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hydrogenerators

J

jimb522

New member
This is the second thread I have started on "alternative" energy sources. A couple of days ago I started one on fuel cells, and now am starting one on hydrogenerators. The only one I currently know of is the Watt and Sea, used according to their marketing literature on most of the large open 60 solo racers to great success. I have sent an inquiry to Bruce Schwab, the U.S. dealer. Has anyone any experence with real-world energy production, and how much it cost you in boat speed?
The factory literature claims a "negligible" amount of drag, but one man's "negligible" may be another mans DFL.
Any other views?
Jim
 
what type of boat do you have Jim? The Vendee Globe race - which runs solo, non-stop and around the world - has indeed been the biggest proving ground for the Watt & Sea hydrogenerators. In 2008, they didn't even exist yet. In 2012, they were on every single boat in the fleet. All 20. They were extremely reliable and had almost no failures. (you can't count Stamm's problems. He modded his unit and mounted it improperly) In extensive testing, the teams have felt that the units had very little drag and that it was better to equip the boats with 2 of them (one on each side due to width) than it was to carry 350 liters of fuel. from what i have heard from both racers and cruisers, there is very little downside other than cost. they're a lot of money but the general consensus is that you get what you pay for. i met several cruisers last year in the so pac and NZ who were circumnavigating and they loved their watt & sea cruising version hydros

edit: bruce schwab is the man. if you can afford the premium products that he deals in, he'll get you set up proper. great guy.
 
Ronnie,
I sent you a private message about with my contact info. I would like to talk to your friend about the fuel cell he has for sale. My boat is a 35.5 foot trimaran that is modified for racing. It would have been cheaper to buy a boat made for racing, but I am in too deep now to turn around. It has right now about 170 watts of solar panels, and I am skeptical about their ability to supply me with enough energy to run the autopilot continuously. I originally planned on carrying a Honda Generator to charge the batteries every day, but would rather not have to deal with it if I can avoid that hassle.
The boat has no engine other then an outboard, which is useless for charging batteries. I dopted a NKE autopilot, and now I have to figure out a way to feed it. I am looking forward to hearing from Bruce Schwab. Maybe some combination of the three sources of power is the way I will go if I can figure out a way to delude myself into rationalizing the cost benefit ratio so I cant live without it.
Jim
 
Thirsty, a Bene First 30R, raced Pacific Cup Double-Handed in 2012 and 2014 using a W&S hydrogenerator. They won their division the first year and were second to the unbeatable Erkelens the second year. The loved the W&S and were knocking out 220+ mile days in an 8000 pound 30 footer, so I can't see that the W&S was slowing them down too much.

Keep in mind that with the power generated with the W&S you only need it in the water a few hour per day, whereas you get the save the weight of fuel for the entire race.

I've looked at this quite a lot and if I needed to power an autopilot and didn't have a diesel with an alternator, I would go with the W&S hydrogenerator and some solar panels. I choose that over the fuel cell. They are roughly the same price, but the W&S puts out about 10x the power.
 
I have a Hamilton Ferris generator that I have used for years. It works well. Once I'm up to hull speed and have ample wind, the drag is irrelevant. Here are my measured outputs:

0 amps at 4 knots
4 amps at 5 knots
5 amps at 5.5 knots
6 amps at 5.8 knots – (my hull speed)

(output is non-linear)

Nominal: 120 amp/hours per day (5 amps @ 24 hours)

You will need a regulator and a diversion load or the rode will hockle when the regulator removes the load of the charging batteries. If anyone is interested, email me at [email protected] and I will send you a schematic of my implementation.

Disadvantages: Seagrass will foul the impeller. The impeller may surface and hockle the rode at high speeds (about 8 knots), but that's not an issue with my boat.
Advantage: Much more output for the money than a wind generator when sailing downwind in anything less than a gale.
 
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