Wind Generator

[omoore]

I want to install a wind generator on my GB42 Classic. Does anyone have experience or an opinion on location. One thought was the mast. But I can't figure out a mount that would allow it to swing 360 and clear the mast. Another possibility would be on the fly bridge, high enough to clear the Bimini. Either of those would provide easy routing for the wiring down to the batteries in the engine room.

Finally I could put in at the stern like the sailboats. But it would be a long run for the wiring.
I look forward to hearing any ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[DavidM]

That mast needs to be sturdy to stand up to high winds. Doubt if a Bimini mount would do that.

But I am surprised you are considering wind. Solar pretty well killed that market. Plus it takes 15 kts or better to get any real output.

David

 

[O C Diver]

As mentioned above, solar is better output from an investment standpoint. Also less likely to hear complaints from marina neighbors and management. Some flexible panels mounted to the Bimini would be fairly simple.

Ted

 

[Xlantic]

I have seen several GB classics with a radar post at rear of the fly-bridge, on the port-side corner. Not sure how they are supported. You could place it on the roof of the rear cabin and attach to the lip of the fly-bridge, like the Nick Jackson pipe davits are attached.

But, like others have said, with solar as an alternative, why go with wind?

 

[Nomad Willy]

I have an opinion ….. don’t, do it. The most obnoxious thing to do on a boat.
Look up threads in archives.

 

[jleonard]

I have an opinion ….. don’t, do it. The most obnoxious thing to do on a boat.
Look up threads in archives.

I’ve anchored near boats that had them and they are very noisy.
I think solar panels would be a much better choice.

 

[Comodave]

You probably should buy some ear plugs at the same time…

 

[psneeld]

Newer and pricier ones are much quieter.

Depending on where you cruise and how you cruise may make wind a decent addition to solar.

Make sure it would be high enough not to get disturbed air from the flybridge as it needs clean, strong air to barely put out a decent amperage.

I have seen one on the bow of a trawler to ensure good wind at anchor.... probably helped the alternator while underway to in a decent headwind.

Some of the older models were annoying, but many of the newer ones to me are no more obnoxious than many other sounds heard in anchorages. In marinas, I believe the newer ones have some sort of electrical brake on them to keep them slow or stopped. If not there are ways to keep them stopped when near other boats and power isn't needed.

 

[BruceK]

Agree they have become quieter. And if you rely on passive charging, there are times "the sun don`t shine but the wind do blow". Now back to locating the mast.There`s some distance perhaps increased by routing difficulties from the FB, the run from locating it aft is not so much greater.

 

[Hippocampus]

Had both solar and wind on the last sailboat.

When being a full time cruiser you still spend 90%+ of your time still. You avoid the noise, expense and hassle of being in slip whenever you can. The view is better at anchor as well. It’s much less hot at anchor than in a slip if in the tropics or sub tropics. So you want to avoid hydrocarbon burn. Then with a good DC watermaker you only need to come in for food.

My experience over a decade of this was the same as Fatty. In the summer with its longer days in New England the solar gave more juice. But during the winter the two D400s gave more electricity. Solar only works during the day. Wind works 24/7.

The D400s started to give meaningful output at 10kts. The panels worked best 10a to ~3p. Rain, fog and haze killed output as well. The D400s were silent. Once a year took off the blades (use Dawn as a lubricant) and waxed them with bowling alley wax. Otherwise no maintenance.

Place the pole for the wind generators where they get an unobstructed path to the wind. On a trawler the pilot house will likely impend or cause turbulent flow to them if placed aft and you’re at anchor. To prevent vibration and noise the pole needs to be supported by guys or struts in several directions or be of an adequate diameter and well mounted. Wind strength increases significantly as you go up. With a 65’ mast as much as 10 kts from deck to masthead. Particularly true when in a marina. So on a trawler the best place maybe at the aft corners of the flybridge. This will likely give three benefits. First-an unobstructed wind path. Second- if using a good length pole they will be high up. Third-if necessary you can drop the pole and generator on to the boat deck safely. Over sizing wiring will prevent much voltage drop. Would be more concerned about placement than length of wire runs. Would be also concerned about placement of the heat sink. They do get quite hot when you’re fully charged so they need clear space around them. I avoided using the brake. It can mess up your system if left on too long.

 

[omoore]

Thanks for all the input. I did a survey on my dock. There are 8 boats with wind generators and 4 with solar. I have a boat with a wind generator in the adjoining slip and one across from me on the other side. Noise is not an issue.
Yes, solar is wonderful when the sun shines. Where I dock we have 45-50% cloud cover monthly except for October when it is 38%. Very rarely is it flat calm.
Thanks for the warning about bimini strength or lack thereof. I would never attach anything to a bimini structure except canvas.
I am thinking the aft edge of the flybridge would be a convenient and aesthetic location. I would opt for the mast if it didn't already mount the radar and the cost of a wind generator mast mount.

