Our wind generator, affectionately known as Genny, is taking a well deserved break. I was just moments ago sitting in the cockpit and admiring her tenacity. Hour after hour, day after day, she has droned on, generating electricity from the wind. I guessed that eventually she would break a blade or a bearing. Almost immediately after thinking that, she started to make a loud hammering nose. "Broken blade!" I thought. But no. After shutting her down, careful not to trip overboard in my haste, I discovered the blades are all intact. So... It must a bad bearing. That's one item I don't have a spare for. Although I do have a spare blade - of course.
Genny is actually more than a wind generator. She's a Duogen, meaning you can change the blades to something more appropriate for water and then rotate the resulting turbine into the water where boat motion will make them spin and generate electricity. I tried it once before and found it needed adjustment. My plan, having made those adjustments, is to try again in a few days after the sea state settles a bit.
Generating electricity in water should be more efficient than generating in wind. We'll see. I'll report back.
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