The debate between wind generators, towed generators, solar power and the so called 'gensets' has been raging for years.
The fact is that in these days with all of the environmental issues surrounding us, installing a genset is just a non issue. A combination of air, solar and water power generation is the only solution for most cruising sailboats. By most, we are referring to yachts up to 50ft. approximately which would comprise 90% of cruisers sailing our oceans.
All these options draw their energy from the natural elements we are passing through whilst sailing - with a nil carbon footprint. They take up little room (excepting solar panels) and are silent - perfect! Stack this up against the diesel generator which is noisy, requires a lot of inboard space, uses diesel fuel, needs constant attention (servicing), and with a poor power output - you do not want a diesel generator running all day! I personally used a combination of a wind generator and a water towed generator. The wind generator is fine when sailing to windward, but output drops off a lot when sailing downwind. So the back up was a towed generator which produced 9 - 11 amps constantly when sailing downwind at 8 - 9 knots.
This pumped enough power into the batteries so that would run all the boats' power needs effortlessly, including the refrigerator and water maker, which enabled us to arrive at every port with full water tanks. I ran (towed) it during the day, retrieving it onboard again at sunset
Technology has moved on and the units you can now purchase are even more efficient.
The average yacht these days is more often than not fitted out with a wide range of electrical equipment to help make navigation simpler, safer and more enjoyable for the skipper and crews onboard. These all take a drain on the ships batteries and that power needs to be replaced as efficiently and quickly as possible.
Anyone who owns a yacht already owns a large wind energy generator, and that is the yacht itself. The average wind turbine suitable for mounting on a yacht may span 7 - 10 square feet of air stream, whereas the sail of a typical cruising yacht will of course intercept an area far greater than this.
As a result an easy and efficient way to maximize power generation for your battery whilst cruising is by drawing energy from the yacht's movement through the water rather than directly from the wind.
This is where a towed generator comes into its own. Many yachtsmen consider towed water generators too much trouble, but this is an efficient way to get a lot of energy out of the wind, particularly when on long passages.
Originally these towed generators were designed just for towing but since the first were developed things have changed and there are all sorts of varieties available to choose from to suit your needs. The most modern designs can be used as a towed generator whilst sailing and can then be adapted to work as a wind generator when anchored and stationary.
You can read more about power generation and water towed generators in my ebook 'Voyage of the Little Ship 'Tere Moana' downloadable from my sailboat2adventure website.
Vincent Bossley is a publisher and sailor and lives on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. He has is own website http://www.sailboat2adventure.com for cruising sailors, sailors planning their lifetime adventure, armchair sailors, virtual sailors and in fact anyone who has ever dreamed of sailing the oceans of this beautiful planet of ours. You can find him and his ebook 'Voyage of the Little Ship 'Tere Moana' on http://www.sailboat2adventure.com
