Hydrogenerators are also increasingly found on cruising yachts. But especially on fast boats such as catamarans or performance cruisers, failures due to excessive speeds are possible. The problem: The propellers optimized for slow travel are so big that they create too much drag in the water at higher speeds. The blades of the propeller then often break; but if they hold, the generator delivers so much energy that the charge controller is overwhelmed and can then be damaged in turn (this is what happened with Henrik Masekowitz; see article below). Alternatively, there are hydrogen generators for racers, these have smaller propellers, but only produce significant energy from a speed of about eight knots.
The wings are each set to the maximum speed
Watt & Semit now closes this gap between professional power station and globetrotter whisk with an adjustable propeller. Each of the three propeller blades can be set to the maximum boat speed using an Allen key. You can choose between 12, 16, 22 and 28 knots maximum speed. The faster the boat, the less drag the wings offer in the water. This setting is made once and cannot be changed during operation.
Electricity from hydropower: the Watt & Sea hydro generator, caught up here and still with the non-adjustable propeller
The new propeller is offered as an additional part and is compatible with the 300 and 600 watt versions of the Watt & Sea hydrogen generator for cruising sailors. But according to the German distributor of Tom Logisch, the adjustable prop only makes sense in the 600 watt version. It can of course be ridden on both the long and the short shaft variant. The adjustable propeller is available now and costs 293 euros. For comparison: the non-adjustable replacement propeller costs just under 200 euros.
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