On Mon, 09 May 2005 00:04:26 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Mic writes:

Do these trolling motors have permanent magnet motors?

I believe that is the case. But the prop pitch is quite wrong for a
turbine.

Water moving horizontally at 10 knots equals about a 4 foot static head
pressure. If you figure out how to economically generate power from that,
get a patent, because there is endless tidal energy available at that
differential.

Well I have re-research this concept and am providing the following
links:

In the current circumnavagation of a CAT
"Bumfuzzle"http://www.bumfuzzle.com/
In the http://www.bumfuzzle.com/LogsDates.htm
May '05 Australia doing the Tasman crossing figured they use 3X more
power on passage than at anchor.

An I think that making power on passage is more vital than when at
anchor, radar, autopilot, navlights, etc.

Towed water gennys, even if just the prop to a rail mounted genny just
has too many issues.

The idea of a trolling motor as a water gen "may" have potential or a
homebrew version there of.

http://www.sailnet.com/collections/a...eid=jeffre0020
One of the most underrated and least-understood pieces of gear on the
marine market is the water-powered generator.

http://www.re-energy.ca/t-i_waterbuild-1.shtml
Small-Scale Hydroelectric Generator
You will be building an electrical generator as part of this project.

http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_hydro.html
There is only about 3 feet of head available at the site, and the
system is producing about 2 amps at 12VDC, fed by a 4 inch pipe. Check
out the page about it HERE.http://www.otherpower.com/scotthydro1.html

http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower...aterwheel.html
A while back, one of our neighbors constructed a water wheel generator
using a squirrel cage fan, belt, pulley and surplus tape drive motor
that produced a steady 1-2 amps of power, 24 hours a day.

http://www.absak.com/diagram/index.html
Home Power System Diagrams
Each diagram details the components needed to operate various
alternative energy systems.

http://www.absak.com/basic/water-power.html#3
Impulse Style Water Turbines
These types of water generator* work best in sites where the water
source has high head* (20 feet or more). Head is the vertical distance
between where the water enters the turbine system (in this case, into
a pipeline) and where it reaches the turbine runner.

http://www.re-energy.ca/t-i_waterbuild-2.shtml
Small-Scale Hydroelectric Generator
Build It!

http://microhydropower.net/

http://www.absak.com/catalog/product.../products_id/3

Aquair U.W. Water Turbine
Ampair's 100 watt Aquair UW water generator is a very durable,
versatile solution for home or marine hydroelectric power. The forward
facing 3 bladed propeller drives a permanent magnet alternator
producing up to 8 Amps output current for a 12 volt system.
PDF specification link,,,,on above url
The PDF give an excellent chart of RPM VS. Amp output

http://www.absak.com/catalog/product...roducts_id/712
Aqua4Gen Tow-Behind Hydro Turbine
LVM Ltd's 100 watt Aqua4Gen water turbine is a unique semi-submersible
design. Designed for use as a tow-behind generator to supply power to
recreational boats, it could also be installed above a fast-moving
river to supply power to a cabin or campsite.
It starts to generate power at 2.5 knots boat speed, and produces up
to a continuous 11 amps at 8 knots boat speed when fitted with large
turbine blades (110mm), and 10 amps at 10 knots with smaller blades
(90mm) installed.

http://www.absak.com/catalog/product...products_id/10
Nautilus Hydro Turbine
It will power your home and shop for generations on as little as four
feet of head.

http://www.wondermagnets.com/cgi-bin...at/WMSstore.pl
The World's Strongest Magnets!

http://microhydropower.net/literature.html
Layman's guide on how to develop a small hydro site
http://microhydropower.net/download/layman2.pdf

http://www.kansaswindpower.net/Catalogs.htm
Has Solar, Wind, Hydro, Diesel electric equipment to make your own
electricity plus: DC water pumps, Ram pumps, Waterless composting
toilets, Radios, DC motors, Wood-fired water heaters, Solar cookers,
Fans, Lights, Books. Propane powered—refrigerators, freezers, lights,
heaters, ranges, tankless water heaters and much more.

http://www.kissenergy.com/
This wind generator was designed to supply the energy needs of the
average cruising sailboat from the wind energy available in a typical
Caribbean anchorage.
http://www.kissenergy.com/PracticalSailor.html
Review of this Wind genny

http://www.suntrekenergy.com/hydro.htm
How much power can you generate?
The amount of power available depends on the dynamic head, the amount
of water flow and the efficiency of the turbine/generator combination.
To get an idea about available power in watts, multiply the head in
feet, times flow in GPM, times 0.18 times efficiency. Turbine
efficiency ranges from 25% to 50%, with higher efficiency at higher
heads. To get a rough idea, use 0.30 (representing 30%) as a
multiplier for efficiency.

The pressure at the lowest point of a pipeline is equal to 0.433 times
the vertical distance in feet, called head.