Stinkpots??

[Simi 60]

A temperate climate that doesn’t demand air conditioning is a marvelous thing!

We live in pretty much the same climate as Florida, subtropical.

 

[FlyWright]

I don't think its strange.
I think its strange that the poster thinks a larger vessel can't exist without a genset as a daily use item

Me thinks he missed your sarcasm.

 

[menzies]

Me confused

 

[jeffnick]

~~~Solar panels, marvelous things.

Your solar panels run the a/c?

 

[Simi 60]

Your solar panels run the a/c?

We don't have, need or want a/c

 

[Boatfever]

We don't have, need or want a/c

Where you are that may be fine.
How about if you were in Darwin?

 

[toocoys]

I'm figuring page 1, and page 7 of this conversation pretty much indicates that there is no need to read the rest.

Power boats may have their flaws, but sail boats aren't without their own... and if you don't agree try sleeping with halyards banging on a mast on a windy night... ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

Everything in this conversation boils down to common courtesy for your neighbor. If you have a barking dog, take it below. If you have loose trash, pick it up. If you have something that makes noise, make every effort to subdue said noise until normal hours.

Just be a good neighbor.

 

[Simi 60]

Where you are that may be fine.
How about if you were in Darwin?

Like I said, we are in the same climate zone and get the same temps Florida does.
We have had 38c / 100f days here and in areas we have cruised and still didn't need a/c
A better fan yes but a/c no.

Now if we get her up to South East Asia and equatorial waters that may change.

 

[catalinajack]

You can't hear my generator 100' from my boat on all but a still calm night. If you can hear my generator, you anchored too close to me.

Ted

The only genetator sound that can be heard right outside my boat is that of the exhaust water splashing. The fact is that, even in marinas, I can only tell when a boat is passing close aboard is by the sound of its propellers. I have more than enough battery bank to last 18 hours so, generally, I have no need to run the generator except to cook when we don't opt for the gas grill. When I do run my generator it is with no guilt feelings.

 

[catalinajack]

We run the generator 24/7 when away from the dock to cool the boat. Some newer boats have gyro stabilization at anchor and need power for that as well.
I hope this isn’t one of those holier-than-thou threads...... if it makes you feel any better we are more aware of the generator that our neighbors since we also feel the vibration. Even so, I sleep great in our cool dry stateroom.

If we want to talk about annoying noises at anchor, how about the clink, clink, clink of halyards and hardware clanking against an aluminum mast? THAT drives me nuts........

I second that! Plus, that klinking sound travels a very long way.

 

[menzies]

I second that! Plus, that klinking sound travels a very long way.

That's why we have plastic wine glasses!

 

[firehoser75]

Very Considerate

That's why we have plastic wine glasses!

Menzies,
Very, very considerate of your neighbours .

What time is "happy hour" and do we need to bring our own wine and plastic glasses?

 

[Barabus]

When I am on the West Coast I rarely need to run my generator more than 4 hours a day, if at all. The water is cold and the nights are cool. When i’m in the SE the generator runs 24 hrs a day. The water is hot and the nights are muggy.

In the PNW it’s not reasonable to run a generator after 10 pm and in the SE it’s not reasonable to expect boats to turn off their generator at night.

In a large raft up with a yacht club near Roche (PNW) it was explained to me not to run my exhaust water separator gen set after dark. Good rule and I was happy to comply. I guess my only comment would be that popular spots should have rules like Avalon. Makes it easier for all persons to have similar expectation. For example, want to run your gen set all night then don’t go to Avalon.

 

[O C Diver]

In a large raft up with a yacht club near Roche (PNW) it was explained to me not to run my exhaust water separator gen set after dark. Good rule and I was happy to comply. I guess my only comment would be that popular spots should have rules like Avalon. Makes it easier for all persons to have similar expectation. For example, want to run your gen set all night then don’t go to Avalon.

Well there you go; easy as can be.
A large raft up violates my don't anchor within 100' of me rule. In fact, generally the only people I let raft up with me, want to suckle on the 30 amp plug when my generator is running.

Ted

 

[Nomad Willy]

toocoys wrote;
"Everything in this conversation boils down to common courtesy for your neighbor. If you have a barking dog, take it below. If you have loose trash, pick it up. If you have something that makes noise, make every effort to subdue said noise until normal hours.

Just be a good neighbor."

Excellent summary IMO.

 

[FlyWright]

Well there you go; easy as can be.
A large raft up violates my don't anchor within 100' of me rule. In fact, generally the only people I let raft up with me, want to suckle on the 30 amp plug when my generator is running.

Ted

They'd have to put up with the reflected glare to get some free juice.

Helluva way to make friends!!

 

[O C Diver]

They'd have to put up with the reflected glare to get some free juice.

Helluva way to make friends!!

No free lunches. If you want some free juice, bring your sunglasses.

Trd

 

[Wolffish]

If I hear halyards slapping, my generator gets started

 

[Capitaine R]

Florida

I would think if you are anchored in any Florida Anchorage at night in the summer time the majority of the boats are going to have all their windows closed up and the generators will be running. We have actually stayed in an anchorage with some others in the spring and one of them had the Honda generator on the swim platform, after a short time it was just became background noise that didn't really bother us. Plus when I woke in the middle of the night and could still hear the Honda, I knew we hadn't drag anchor, at least not very far.

 

[Panacea123]

You can't hear my generator 100' from my boat on all but a still calm night. If you can hear my generator, you anchored too close to me.

Ted

+1 for that!
Run mine 1 hour in the AM solar does the rest.
