Running Our Boat Generator At Night?? Sea Ray Boating & Cruising
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- čas přidán 13. 01. 2021
- Running our generator at night? For a couple of reasons, we would never do that. Our boat is equipped with a 4.5 KW Westerbeke gasoline fueled generator. Check my full 'How I Did It - Boat Repairs and Upgrades' playlist fro lots more info on this unit.
Please have a look at the full playlist from our incredible Epic Boat Cruise 2019 series, here: • Epic Boat Cruise 2019
Filmed August, 2020.
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Equipment Used (** Updated list, January, 2021)
- DJI Pocket 2 (For more info on that compact, 4K camera + help support the channel, please click here; click.dji.com/AEYMHJ8ly85PeHp...)
- Sony NXU-30 hand held video camera w/Wide angle lens
- GoPro Hero 7 Black
- GoPro Hero 3 Silver
- Both GoPro cameras on GoPro suction cup mount
- Google Pixel 3 XL for still photos + supplemental video
- DJI Mavic Mini ( For more info on that great, compact drone + help support the channel, please click here: click.dji.com/AAnzdtD07BPE4at...)
- DJI Phantom 3 Standard for Aerial Drone Shots
- Editing done with Vegas Movie Studio 11 + Adobe Premier Pro for 4K editing
- Mobile Data via Rogers Wireless
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Be sure to follow along with all our adventures aboard Boogaboo, our 1998 Sea Ray 330 Sundancer - our fifth Sea Ray! I invite you to take a look at my ever expanding 'Sea Ray 330 Sundancer' Playlist for this boat here: • Sea Ray 330 Sundancer
Boat Specs (Current boat, as of 2020/21);
- Model: 1998 Sea Ray 330 Sundancer
- Length (bow to transom): 33’-6”
- Beam: 11’-5”
- Dry Weight: 11,200 lbs
- Fuel Capacity: 225 U.S. gallons, 850 litres
- Draft: 33”
- Dead Rise: 17 degrees
- Engines: 2 x 7.4 litre Mercruiser Bluewater, Multi-Port fuel injection, gasoline,
freshwater cooled, rated at 310 HP
- Transmissions: 2 x Borg Warner Velvet Drives, in Vee-Drive configuration
- Generator: Westerbeke 4.5 Kw BCGTC @ 60 Hz, gasoline powered &
carburated
- 12,000 BTU, reverse cycle heating/air conditioning
- Shore Power: 2 x 30 Amp, 120 V connections
- Freshwater Holding Tank: Single 40 U.S. Gallon tank
- Waste (black-water) Holding Tank: Single 34 U.S. Gallon
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Before we had our 330 Sundancer, we enjoyed seven seasons aboard 'Boogaboo IV', a 1997 Sea Ray 400 DB. You watch all my videos from that vessel on the 'Sea Ray 400 Sedan Bridge' Playlist here: • Sea Ray 400 Sedan Bridge
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Running from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay/Lake Huron, Ontario's 240 mile long Historic Trent Severn Waterway is a boating treat not to be missed! For hundreds of original cruising videos from this national treasure, be sure to check my 'Trent Severn Waterway Boat Cruising' playlist; • Trent Severn Waterway ...
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Known as the best fresh water cruising grounds in the world, Georgian Bay is located in the heart of the Great Lakes and forms part of Lake Huron. Renowned for is rugged beauty, Georgian Bay has been attracting adventurous boaters for over a century. I'm happy to share our own adventures through this inspiring area with my 'Georgian Bay Boating' Playlist here: • Georgian Bay Boating
++ If you actually read this complete description, let me know in the comments ;-)
I am a Texas lake rat. We have been running our gen every night Fri and Sat for 12-14 hrs. We have been doing this for 15 years. We have never had one ounce of trouble. The gen is exhausted outside the boat so there is no issue there. If the equipment is maintained properly there will be no issues. A little of kill I think.
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I’ve spent close to 75 nights on anchor on my 2018 Monterey 335SY, generator running 24/7 when not on shore power. EFI Westerbeke is extremely quiet. Can’t even hear it over the AC in the cabin.
No reason to not run it all night. Just have good CO detectors.
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If you can't trust your generator to run 24/7 , you should probably get it checked out to confirm its in good working order, we run our genset for many hours every day, but we also have if checked out every spring and spend what ever is necessary, key is to use a tech which specializes in Gensets
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Great short videos ... thanks for the tips
Glad you like them!
Thank you
You're welcome!
That's probably acceptable up where you are I would think because of the close quarters . But when you are down at an anchorage in the florida keys or over across at Bimini or the Bahamas you run your generator because the heat is unbearable. If there is someone who doesn't like it they can just pick up their anchor and move their boat.
H
You neeeeeeed ac down here. All night long. Especially all night long.
