A needful read, some thoughts of note, and in the “giving a shit but not giving a fuck” department…
The other day, I happened on a mention of a towing generator over on Sailing Anarchy. Being curious, I watched the video and the generator in question was the Ampair Aquair. It brought back some memories.
Back when we were cruising in Europe we’d bought such a beast. It produced about 80-90% of the electricity we consumed. The fact that it could be used for towing or as a wind generator was a great design. Granted, at the time, we used very little electricity but the Ampair, while expensive for us at the time, more than paid for itself.
Looking up Ampair online was a bit depressing as the company seems to be out of business. That got me thinking about how the general state of affairs of good boat gear is all kinds of bad. Most of the gear I lusted for in the 1980s and 90s is no longer made. Or if it is, they’ve been absorbed into bigger profit-centered behemoths.
Behemoths that monopolize and price gouge for gear that is built to low standards and who consider customer support something to be ignored.
Sadly, it appears, that if you want to have something along the lines of an Aquair you’ll have to find a used one or build one yourself.
It’s a pretty simple concept to DIY. So no real rocket science involved.
A worthy project to look into…