"Charlie Morgan" wrote in message
...
On 25 Sep 2006 06:35:53 -0700, "ripple" wrote:

Kiss has a good rep, and a good review from practical sailor, but it
has huge blades with a 29" radius and is strong but primitive. I
wonder about the quietness with those sized blades.


Loud. I'm not sure how the system works, but I suspect the blade pitch
changes with alternator load. Or perhaps the blades just accelerate when
the alternator load is released. It sounds like a constant-speed airplane
propeller being fed cruise pitch during run-up. When it happens it can be
heard all over our marina; even below decks. It's annoying in a noisy
marina. I can only imagine how irritating it might be in a peaceful
anchorage.

Max