70 beachLIFE LOCAL PROFILE CLAUDE BAUDIN
A NEW WAY OF LIFE
Claude had come to Santa Rosa Beach after having worked on offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico . With his home complete , he embarked on a new career as a commercial crabber . He built a dock and bought a boat and refrigeration equipment . He then developed a routine of setting crab pots throughout the Bay and selling his catch to local restaurants , including Nicks and Goatfeathers Seafood Restaurant in Blue Mountain Beach .
A few years later , Claude took his life further off-grid . The centerpiece of the effort had to do with his desire for independence , of relying on as few entities as possible — from utility companies to the government .
The first decision was to develop a small biodiesel processing operation compact enough to fit in a corner directly beneath his house , occupying just a few square feet . He installed a series of tanks , the first of which is used to filter out impurities in the cooking oil from local restaurants . The oil is then heated up to 150 Fahrenheit . Once heated , methanol and potassium hydroxide are added , causing the glycerin to settle out , thereby transforming the cooking oil into useable biodiesel . The fuel is then stored in the final tank and is used by his diesel truck and the Moto Guzzi diesel motorcycle .
He built the system in the pre-internet age , so there was no online instructional resource available . How did he figure it all out ? “ By asking people who knew ,” Claude says . “ In the beginning , I had to throw out the first couple of batches . But it now costs about $ 1 to process a gallon of biodiesel .”
AHEAD OF HIS TIME
In time the peninsula became populated . In the midst of this local growth , Claud ’ s property was certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation . Today it and the surrounding wiregrass wetlands are home to indigenous fox , snapping turtles , possum , coyote and bear .
Claude ’ s shop is now filled with four conventional Moto Guzzi motorcycles , along with a conventional BMW , and the biodiesel Moto Guzzi . More recently , he added an electric version of the Moto Guzzi powered by 32 lithium-ion batteries charged by either a 110-volt or 220-volt plug-in , with a single charge taking him up to 70 miles . The electric version has no clutch , no transmission . It ’ s silent and fast — like a two-wheeled Tesla .