Anyone know anything about the Hydrocat?

Howdy.
so i've recently purchased a property which has a stream flowing through it - not very big. maybe 18ft wide, currently 16 inches deep - though have no idea what its like in winter. it flows year round, and i have the land on both sides of the river for approx 200m. i also do not know what the flow is like - but it has no significant drop in height from entry to exit from the property.
Generating electricity from it was not on the agenda until after i bought the place, and am now attempting to determine if it would be a realistic proposition. I have no huge determination to generate electricity as am not in an off-grid situation, however think it might be funky and a bit of fun to do - if done right.
there a various micro-hydro videos on youtube - but generally involve having a reasonable drop in order to create the power necessary to generate sufficient electricity. i came across - the hydrocat which is technically a boat, fixed with cable, floats on the surface, and has a turbine which rotates with water flow generating electricity. this seems ideal to me, as planning might be an issue in the area for something more permanent.

they have published an interesting pdf http://www.magix-website.com/mppo14/50/F77/F77D69F030A711E3A157F3635BB33A7A.pdf which has the various models and pricing too with expected electricity generation for respective water flow rates. i have no idea how this compares with other personal renewable sources of energy... the 'green' electricity company is airtricity - which charges approx 18c per kwh currently.
there is no building on the land - but i would ultimately hope to power a single home and associated outhouses for workshops / garage.

Does anyone have any thoughts on these? i am completely open to considering all other alternatives to this and would be grateful for any advice at all in relation to this topic as i am a complete novice

Did you ever figure this out? I'm in literally the same position!

Has anyone been able to get a hydrocarbon?

I've been installing micro hydro systems for almost 4 decades now. The amount of kinetic force that would be produced from a product like the Hydrocat would not be enough to power a generator that would produce significant power. This would be considered low head ( how many feet of drop) hydro. Low head hydro works, but the amount of money invested on a low head hydro system for the power output usually makes them not worth the investment. This company, if they still exist is providing no real data on power output based on the hydro resource that different sites would have. I would steer clear of any company that doesn't test and publish power output data, and also have a clear statement of warranty for their product.

Dear Vincent.  Would love to chat if not mind?

Then what would you suggest? As we are considering this too

I know nothing about the product. I suspect the laws of physics will not be changed by this product.  You may want to check and see if the site you are thinking of placing it at is able to produce the level of energy you are seeking.

https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/planning-microhydropower-system
Net Power = 1/10 x Flow x Head,

If we had a head of 1ft and flow of 1,000gpm we could generate 100W every hour
P = 1/10 x 1,000 x 1
P= 100W

So thats 100W every hour or 2,400WHr per day.
To get that 1ft of head you would still have to build at least primitive type of weir/dam with rocks/logs/etc, but it would be very doable.
As for the actual flow rate of the entire 18ft stream. It's possible that it does in fact equal to 1000gpm, but I have no idea.

I have seen similar systems here. There is one called a platypus which works for low energy usage.
But dont forget, they work 24 /7.
With access to 200M of river, a couple of tubes running from high to low may give you good power for a pelton wheel turbine and a hydraulic RAM.
Both of these have been described on this site
From; planning-microhydropower-system

Low head refers to a change in elevation of less than 66 feet (20 meters), and ultralow head refers to a change in elevation of less than 10 feet (3 meters). A vertical drop of less than 2 feet (0.6 meters) will probably make a small-scale hydroelectric system unfeasible.

However, for extremely small power generation amounts, a flowing stream with as little as 13 inches of water can support a submersible turbine. This type of turbine was originally used to power scientific instruments towed behind oil exploration ships, and are similar to some hydrokinetic power systems from river or tidal currents.
THIS IS A USEFUL SITE FOR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. IT HAS OTHER PAGES TO SEE AS WELL