Newporter 40 Together

a beautiful boat should sail forever.

Anyone know of a tow behind or tip down generator for sale in LA- SanDiego area?
After much thought we have decided to go this route in combo with solar for off shore. ( instead of a 60" spinning prop blade that would live in an area i like to walk )
My autopilot requires battery as does nav equipment, not to mention the freezer and vacuflush , not to mention beer cooler.
Thanks for any leads.

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Comment by Clyde A. Phillips on April 17, 2013 at 11:20pm

I found the drawing Ack did on the "propeller shaft charger" and I'll soon have it so all can see.  I have them scanned in and the scanned version is as clear as the originals.  No magic numbers, like pulley sizes, but enough for it to be done.  The good part is the an idler shaft with two pulleys is used.  If the original choice of pulley diameters needs changing that seems a natural place to do the changing, leaving the drive pulley and the alternator pulley as they are.  Time will tell.

Comment by Eddie Offermann on April 16, 2013 at 10:56pm

I have stood over my engine compartment with the hatch open while making way and that shaft sure does get to spinning! I had exactly this thought at the time - what a great place to mount a pulley for a alternator.

Paul, I'll be fascinated if you add this little devil on. I'm passionate about redundant power - and ample storage - and would love a recent example of this option.

Comment by Clyde A. Phillips on April 16, 2013 at 9:44pm

Paul,

The alternator goes aft of the engine on a shop made bracket.  I found some drawings Ack make of the unit.  The drive pulley is mounted between the two halves of the coupling.  That's a good thing because on a Newporter there is not much shaft available to mount a pulley.  What is showing of the shaft is needed for stuffing box maintenance.  Ack approved that position and I'll not argue with him, but the coupling has a boss milled in the surfaces of the two halves that is needed to keep the two lined up properly.  Maybe the thickness of the pulley is less than the depth of the boss.  Our friend Bob, in the headquarters of this site, would be a good man to answer such questions.  In all, there are four pulleys in the system.  The first is the drive pulley on the shaft, the next two (one large, one small) are idlers bolted (I assume) together on a shaft mounted above the propeller shaft, and the fourth is on the alternator.  All the details that I'd like to see are not on the drawings.  Especially missed are the pulley sizes. 

It would take some trial and error experimentation to get it right.  I would start by sailing the boat up to speed and somehow get some rpm counts are various speeds, then developing the pulley combinations that would keep the alternator turning at productive speeds.  Simple enough to say.  It would take some doing, which can be fun, but your schedule may not allow the time needed.  I can only wish you good luck and get Ack's drawings out so you can have them.  I'll do that as soon as I can, but it won't be today.  I'll scan them into my computer then I may have to pass them through Photoshop to make them readable.  Old paper doesn't take well to these modern copiers, but hang in there, I'll get them to you (and every one else) soon.  

While I was typing in about the rpm's needed it came to me that this system depends on the boat making headway.  I've never been on the ocean without some wind, enough to make this rig usable, but we've all heard of the doldrums, and this would not work there.  So maybe a small generator is necessary.  I re-rigged the "Gleam" and was "tipped" by the owner in the amount of a weeks' sail to Martha's Vineyard.  Everyday he put a one lung gasoline powered generator on the deck and recharged the batteries.  Honda makes some that are (comparatively) quiet.  You can use this shaft driven rig to replace the wind driven rig because they both use the wind.  But it is nice to be able to charge your batteries under all conditions.  Keep us posted as to your progress on this.  Peace,  Clyde

Comment by paul ~ sv; pink cloud on April 15, 2013 at 10:43pm
Wow. ThAts a great idea! So the prop spins 24/7 while sailing , trans in neutral. That shaft just spins hour after. . I get the idea, but how and where does the gen go?
I like this idea much more than dragging a gen .
Sailors of old drank warm beer ive read clyde... I would love to not eorry anout my battery banks. But i know much the autopilot 6000 draws, 24/7 as well as freezer and refer. If for some reason the engine wont start when asked to charge batteries i need a fail safe way to have all the battery i want. And or Need for pilot and nav.
Thanks for the comment.
Comment by Clyde A. Phillips on April 15, 2013 at 8:31pm

Something to think about and that would need a knowledgeable person to figure it out to do the job: Three of so Newporters left the yard in Dorchester with an alternator driven by the propeller shaft that was spinning because the wind was moving the boat through the water.  There are a couple of critical areas of concern.  First, the gear ratio (pulley sizes), and second, the possible need for some oil pressure in the transmission for any of the parts thereof that will be turning.  Good luck in getting so equipped.  We modern people never seem to be able to get along without some source of electricity.  My first long trip (summer of 1948) that included several days of running time was done with an old wind up alarm clock and a compass.  We did have plenty of diesel power and 32 vdc electric, but that's all.  Now I wouldn't go half a day without a VHF radio: too cheap to leave home without it.

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THE ROSTER

Muf, our Keeper of the Roster, has updated it.  But he still needs information on boats out there that he doesn't have, like new owners, old owners, where any of the boats are.  We don't post the roster on the web site, it is only sent to owners.  Please send him anything you might have, or call him at:      

gmuf48@aol.com   

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Captain Clyde's Newporter  sites:

newporters.blogspot.com

and  

newporter.ning.com

The Ning site has been given a reprieve.   I have  transferred my Ning site to the blogspot site and will leave it there. I am keeping my Ning site open as a home for my photos and drawings.

Many of my photos there do not relate to Newporters, but a search through my collection may prove useful for your studies.

My drawings are not accurate in many respects as a result of the PAINT program used to draw them, There is no accurate scale and at best they are only useful to indicate some specific detail.  Some are inaccurate because of my poor memory.  Use them to help you think, not as a detailed presentation of the subject matter.

If any of you want to start a web site I suggest you remember what has happened to both my Ning site and this site (which is a Ning site) and remember that my Blogspot site is free and Blogspot's owner (Google) has promised to keep it that way.

 

Clyde's email:

camgphil@msn.com 

Put 'Newporter' on Subject Line.  Email is the best way to contact me.  I do not regularly look at this site or its messaging system.  Email will get to me post-haste. 

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