This week on Luckyfish We continue our journey towards total energy
independence and fit a state of the art wind generator to our masthead.
Well look at the pros and cons of a mast head mounting position and wind generators in general
And we run into an unexpected problem
Some folks may ask, why a wind generator?
Well firstly, they have come a long way in recent years with virtually silent blades
and high efficiency 3 phase AC generators.
The unique benefit of the wind generator over
solar is the ability to keep you batteries in a high state of charge overnight on anchor
Fridges and freezers can run overnight and when the sun comes up in the morning the batteries
are topped off in just a few hours. The downside of wind generators is they have
moving parts and, these need to be replaced occasionally.
Each source of power has a unique application and by using solar, hydro and wind combined with our sails,
we can live on the hook and cruise indefinitely, without the need for a diesel or petrol generator.
In order to maximise the wind generators performance, the obvious solution is to position it as
high as possible. The higher you go, the faster the wind. When this is combined with the almost
exponential power output curve of most wind generators, we see how a small increase in
height can make a huge difference in energy yield.
Fortunately, on a sailboat, we already have masts in place that are completely suited
to the purpose. But, placing it so high above the deck presents
some problems. Servicing the unit becomes difficult. Shutting the unit down in high
wind speeds needs to be done remotely and, there is the possibility of bird strike, potentially
very messy and not good for the bird. I was willing to live with the first problem
it was a small price to pay for the added efficiency of having it up there. The second
problem narrowed it down to the choice of just 2 machines. The SuperWind 350 which uses
feathering blades and the Rutland 1200 which uses electronic shutdown and the only unit
that can be shut down this way indefinitely. The performance of the two units is similar
and I chose the Rutland due to its lighter weight.
We had a mounting pole made locally and bolted it to the mast head. To reduce vibration I
inserted a quarter inch piece of rubber to test if it would be sufficient.
Thats the wind instrument wiring. We have to be really careful with that one because
it was broken when it was installed the first time. Thats a replacement.
Just moving the wires from the aft mast to the foremast and its going to require an exit
hole like this. Just drilling a pilot hole. The wooden plug in the base of the mast comes
up to about here. Hopefully we are going to clear it.
To make room for the wind generator we moved the VHF antennae, wind instruments and tri
colour to the foremast.
Oi... you scared me.
Then drilled an exit hole in the base of the main mast large enough to take the 3 core
8 gauge generator cable. So, that went straight through and didnt go
into wood, which is marvelous. And now we can break out the big guns
OK thats it nicely done
We borrowed a fishing tape to run all the cables back in.
We are going to hook the wire now. I like your confidence
It was there Have you got it? Got it?
Oh nice work. Make a loop....
[MUSIC]
Yew. Thats it.
With the generator mounted on the pole and the mast cable installed, the next step was
joining the cables. Heatshrinking. Sealing the connection between
the wind generator and the main cable before it runs down the mast
What is that white stuff? Thats just a marine sealant
Fifty two hundred. Its a 3M product. Pretty good stuff.
Sticks. Weatherproof and all that. You want the coffee with the Khushuur this
morning? Oh, coffee and khushuur fantastic
Bring it on. Over here? Yeah, we need it because its a winter morning.
Crazy winter weather We had frost on the boat this morning
Ice Frozen stiff in Florida. Who would of thought?
I couldnt believe it. Yeah. Freezing cold last night.
It was freezing. There we go.
Its interesting, looking at the way these blades are bolted together
You would think this is the most vulnerable area for the thing to destroy itself
But theyve gone for a really simple fastening method
Simple M6 machine screw and a nyloc nut set in a plastic recess in the back of the blade
Thats it. No washers They obviously think that is sufficient
So, I thought I would just take you through a quick walkthrough the top of the mast
the mainmast which we dont often see. Before it goes up
This is the pole that we have had made for the wind generator
Its just a standard aluminium pole designed to fit the base of the wind generator
Its only around 22 inches long Weve got the power, the power comes down into
what is 8 gauge triplex wire
There is a splice in here sealed with 5200 on the inside of the heat
shrink back into the inside of the mast here
weve just used cable clamps here there is a fair bit of weight in this triplex
hanging down inside the mast and we want to try and prevent that from slipping
back through the hole its just well and truly stayed against the
mast here to prevent any vibration and any wear on the insulation
so thats the base of the wind genny
the next thing down we are just about to spray the blocks with
silicone spray shortly just to make sure these are running free
good idea to do that every now and again Zaya's just been around, we noticed some of
these split rings we have had them open up on the deck level
blocks so she has just woven stainless wire
around the split rings to make sure they dont open up and come out
all the shackles are seized with stainless wire
and then there are parts for wear on the Wharram rig
the way the hounds work, where they go over these hound fittings here
we have just rounded those corners away to try and prevent any kinks in the stainless
wire One other trick that we have found
having the mast down once before when we put them back up again
it was important to have the the, errr, whatever you want to call these
the loops the collars or loops that go over the hounds
to have these in line with the stays because this rubber grips against the mast
and if it is slightly out of line you will have a kink here where the stay finds
its way down to the chainplate
so we have put them where we think they ought to go
which is, for the top stays they are the forestays
on the back mast and they just pass in front of the hounds, the lower hounds,
which are for the back stays.