Totally agree with you, 🔥
Fire, water or C02, nothing I need to deal with in the middle of the night 😟
Great Vids, thanks for sharing. Curious how you’re monitoring you’re power usage and when you know to recharge the batteries. Do you just check the voltage on the dash or are you keeping track of appliance usage/time etc. is there a threshold for battery juice left that triggers you to turn in the generator? Less than 12v etc? Thanks and keep up the great videos.
If you've watched any number of my videos, you'll have noticed that I don't monitor anything too intensely. For the battery charge state, the main draw when not on shorepower is going to be the two fridges (galley + cockpit). Given that they run 24/7, they WILL draw lots of power and WILL drain the house batteries. To keep things simple when away from the dock (overnighting at a lock, etc.), I will run the genny in the morning to prepare my ritual oatmeal breakfast, use the Kurig and of course, charge the batteries. We'll usually leave it running for about 1-1/2 hours. If we aren't cruising that day, I'll fire it up again early afternoon for an hour or so. After dinner, again will run it for about two hours to recharge and most times run the A/C to cool the cabin before bedtime.
Check my channel for LOTS of videos where I discuss batteries, battery monitor that I installed, plus the new charger I installed last summer. All the answers and more are in them vids, so I encourage you to watch. . .
Cheers, Paul.
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo Thanks for the response Paul. I've only just discovered your channel and have watched several of your videos so far. I'll keep digging in. I bought an '07 260 Sundancer last year and we're up in the PNW. Looking forward to getting out in the puget sound and exploring this season and have learned a ton from your vids. Appreciate the DIY approach. Cheers. Joe
Good stuff,glad you're liking them.
Stay safe and have fun this season!!
Totally agree Paul.
Safety first.
Thanks so much for sharing and what ya'll do on the channel! I'm thinking of upgrading from a Sailboat to an express cruiser -- most of the options in my price range don't have generators. In your experience, how essential is a genny for day boaters like me that anchor and rely on the Stereo & Fridge?
I would suggest that if your batteries are in good shape, a few hours on the hook while running a fridge and stereo (as long as it doesn't have a monster amp) should be fine. On this boat we would run the fridges (two of them) overnight and had no problem starting the engines in the morning.
That said, there was an issue a few years back where the batteries would be dead in the morning, but I discovered that the onboard battery charger was faulty, putting out full charging amps continuously, which was literally cooking the batteries!
The solution to that situation was installing a new Pro Mariner charger (czcams.com/video/LRRRQ-ORTDk/video.html) and replacing the two house batteries.
If you haven't followed our adventures lately, we have sold the boat in this video and upgraded to a larger 370 Sundancer (czcams.com/play/PLKhjT5kr2l2FqN3UkwONjmvAeqX4QYHjF.html). One of the first projects will be to replace the charger on that one as well. Another new Pro Mariner is already sitting at home, as we wait for the boat to be trailered 450 miles northeast from Ohio to her new home in Ontario. Have a look at the series I'm building that chronicles the adventure so far. . . With lots of projects to come!
Cheers, Paul.
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo Wonderful advice... Thank you again for all you do! My next boat will be possible thanks to your advice! :)
Awesome! Glad to hear it. Let us know how you make out 👍
Try sleeping with no generator when it’s 90 degrees 😂
Hopefully we never have to experience that 😂
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼😅
How are the westerbekes? I think I will be purchasing one soon. I have a Koehler and no one can figure it out. Do you have two mufflers on your current boat? Is it worth it?
After having those generators on the last two boats, I am happy with Westerbeke. And yes, I installed an auxiliary muffler both on the last Sea Ray ( czcams.com/video/U6S1_542Zvg/video.html), as well as our current Boogaboo. I'll be posting a complete installation video on that, including better before and after audio tests, coming soon . . .
Did you ever replace the maincontrol board for the generator?
Sure did 👍
Love your swimplatform!
We love it too!! Best upgrade we've done to the boat, for sure. Hope you get a chance to check out my full installation video - complete with me jammed into the engine room to remove the old one ;-) Here's a link to the video: czcams.com/video/jg9M370cFWg/video.html
Cheers, Paul.
offering some perspective - We live in Bermuda now and we HAVE to run the genset all night for A/C. Impossible to sleep otherwise and we tried... When we were in Vancouver or Quebec/Lake Champlain boating in previous years we could get away without running the genset due to cooler temperatures at night and cooler water temperature. Sitting in 27C water temperature, 32C ambient temp in 90% humidity - everyone that has a generator runs it all night and those that don't - they. go home to sleep! ;-)
I hear ya.
How do you keep everything in the refrigerator cold or frozen if you run the gen so little?
Batteries. That's why I run the genny three times throughout the day when we are away from shorepower. Gotta keep them Corona's chilly! 😃🍺
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo I figured as much, what/how many batteries are you using?