 

[Brooksie]

In case it hasn't been mentioned; it is important to mount it where no one can reach the blades w/o a stool or ladder.
Ours provided all the power we needed on a sail from Cape Cod to Trinidad and back. I still have it but never mounted it on my powerboat.
It was mounted on a single, unstayed, 1-1/4" galvanized pipe through the transom deck and in a bracket below attached to the transom in the lazerette. Please think about where the blades will be when docked against a tall bulkhead and other situations.

 

[High Wire]

…Please think about where the blades will be when docked against a tall bulkhead and other situations.

Like a lock wall.

 

[Max1]

I just purchased a 500W wind turbine to go along with my 400W of solar that we currently have on our boat.

Up to now the 400W has been ample, but I wanted a wind turbine as a back-up for those times when we are on an extended trip and at anchor for a few days and weather is poor. We had a taste of this in our first year when we had gray overcast days for about 5 days straight on one trip.

Anyway, it is not my intent to have the wind turbine up all the time. I was planning on having a hinged post-mount that would lock upright via a latch-pin. When not in use, the latch-pin would be pulled and the post would pivot 90 degrees so that the wind turbine would sit in the lowered position.

Right now I have not figured out a location for it. My solar panels sit at the aft of the flybridge.

 

[Hippocampus]

Potential problem with a hinge is vibration. Vibration is bad for the generator but also makes an annoying noise at anchor. If you go that way try to make sure you do what you can to prevent vibration. Would possibly drill, tap and die so you could marry with bolts the corners of the plates of the hinge so no movement is possible when the pole is up.

 

[Hippocampus]

But, like others have said, with solar as an alternative, why go with wind?

Our solar production in the summer was good and even too much at times. But in the winter our wind actually produced more power even with a less acute sun angle. We were in windwards with ~12h winter days and trades during the winter. We were in New England in summer with light air to breeze and >12h days . Wind and solar mix make great sense for the long term cruiser. As said you can go days or even weeks with neglible solar output. Not just rain but fog and haze. Common in places like Maine. Even Sahara dust cuts production as does forest fire. During kite season and Easter winds wind made multiple what solar did. You get 24h of production. Solar can’t match that on the limited deck space of a boat.

 

[fryedaze]

Attached is a shot of the D400 potential output based on wind speed. It has to be howling to get the 400 watts. If you live where it blows 15 24/7 you could get 240 amp-hrs a day out of it. I have sailed with a friend that has one. The wind turbine output is not significant.

 

[READY]

Wow, only 120 Watts at 15 knots is pretty low. I guess as mentioned that is better than nothing on cloudy days. I would strongly considering adding more battery and solar as an alternative. You can buy 230 Amp hour 12V for under $700. Maybe for the OP steady high wind is more consistent but I really would take a hard look at the cost/benefit of having extra reserve battery to carry me through the low or no sun days. Maybe I would need a little extra run time on the generator but we typically do run it once or twice a day anyway when on the hook and not motoring. I plan to add a second Victron inverter charger anyway to boost charging capability when running the genset. Side benefit is having redundancy.

Maybe it is just me but I don't want to mar the lines of my classic boat with a wind generator.

 

[Bmarler]

Agree that 120 watts isn’t much, but on a vessel with smaller parasitic draw it can be significant. Heck, even for me, having a constant 10 amps pumping in would keep me from running the genset for several days. (Big house bank though)
10 amps would cover the background draw of refrigeration and lights.

 

[READY]

I agree a steady 10 amps would be nice. I don't know where the OP boats but here in SoCal there are not many days and hours when we can expect 15+knots. Clearly we are biased towards solar. There is a reason CA taxes are affectionately called our sun tax. However we just moved to Vegas but kept our boat in San Diego. Best of both worlds.

 

[Hippocampus]

Had two D400s on the back of the Outbound 46. As previously said in the windwards they were better producers than two mono crystalline rigid house panels. Wind speeds 10-15kts 24/7. Tropical days ~12h throughout the winter. Solar output best 11a to 3p.
This was on a sailboat with the D400s on poles high enough to have no turbulence and anchored out so wind available. In the marina output was negligible as it was during the light air of New England summers.
As said previously decision about solar, wind or both is situation specific. If I was in Maine and use included shoulder seasons I wouldn’t bother with solar. Poor sun angle, frequent fog, rain and cloudy days. So poor bang for the buck. If my use was Chesapeake Bay in summer I wouldn’t bother with wind. Not enough consistent wind available. Little wind many nights.
Depending upon use pattern you also outfit differently. Off grid with good fuel not easily available you might go low use. DC not AC watermaker. AC units on dehumidify not cool and used rarely. Blow the money on sun shading the entire boat when at anchor and wind scoops for hatches. Top loading freezer with extra insulation around it in the bilge. Draws not doors for frig. Spec everything possible for low draw.
I ran the AC much more when north for summers. Hot, humid and no or little wind. Surprisingly in the tropics once anchored out there was little need for AC or even dehumidification. Exception was 100 m north of the Bahamas (not in the Caribbean by strict definition). Was stuck there for a week waiting for a storm system to clear and miserable humidity. Both solar and wind production was negligible.