Wind Generator on Mizzen Mast

[Hudson Force]

I've had my Amp Air on the mizzen for six years now without noise or vibration. My only disappointment is that I don't have it functioning well on all points of sail. I thought it would always power my amp hungry autopilot when sailing. You'll notice I have a line (staysail halyard) jammed in the shaft of the wind generator in this photo. This was a singular stupid event and not a problem.

'take care and joy, Aythya crew

[shadow]

How would installing the wind gen on the mast head?? Would that be better, worse or nor difference at all?? On the masthead, would the vibration be better, worse or about the same??

Let me know if that's a better option or not??

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by shadow

How would installing the wind gen on the mast head?? Would that be better, worse or nor difference at all?? On the masthead, would the vibration be better, worse or about the same??

Let me know if that's a better option or not??

If it was a tall mast, You would have to increase the wire size to compensate for the current requirements. This might be prohibitive.

[Howard Just]

At the top of the mizzen it is out of the way and has better wind exposure, but this position has several major disadvantages:

The longer cable run means much thicker wires, resulting in significant additional weight, not to mention the weight of the heavy unit even higher up in the rig.

Worst of all it is extremely difficult to service at the masthead. Can you imagine sitting in a bosun's chair at the top of the mizzen trying to repair of remove this heavy, unwieldy thing that is trying to spin in the wind, a few feet above your head.

When my unit failed, mounted just above the spreader, I was able to stand on the spreaders and easily reach the equipment for testing, and then attach a halyard while I was removing it, and lowering it down to the deck.

To me, it was still quite a difficult job that would have been almost impossible above the masthead.

Mounting halfway down the mast is a bit of a hazard for the mizzen staysail, but there are ways to take care of this.

I have a spare halyard that I move over to gently jam the windvane (after activating the stop switch) before hoising the mizzen staysail. This works like a charm, and I have had no problems using the staysail for the past several years.

I highly recommend the mid-mizzen position.

[shadow]

Makes sense, thanks for the real work experience and scenarios!!

[wmgysi]

We did mount a wind generator from West Marine and I think the one you mention is the one we had. It had 3 blades about 1.5 feet long. It was mounted on the mizzen mast on a ferro cement boat crossing the Atlantic. Under normal opperation the wind generator was charging at about 3 to 5 amps and ran quietly. We had an aft cabin and it was ok to fall asleep. I had a 1/2 inch rubber matt between the two aluminium flat bars that sandwiched the mast. I also used one brace at 45 degrees downwards.
In winds at 50 knots the noise got at your nerve but as it was loud anyways it is bearable when on deck. We had stronger winds and the LED on the underside of the generator quit showing that it is working, however it still worked as usual. I was glad to have mounted the amper meter in line to see what charge came in. You can see some pictures of the boat at www.geocities.com/wgysi. However we mounted the wind generator only shortly before we crossed and no picture is on the net. If you want to see one I can dig it out. We did the crossing in 1997 and I should have the book out this summer for readers. It will title it A Family Of Six At Sea On A Cement Boat. Take care

Originally Posted by tomj

Any thoughts (pro and con) about mounting a wind generator on the Mizzen Mast (Alberg 37 Yawl), and thoughts on the AIR-X generator. Have heard some good reports on the AIR-X generator, and saw quite a few AIR-Xs on our trip to the Bahamas last fall (2006).

Comments on 'Real Life' noise (including vibration/noise telegraphed to hull through mizzen) , power output, and mizzen mast mounts are appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom in Kinsale, VA