How loud is your generator? We run a portable Firman 3000 watt generator all night and sit it on the swim platform . Our boat is 30 feet and you cant really hear it from the very front of the boat. I guess it all depends on the configuration of the docking at the locks I guess.
Loud is a relative term. I've never run a decibel meter on it, but we are both happy with the new auxiliary muffler I installed on the exhaust system this past year. I did the same on our last #boat and it cut down the noise considerably. I will be posting a complete installation video on that over the coming weeks. . .
I am about to purchase a 31' and am curious about your portable setup. Pardon my ignorance, but how does this connect and run the electrical on the boat? I'd love to "camp" out on the water, but I do have concerns about running the gen all night.
@@coferj We just got back from a trip where we camped out on the water and used our generator all night for AC. We have an extended swim platform that we set our generator on. We then bungee cord it in place with 2 bungee cords and its held snug. On our boat, our electric cord comes out of the boat right by the swim platform so we just plug our 30 amp cord into our generator and point the exhaust away from the boat. We also have a carbon monoxide alarm in the boat and have never had a problem. We also sleep with all the windows and doors shut so no issues.
Is true is really risky thats why down here in miami most people use portable generator like the honda handi 3000 put it on the swiming platform and run it all night
Sure, that's another option as well.
Yeah. And many a/c units are louder than the -60dB gens out these days. That whole noise issue is changing from the old "it's rude" mentality.
I bet the Honda burns less fuel then a onboard gas generator. I had one many years ago in a 32ft and it would use I think 2-3 gallons a night when it was really hot and the AC would run all night.
@survivalSC I can guarantee that a portable Honda would burn less fuel, as opposed to the 4,500 watt we had in this boat. But given that the fuel draws from one of the onboard fuel tanks - and the fact that the main engines only get 1 mile per gallon - it's not even noticeable when we top up the tanks 😩
@@BoatingWithBoogabooThe 4k watt generator in our RV burns 3/4 gallon of gas per hour. Our little Yamaha inverter generators burn 2 gallons overnight on Eco Idle.
What about solar and wind generators too help offset the need for the gas generator?
I'm sure that's an option for some folks, but nowhere near enough power to run A/C, water heater or sensibly charge the batteries on our boat.
Solar power is worth considering. We have installed 4 x 100 Watt panels on our 50ft boat and, while we can't run AC off them, the boost to our batteries has cut our generator run time in half. Also helps keep my beer fridge nice and cold!
On a catamaran you would have enough room for solar to run a small ac until for a few hours for the master cabin but otherwise no solar/ac on its own.
I feel the same way
Me too.
Agree, why no diesel boat? The smell or cost?
Don't need a stinky diesel. After lots of thought, we've decided to put the Greta Loop thing on a permanent hold, and will instead look forward to doing more 'local' Mini Loops that we can do with a gas powered boat, over one season. Already planing for the first one in 2022!!
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo yeah I agree, diesel is stinky and messy. I have diesel trucks and it is nasty. I have a gas boat. twin Volvos 8.1
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo we're in Lake Michigan on michigan side, planning a MAC bridge trip and Chicago trip. season can't get here fast enough. we just purchased a 05 Silverton convertible. I own a contracting business also so gotta stay local for now.
Would also have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning if fumes entered cabin while you were asleep.
Correct, but I'm hoping that everyone has C02 detectors onboard, irrespective of if they have a genny or not.
Why? Does your generator make that much noise outside of your boat??
Her ya go: czcams.com/video/muV5PyAKkbc/video.html
@@BoatingWithBoogaboo omg it’s still loud even after that upgrade. I have a gas westerbeke and all you can hear outside of the boat is the water splashing out of the exhaust. Perhaps you need to get a mechanic to check that out for you. I have not heard such a loud marine generator before.
My #1 concern would be a Carbon Monoxide accumulation, leak or back up.
Same here. Not worth the risk to us, or fellow boaters that might be close by.
Carbon monoxide detectors in all the rooms.
I will never run mine all night either, and I have diesel now.
Good call. Nobody wants to deal with exhaust smell all night...
Why wouldn't you have a diesel generator
Engines are gas.
No diesel boat? How you gonna Loop without a diesel boat?? Humorously submitted from Nellie May (a diesel boat).
Don't want to put a crimp in your weekend, but after watching the ongoing Great Loop series by the Sam & Rev from What Yacht To Do, we've come to the conclusion that early mornings to catch a rising tide isn't what we're after in our cruising ideas. Will focus more on 'local' mini loops, such as to return voyages to Ottawa/Montreal, Chicago, NYC, Erie Canal, North Channel, and so on. Different cruises over different summer seasons. I think that would be more our speed, so gas engines will suffice nicely. . .
Yeah you don’t run the generator all night because you don’t live in Florida in particular in Miami , come over here and you will see the mosquitoes 🦟 and Noseeum
Ya
You’re so considerate. So much for what kind of generator you have. Waste of time.
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