Chinook Dreams

I've just read on Lucky Duck's blog that they are selling their Rutland 913 wind turbine.

Just to try to drum up some customers for them, a word about ours:

We've had it for very nearly two years now, and jolly good it is too!

We are already noticing that the lengthening hours of daylight are pouring free solar amps into the battery bank, and with Windy the Turbine taking up the slack during the night and adding to the solar effort by day, we are waking to see the voltage traffic-light on green/amber rather than the more usual amber/red. The Duck's controller allows the addition of solar panels too, so you could augment the one with the other in the same way.

We went to a fair bit of trouble insulating the boat between metal roof and wooden ceiling, so the famous 'Marlec Moan' is now no more than a rather pleasing hum. If anyone wants the 'how too' details, just leave a comment and I'll do a retrospective post about it.

(Incidentally, even the experts, [well, okay, James Duck, actually....] have been confounded by Blogger not letting me comment on my own blog, so I can't reply that way, but will do so in the post itself. Computers, eh?)

Obviously, our exposed fen-edge location is ideal for optimising wind turbine power: There's basically sod-all in the way of a windbreak between us and the Urals! But even if it blows more moderately where you are, think on this: even when you're at work, away for the weekend, at the shops, or in the pub, if there's a breath of breeze, you'll be getting some power.

And as with all renewables, the initial cost of purchase means it starts at £400 per amp, and then just goes on getting cheaper and cheaper.

Some say it's not cost effective: You can buy a lot of red diesel for your generator with £400. True, but you don't have to be there to turn it on and off, it won't upset the neighbours (the only sound you hear outside a Rutland equipped boat is a rather delicious swooshy noise), and you can be away the whole weekend and come back to a fridge full of cold beer (whatever that is....) and not have shot your batteries to hell in the process.

And I haven't even started on the whole Green issue yet!!!!!

So go on, buy The Duck's turbine, quick, before I decide to ignore my Beloved's wishes, and splurge the proceeds of the Fuel Cube sale on turning The Mighty Pippin into the only twin-rotor-helicopter-boat on the Cam!!