and they pass out the back at this angle here so we have just taped them to restrain them
and that tape will just break off when we tighten up the rig
thats about it other maintenance on the masts
we have just been around and checked for corrosion and any electrolysis
where the stainless is boiling the paint off the aluminium
there were quite a few little spots like that we have just ground those back to fresh aluminium
and thrown some primer on there and painted it with the
International 990 which is the paint thats over the whole boat
so anytime we fit any stainless steel against aluminium
we are using that product Duralac which is a chromium barite
or a barium chromate or one of those things but it basically stops the
electrolysis setting in between disimilar metals
so all of these things are seated with that yellow stuff
to help prevent that Its here
and you can see it basically anywhere you put a stainless fastening
through aluminium that stuff is critical
and unfortunately very expensive alright thats it
With the generator fitted it was time to raise the main mast.
OK that was video! This amazing group of people, Chris, Malinda,
Curtis and Gerry all dropped what they were doing to help.
It's bad when the erection crew goes viral [LAUGHTER]
We covered the mast raising and lowering system in last weeks video, linked above.
Well, you can bring it all the way across I think Curtis ended up with the heavy end
We are going to go slightly towards you before we go in right?
We can do that Hang on
We have got to do it altogether alright? so, just a sec eh?
so, ready, 3,2, 1 and lift
beautiful and then forward slightly
how you looking there? are you able to go down?
slow back to you
how are you feeling mate? good. everythings good back here
[inaudible] in one compartment you will find where the
washers are how you looking there honey? good
ok, everyone clear of the mast gerry. you know where you are jumping if something
goes? Chris, you know where you are jumping
Ok its gotta come toward me a little bit we are about to go past our point
now, ok, well we have got stays on it the stays look like they are going to do the
job ok now real steady because we are going to
go past that point what I suggest is someone moving out to each
of the two sidestays and taking thier weight. yeah.
working together you just going to pull it towards you a little
hold a bit of weight on it ok its going
guys lean back on those wires ok just ease it back now
you guys have got control of it nice and slow
its ready now ok its going
nice and slow there we go
let it go back guys, both of you thats it, shes hanging on the stays
Woohoo Just putting in a thru hull
for the wind gen battery 2 supply its just an irrigation fitting, 3/4 inch
should take 2 of those 6 gauge wires drilled the hole with a hole saw
sealed it up with one coat of West and now, it was a good sort of threaded fit
the hole saw, for this inch and a quarter thread
so it taps into the plywood, into the epoxy, 5200
helps seal it anyway what are you working on
I am connecting the Battery 2 cables The rotor was restrained from spinning until
the charge controller was connected to the batteries.
Hows it going up there? Fine
Once connected, Zaya went up the mast to remove the rope.
We waited for 3 weeks before seeing enough wind to get it spinning. Now the bearings
are run in it starts charging at 5 knots As a sequel to the wind generator installation
we found that as the machine ran in it started to develop a small
knocking sound it seems to do it when it is de-powering a
little more than when it is powering up
I rang Rutland and had a chat to their technical guy
and they seem to think that one of the blades is loose
all the machines are tested before they leave the factory
so they dont think it is one of the two bearings in it
which means that we have to service the machine right at the top of the mast
Its going to be a bit of a reach the bosuns chair will probably get me to within
a couple of feet of the hub of the machine
so I am just about to make a step and see if that works
Im just going to machine up this piece of teak,
which is off Brandon Gambles "Element" one of the discarded parts of his boat which
he has kindly given to us Ready for some drill holes
for the bridles to attach it to the top of the mast
About one metre Lew Righto
Yeah, one of the blades is a little bit loose Alright, maybe send up the step
I hooked myself to the generator pole using a safety harness
so, go ahead and pull it up? Yeah
Lew dropped what he was doing on his pretty Marples trimaran
to give Zaya a hand getting me up the mast I then tied the step around the base of the
pole Thats slick.
Yeah Yeah, it was fun.
After lowering the rotor to the deck, we tightened all the bolts.
I dont know. It would be nice to have them recommend that you pull that all
the way in there. Yeah. But Id tighten on it
It looks like there is one blade that is possibly loose
you cant detect that it is loose on the ground though
when it was mounted on the hub you could certainly feel a little bit of, just slight movement
in one blade and the other two were quite tight
it interesting that that would make the knocking sound
Isnt it? you would think that if that main nut was
off but that nut was tight right? you worked hard
to get that nut off i know, they say "not too tight" but you want
them tight... [LAUGHS]
After re-fitting and waiting a few days for some wind, w e were pretty disappointed to
learn the knocking sound was still there. Another call to Rutland suggested they thought
it was a loose main hub nut this time. We had guests arriving in Nassau in 2 weeks and
still a bunch of jobs to do plus, 400 miles to sail, so we decided to run it as is and
fix it when we have more time. The knocking sound became a lot less once
the boat went in the water, and only on certain wind angles. We hope to resolve the problem
once and for all this year. As for the humming sound. Its vibration that is likely traveling
past the rubber pad via the 4 mounting bolts, and then down the mast. If any viewers have
suggestions for a mount that reduces vibration, wed love to hear from you.
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