Watt & Sea Hydro Generator Review

by

‘Wattsson', a Watt & Sea 600 watt hydro generator, has become part of the Isbjorn (our Swan 48) family. He joins ‘R2-D2’, our autopilot, as simultaneously our most and least favourite pieces of gear on the boat.

We sail Isbjorn 10,000 miles a year, and Wattsson happily hums along, day and night, providing all of our electrical needs at sea and then some. However, it's taken a full year and nearly $10,000 to finally work out the kinks, but I still think he is worth it...to us. Here's why, and why he might not be worth it to you.

To continue reading:

Login

Or

Learn About Membership

Or

Get to know us for FREE

  1. One Simple Law That Makes Electrical Systems Easy to Understand
  2. How Batteries Charge (Multiple Charging Sources Too)
  3. How Hard Can We Charge Our Lead Acid Batteries?
  4. Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 1—Loads and Conservation
  5. Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 2—Thinking About Systems
  6. Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 3—Specifying Optimal Battery Bank Size
  7. The Danger of Voltage Drops From High Current (Amp) Loads
  8. How Lead Acid Batteries Get Wrecked and What To Do About It
  9. 11 Steps To Better Lead Acid Battery Life
  10. 10 Tips To Install An Alternator
  11. Stupid Alternator Regulators Get Smarter…Finally
  12. WakeSpeed WS500—Best Alternator Regulator for Lead Acid¹ and Lithium Batteries
  13. Smart Chargers Are Not That Smart
  14. Equalizing Batteries, The Reality
  15. Battery Monitors, Part 1—Which Type Is Right For You?
  16. Battery Monitors, Part 2—Recommended Unit
  17. Battery Monitors, Part 3—Calibration and Use
  18. Do You Need A Generator?
  19. Efficient Generator-Based Electrical Systems For Yachts
  20. Battery Bank Size and Generator Run Time, A Case Study
  21. Battery Options, Part 1—Lithium
  22. Battery Options, Part 2—Lead Acid
  23. Why Lithium Battery Load Dumps Matter
  24. 8 Tips To Prevent Lithium Battery Load Dumps
  25. Lithium Ion Batteries Explained
  26. Should Your Boat’s DC Electrical System Be 12 or 24 Volt?—Part 1
  27. Should Your Boat’s DC Electrical System Be 12 or 24 Volt?—Part 2
  28. Q&A—Are Battery Desulphators a Good Idea?
  29. Renewable Power
  30. Wind Generators
  31. Solar Power
  32. Hydro Power
  33. Watt & Sea Hydro Generator Review
  34. A Simple, Efficient and Inexpensive¹ 12 or 24 Volt DC Electrical System
  35. 8 Checks To Stop Our DC Electrical System From Burning Our Boat

Share a Link

Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn

Andy Schell is the co-founder of 59º North Sailing, which takes paying crew on offshore sailing passages around the Atlantic, Arctic, Caribbean and beyond. They are currently refitting the Farr 65 FALKEN as their new flagship, while they operate their Swan 59 ICEBEAR and Swan 48 ISBJORN in the meantime. Andy founded and hosts the ON THE WIND sailing podcast and recently launched the online seamanship platform The QUARTERDECK. Andy has sailed over 100,000 miles offshore, including 5 Atlantic crossings and an expedition to 80º North in Svalbard in 2018. Check them out at 59-north.com.

Subscribe
Notify of
36 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments