The List
The one thing that is constant on a boat is a large project to-do list. Boat owners may choose to ignore some of the non-critical items on The List but that does not mean that they go away. And for every item that does get completed and crossed off The List, there is almost always an equivalent addition, or if you’re not so lucky, two or more.
Yesterday, during one of the sunny breaks, Rebecca took down our cockpit sunscreen / water-catchment system to re-stitch some of the seams that were coming apart. This was a successful job as we were able to both start and complete it in the same day, checking it off The List. That is a rare occurrence.
This 220V sewing machine came with the boat. It worked OK but if money was not an issue,
we’d much rather have a heavy-duty Sailrite machine.
Our watermaker has been an ongoing source of difficulty for us, and I’ve had to invest numerous hours messing with it to get it to function properly. At the moment, I may have the issues sorted but it’s definitely not the system that I would prefer. It remains on The List.
Coincidentally, just after one of our friends commented on how quiet our wind generator was, it developed a peculiar noise that had not been present before. After inspecting it, I’ve come to believe that the main bearing is due for replacement. The manual says that these bearings have a life span of 3-7 years. My guess is that this one has led a long and active life, and is now due to be retired. It has been added to The List.
If you look closely, you’ll see that the blades are tied off to prevent it from turning.
Fortunately, none of the items that are presently on The List are deal breakers for us, and this is especially true because next Sunday we have guests arriving who will be spending a week with us on Frost. This is actually the first of three couples who will be visiting us over the holidays (and early January) and we want to make sure that everything is perfect for their stay.
It seems most people let them turn all the time, long after the need for charging is gone. Annoying. I’m sure it will last longer if you secure it when not needed. They secure the props on airplanes, don’t they?
But unless you are plugged in to shore power, how often are the batteries ever really full? Never? Why not let it continue to trickle charge? In my opinion the only reason to secure the blades is during a period of extremely high wind.
It seems that this would be a common feature, an integrated blade lock. One thing that I hear on every sailing blog and article is about how noisy/rude people are that park next to you with wind generators.
Sounds like a business opportunity for someone!
Different wind generators have different methods of securing the blades. Some are done manually and others electrically.
As for the noise, that also varies from model to model. Ours is virtually silent. Even the noisiest ones never bothered me. It’s the sound of free electricity! In my opinion many people are far too sensitive. The people who complain about wind generator noise are likely the same ones running their generators several hours each day.