I just trimmed two heavy plastic (nylon) blocks to keep the mounting vertical, as transom is a nearly vertical classic.
Fitted with X 4 8 mm screws and bolts, with large washers
Lifted, the W&S stays vertically , under rear platform, well protected.
I never remove it.
I understand that in some cases, a special mount must be added to the transom, somehow like a wind vane, but smaller and lighter.
The manufacturer has many exemples of mountings on different transoms.

I never heard of any problem with the mounting.
The forces are not so important you can imagine.
The all system swings left and right with the water stream, and never resist against it.
I have tested the W&S in heavy following seas, with 10 knots + average speed, surfing the swell at 15-18 knts, nothing failed !
The only point is to fit a very powerfull pulley block (4:1 at least)or you 'll have to stop the boat when hauling down.
Should be wise to fit a "fuse" on the cleat in case of any encointer with an unidentified floating object.

I saw one of these installations on one of the boats in the pool at the recent Southampton Boat Show. The mounting system looked to me to be very lightweight and my initial assessment was that I would not trust it in heavy weather conditions. In heavy weather there will be a large shear force on the transom mounting caused by the transom moving laterally in relation to the water as the boat falls off a wave.

The performance looks excellent; only the mounting concerns me. How does the mounting on the "cruising" version compare with that of the ocean racing version, which is presumably well tested?

Interesting.

I am aware of a number of boats with this Watt & Sea kit. Some, smaller than your boat, have had difficulties with the mounting on the transom which has failed - and has now been remade in thick stainless steel.

Did you do any modifications to yours when you fitted it?

Frida, our Ocean 60 has a Watt & Sea hydro-generator fitted for 2 1/2 years.
It provides all the energy we need and much more, above 7 knots.
I could cross the Atlantic twice, forgetting the freezer (yes, we had ice creams in the middle of the Atlantic), fridge, auto pilot and so on...
We could freeze the gigantic wahoo catched on second day, and enjoy it up to the Azores.
I can 't remember using the diesel generator during passages !
Really a revolution in cruising, not only for Vendee Globe racers !
Watt & Sea is a small French start-up, from La Rochelle, my home town.
There are two different models for cruisers, one for lower speeds, and the one I use for speeds between 6 and 10 knots (up to 20).
No concerns with big fishes !
Our wind gen. is a D400, it could top up batteries in windy trade wind anchorages (steady 20 knts), with only one fridge in use.
Not bad, but with lighter winds, we had to set the diesel gen. up for one hour or two each day. Noise is not a concern, something like a light "woosh", not the terrific whistleling of others.
Our service battery bank is AGM, 450 Ah 24 V.
I carefully monitor the bank voltage, and start charging when 24.8 V is reached.
We use two 50 A Victron Skylla chargers in parallel for quick charge.
If shore amps is poor, or diesel gen busy we only use one charger (8 A)
Charge voltages are adjusted to the batteries and temperature...
No solar pannels...

I was using an Aquair towed generator on an Atlantic crossing and lost the impeller. The line was severed just ahead of the impeller and I assumed that it must have been a big fish that took it. They was no reason for the line to have chafed at that point.

John Franklin

JGBailey,
As I had mentioned earlier, it would have to be a hell of a 'big fish ' to go after a towing generator blade, and then it would regret it ! Think Great White Shark or Killer Whale.
It 's more myth than any reality. :silly:

Has anyone ever had a serious problem with BIG FISH attacking a towed generator? I 've never had a problem.

Has anyone ever had a serious problem with BIG FISH attacking a towed generator? I ve never had a problem.

It looks like with solar panels, wind generator, towing generator and diesel generator you have covered all the energy sources on a boat. We have used those 4 at different moments and each has it 's own window of use. While under way we have found that the solar panels and water towing generator have been the most efficient. Our solar panels are located both on starboard and port side of the boat allowing us to have most of the time one panel giving us close to full output. The towing generator is a very good source, 5 amps at 5 knots. Only problem is to bring is back on board. I had to literally stop the boat as the torque was to hard on the rope (and my hands). Some people have suggested to rig a big funnel on the line and to drop it in the water in order to stop the twisting of the prop. I have not tried it yet, but it make sense. Anyway, I think that by having the 4 systems on the boat you should always have a source of energy. Good luck, christian, s/v I wanda