When I’m in my tender at night if the gen is running can’t hear it from 200 ft away.

 

[Panacea123]

Unlikely, since you can be anchored next to them and be completely unaware that there's a genset running. Now, the Honda buzzing away on the deck is a different story. We keep hearing how they're so quiet, just isn't so. You can hear the unmistakable drone of a portable gas generator from clear across the anchorage. It seems owners always pick sunset to crank them up.

+1 on noisy Honda’s
Hate them in anchorages

 

[FlyWright]

I've discovered this week that my Honda 2000 is MUCH quieter under my well vented flybridge (aka attic) cover. Since I very seldom drive from there, I'm converting my FB helm bench seat to my semi-permanent Honda mount. I tried it this week and the difference in the salon and cockpit sound levels is impressive.

It's a location with good vibe/sound isolation, sun protection and out of the rain. The access and working height are also just about perfect for starting and refueling. The seat back top and seat surfaces have a flat area to use as a table, if needed.

The open ends of the canvas cover allow ample ventilation of the space. Very little heat built up on an 80 degree day in a light breeze without a fan providing ventilation. I'm going to add a vent fan that will get its power from the generator 12V plug (8A) to provide active ventilation to avoid the accumulation of heat or fumes. I'm making the clip-on harness next week to hold everything in place when I'm out on the water. It needs to be easily removed for the few times I want to drive from upstairs.

With a 34 ft boat, I've found that almost every area needs to serve a double purpose but it cannot be too challenging or time consuming to convert from one purpose to the other. For me, this is a promising solution that I'm looking forward to testing during extended anchorages this summer.

No worries...I know all about the CO risks and take them very seriously. I'll continue to do thorough heat and sniff testing but I think the fan will alleviate those concerns. (BTW, I never run an engine during sleep.)

 

[markpierce]

Without generator, I rely on gas stove and lack of coffee maker, micro-wave, and air conditioner to survive on house batteries.

 

[FlyWright]

Without generator, I rely on gas stove and lack of coffee maker, micro-wave, and air conditioner to survive on house batteries.

I call that "boat camping".

 

[SoWhat]

Halyard slap, noisy generators, loud parties, waves constantly knocking against the hull, don't hear any of it. Orange foam ear plugs from Amazon. We sleep well in all anchorages or mooring fields.

 

[markpierce]

I call that "boat camping".

After 39 years of backpacking, having refrigerator, table, and bench seat is considered a luxury.

 

[psneeld]

I've discovered this week that my Honda 2000 is MUCH quieter under my well vented flybridge (aka attic) cover. Since I very seldom drive from there, I'm converting my FB helm bench seat to my semi-permanent Honda mount. I tried it this week and the difference in the salon and cockpit sound levels is impressive.

It's a location with good vibe/sound isolation, sun protection and out of the rain. The access and working height are also just about perfect for starting and refueling. The seat back top and seat surfaces have a flat area to use as a table, if needed.

The open ends of the canvas cover allow ample ventilation of the space. Very little heat built up on an 80 degree day in a light breeze without a fan providing ventilation. I'm going to add a vent fan that will get its power from the generator 12V plug (8A) to provide active ventilation to avoid the accumulation of heat or fumes. I'm making the clip-on harness next week to hold everything in place when I'm out on the water. It needs to be easily removed for the few times I want to drive from upstairs.

With a 34 ft boat, I've found that almost every area needs to serve a double purpose but it cannot be too challenging or time consuming to convert from one purpose to the other. For me, this is a promising solution that I'm looking forward to testing during extended anchorages this summer.

No worries...I know all about the CO risks and take them very seriously. I'll continue to do thorough heat and sniff testing but I think the fan will alleviate those concerns. (BTW, I never run an engine during sleep.)

Thanks Al... too often others really don't have a lot of experience with items they condemn...and don't give others the credit for being able to mitigate risks associated with many parts of boating.


Sure there is a pecking order of solutions including best practices (note the word best ...not only)...but they arent always appropriate for every boat or wallet and most definitely are applied to operations or installations that are all inclusive, not the particular ones that a boater might have in mind. Thus compromises aren't part of the decision making process.

 

[Gdavid]

Well there you go; easy as can be.
A large raft up violates my don't anchor within 100' of me rule. In fact, generally the only people I let raft up with me, want to suckle on the 30 amp plug when my generator is running.

Ted

How do you have your shore power configured for this? We have two 30 amp shore plugs that run through a blue seas selector switch that only connects the AC panels to shore or the generator, never both at the same time.

When we installed and wired the generator, I wanted to run a ground to the generator and someone on this board suggested running the generator to outlet plug(s) and simply connecting the shore power inlets to it (or them) in the cockpit when needed. This would have been straightforward and cheap but would have been a hassle in my opinion and exposed active electrical connections to a potentially wet cockpit so we never seriously considered it, but it certainly could work.

Just curious about your setup.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I call that "boat camping".

Then I’m a happy camper!

 

[timb]

Yes no A/C needed and I wouldn't live or boat any where where it got that hot. You will never see me in the south. And yes I have lived in the south and it was miserable.



It just costs money and if a few tens of thousands matters to you you are in the wrong hobby.

30 grand so you don't possibly here my generator . glad you don't get to make the rules.