new to the site

[artfulltune]

thanks for the welcome mat...i am getting up the courage to "offer" on a 25 year old trawler, who, my brother maintains is a "jewel", on shore power. Yes, the old girl has no gen...but he thinks there's room next to the perk's to squeeze one in...am i looking for trouble here?
thanks again guys

 

[Victor_Chat]

Welcome aboard, if you provide more details about the boat, you'll get some responses.

 

[LaBomba]

A boat being 25 years old is not a factor if properly maintained and so far as having no generator, lots of us don't. With the energy efficient lighting and appliances available today it is not an automatic that one is required. Batteries are cheaper and not as noisy. The need for one depends how you will use the boat.

 

[CaptTom]

You're not exactly looking for trouble, but any old boat can certainly dish out more than its share. You need a survey, and you need to go in with your eyes open about all the things - big things and "little" things - that need attention. Once you have a full punch list of what needs to be done, you can weigh that against your budget, both time and money, and come up with a value. If the seller agrees, that's it. If not, move on to the next one.

A gen set is not required. A lot of people find that a Honda 2000 is enough to top off the house bank or heat the water or cook a meal, whatever. I'd probably run mine if I absolutely needed the Air Conditioner all night; my built-in gen set is a bit of a tooth rattler. Some dummy bolted it right to a board that's bolted right to the stringers.

 

[artfulltune]

Your replies are appreciated. The boat is a 1988 Golden Star 35' trawler and will undergo a survey, hull and mechanical next week, before I bring her home to Baltimore. There are twin Perkins 135's with, I am guessing here, 40 amp alternators. She is equipped with (3) 8D batteries and does not have A/C. I thought I needed more electrical power...but, of course, if the batts and the charging system are good, maybe a gen in the bilge isn't all that necessary.
The aft deck is fully open, maybe a Honda 2k watt inverter/generator sitting there would be a good idea? What do you think?