Valuable energy on a boat
Electricity is an indispensable resource for many modern life and navigation equipment. Producing and storing it are major issues on our pleasure boats, and doing so while limiting the use of fossil fuels is an obvious choice for those who are concerned about the environment. If commercial solutions exist with wind turbines, hydrogen generators or solar panels, the Nomade des mers crew has tested low-tech solutions, which can be manufactured by oneself. Details are available on the Low-tech Lab resource wiki.
Electricity by force of arms or legs
A crew has energy in it. All that remains is to find a way to transform it into electricity so that it can be stored and concentrated. To turn a generator, the sailors of Nomade des mers have connected a bicycle pedal and its chain. Fixed on a plate, this mobile charging system can be placed on the floor of the saloon to pedal with the legs or higher to operate it with the arms.
Corentin de Chatelperron, initiator of the Nomade des mers project, confirms its usefulness in boats. "We use it to recharge batteries for headlamps or phones for example. It's good when there's no sun for the panels. It gives you exercise. During the last transatlantic race, it was a lot of fun for the crew and during the night watches, some of them spent all evening on it!"
A low-tech wind turbine
It's a shame not to take advantage of the wind's strength. Nomade des mers is also equipped with a home-made wind generator. The generator is made of a recovered printer engine mounted in reverse mode to serve as a generator. The wind turbine blades are made from cut PVC pipes. If it does not have the performance of an industrial model, its budget is quite different. Corentin de Chatelperron confirms its relevance. "We go up to 20W of power, which allows us to recharge our small lithium battery cells used on our equipment."
Recovered computer batteries
On board Nomade des mers, many small pieces of equipment under test need electrical energy, even if it is minimal, such as a home-made headlamp. To power them, the crew uses computer battery cells, as the captain explains. "When a computer battery fails, it's usually just one cell that's defective. We salvage the others for our projects."
If each one will place the cursor where he wants, to produce its energy oneself has what to allure the yachtsman DIY.
