Quote:
Originally Posted by Bash
unfortunately, the same hyperbole keeps being posted over and over and over and over and over by the same person. he always begins his claim with a simile ("like a weed whacker") and then follows it up with a claim to have done empirical measurement.
a strange approach to empiricism.
|
You mean me? Are you suggesting I'm not telling the truth Bash?
Our
boat has a
single skin of 3/8"
plywood. Not at all soundproof! It also has a central
cockpit with both cabins divided by the
cockpit. We have a huge open port in the back
cabin, that is 14" tall X almost 4' long, 1' from our heads. In the front
cabin we have two 4' wide bunks that has the occupants
head within 3' of the open screened
companionway, and at the SAME level, not below it. At
anchor, we also have 3 open
deck hatches.
Besides the way that sound not only travels, but can be magnified over
water, we have a lifestyle equivalent to living "outside" of the cabin, sound wise. Our
boat is very possibly the LEAST sound proof ever designed. It was intended to be the ideal tropical cruiser in it's ventilation, AND it's closeness to the sea and surrounding
environment.
This is "great", except when we are forced into loud
marinas, or
anchorages with folks that insist on screaming, barking
dogs, loud rap
music, zooming jetskis, or the 3
wind generators made by Southwest Windpower. All of these are totally antisocial, unnecessary behaviors, and drive us up a wall.
Like so many others... we went cruising for the quiet serenity of bucolic
anchorages, NOT to hear the drone of high pitched, rapidly fluctuating weed whackers. (Which is exactly what they sound like).
It always amazes me how much more soundproof monohulls are. They are double walled with a dead air space created by the liner, and 50% of the boat under
water level. We live on the "outside", and our boat isn't like that at all. Our largest living space is in the cockpit, sitting in "Sport A Sets", reading, for MOST of the day.
There are about a dozen brands of wind generators out there. I have had a QUIET one on my previous boat, as well as this one for a while, and followed their progress for over 30 years. The AirMarine, Air X, AND to a lesser degree... the AirBreeze, are the ONLY "obnoxiously loud" wind generators made in the world. NO other brand comes close! Also, it is not as much the volume, as the "nature" of the sound. It is like the squeaking of chalk on a blackboard, or dragging foldup auditorium chairs on a linoleum floor... Most people cringe! I have no doubt that a few don't hear it at all.
I have spent over 2,000 nights on the hook, "often" in an anchorage with MANY brands... Wind Bugger, Four Winds, AroGen, LMG,
Rutland, AimpAir, Kiss, etc.
None of them were audible for more than 150' or so, and some, like my AmpAir were totally silent, even right under it. The loudest of the larger ones, made a helicopter like, "whop whop whop". It was like white
noise, not annoying, and not nearly as loud.
At a SSCA meeting once, I had gotten there 3 days early to get some
work done on
deck. I later had to move for an encroaching Air X, then I moved again for another. The third day of this, I first noted my
GPS position, and then moved far enough away that I could barely hear them, (although I could occasionally hear it). I had the Capn program up, and did a "distance to". It was 1/4 of a mile! This made for such a long
dinghy ride, that I haven't returned. And "they" have a motto of "leave a clean wake"!
I'm not making this up! BTW, my wife had often complained that my hearing is NOT as good as it used to be.
I have heard similar comments from sooo many other cruisers as well. Most hate that ONE brand of wind gen. above all others. THEY hear it too, EVEN at great distances. This is why it is a frequent topic on CF. If you look back, you'll see that they offend a lot of folks, although many are afraid to speak up.
It is just that the perpetrators of this offensive behavior don't see it that way. Either they don't know, because it just doesn't bother "them", OR they don't care, (because, like cigarette smokers, they can't "really believe" that NON smokers are genuinely offended by being forced to breath their smoke, these folks can't believe others are annoyed by a noise that doesn't bother them).
Unfortunately... A very few even think: "I gotta right damnit", Screw you!
I suspect that a large number are actually very considerate people, and find themselves dismayed by the noise when they get an Air X installed. The thing is that they need
power, the thing works, and they figure "they must all be the same". Besides, it's payed for, what can they do?
What they can do, if they are already stuck with one of these, is get the aftermarket (= "quieter") blades that are available, and buy smarter next time.
It is only MASSIVE advertising and
price breaks to West
Marine and the like, that have made the catalogs push that brand, and this gives the false impression that they are the best, or the only
generator out there. NOT TRUE FOLKS!
Mostly, my comments have NOT been to people who have these already. If those cruisers "care" about the rest of us, who don't like the noise, they can shut them down when sharing an anchorage, or get quieter blades and
anchor out of hearing range for them. If my comments have offended anyone, I apologize sincerely. I am only trying to "inform" them of how it effects us and many others.
For those who plan to make this, or any other kind of 24/7 loud noise in the anchorage, and DON'T CARE about the other folks that were there first, just tell us on your way in. If it is not too late in the day, we will move to a "quieter neighborhood". (Although we shouldn't have to.)
For those simply asking about a choice of
wind generator, like this thread ... I am giving you the benefit of decades of "living among them", and telling you, that the Air Marine/Air X are 10 times over the loudest and most irritating
pitch and nature, of any other brand. (There is a consensus on this). The new Air Breeze is a big improvement in volume, but not
pitch and nature. Rather than being audible for 1,300', they are only audible for about 300'. (I paced it off at a marina until I couldn't hear it). In my
installation business, I refuse to install any of them. If you buy one of these Air Breezs, and "care", just be aware that there is a 600' circle of noise around your boat, and anchor accordingly.
There are a LOT of other, quieter, choices out there! Many are almost TOTALLY silent, but have lower output. I like the smaller ones... Of the medium sized ones with GOOD output, I'd go with the Kiss. It will produce as much or more
power, and the sound is a non fluctuating, soft, medium frequency whirrr, like a window fan. It can be heard no more than about 75', and very few find it annoying. I anchored right next to one at length.
One last note about your boat/installation. After having a wind gen on my last two boats I have found that the "transmitted noise", which is the vibration heard down below, can vary depending on the boat and
installation. We had a totally silent brand, and it was silent down below as well. This was not true when we mounted the same generator on our
current boat. It HOWLED down below on this one. The difference was the struts! IF they and the pole go to a sealed away, NON living or "open" part of the boat,
transmission is low. If they come down to an aft cabin or quarter berth, it can transmit a LOT!
Also, we found that wind generators give more than we needed 10% of the time, and "0" the other 90%. The 110W
solar panel we replaced it with, delivers good power 90% of the year. EVEN on cloudy days, and we get ALL of our amps back. We're 100%
solar self sufficient, 90% of the year, and the silence is golden as well.
Seriously... No offense intended to anyone, just telling the truth to those interested, while NOT intending to step on the others toes.
Good
shopping,
Mark
BTW... I know nothing about the D400s. They are new to me and may well be the way to go?