and such but never of them questioning interior space usage and build. I would very much like to know more about the thoroughness of our water protection agency, if you care to shed some light on it.

Thanks again,

Nick

---

Aloha Brah.

You just got lots of priceless advice.

Actually thought about a grow room in a bread truck when I lived on the mainland in '69
Huge Van, solar-gro sunroof, generator slung under the bed, propane water heater, bathroom w/shower, solid state refrigerator, Bose 901 speakers and a Teac reel to reel tape deck for tunes.
Did some research. Changed my mind.
Why? because even in the USA, there's a world of difference between your "castle" and your "ride" regarding search and seizure rules.

Sorry brah,:(.
There's no way you could do this safely.
This planet is not sane about a lot of things.
Get popped in some asian ports and you are gambling your life!
Not worth it!:(

That said, I did travel the U.S. in that van for a year and never had any trouble finding friends and meds.:jointsmile:

Good luck and bon voyage
Green Weezard (with envy, brah):cool::cool::smokin:

Thanks for the very scary and unfortunate information. Sad how little freedom we have these days and no privacy. Even sadder still is those who punish us do as us, the ultimate hypocracy.

Suppose I am already down and out on this one, but I have to finish this project. Maybe sell it off or use it to grow legitimate plants, I think that would still be quite a kick. If it is no longer used to MJ, is it alright to continue a log of the build for use with solar panels as informational? Would like to contribute some info and experience to this board as many other contributions have helped me.

Got some heatsinks and nice MCUs, looking into some MOSFETs to drive the LEDs with PWm handled by the MCU. Roughly looking at 135watts total.

Anyone have any experience with constant current ICs, the real efficient all in once packages from linear and maxim? Looking for circuit ideas that optimize efficiency.

Thanks again!