Moron Genny

The wind and waves were moderated today, enough so that we were able to disassemble the wind turbine from the generator mounted on in the back of the boat and install a water turbine in its place. The water turbine looks like a propeller but is instead propelled by the motion of the boat through the water. Its rotation generates electricity to charge the batteries. It's not enough to keep up with the full battery demand, but whatever portion it replaces means less engine time.

We've been running the engine a couple of hours every day to charge the batteries. The wind generator cut that in half, but as noted a few days ago, we were forced to decommission it for servicing.

We got a good look at the wind turbine today and found the gear box burned up. Hence plan B, the water turbine.

Unfortunately the water turbine hasn't proved to be as efficient as the air turbine. It doesn't spin as fast so it generates less current.

There are other issues I won't bore you with, but it remains to be seen whether or not we continue to use dear old Genny.