Generator Etiquette

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

I paddled away from my running Honda e1000i one evening to test how the sound carries.

It fades out quite quickly.

Anyone close enough to hear that thing humming is parked rudely close, unless it's a very crowded anchorage, in which case I can always count on someone else running a much louder generator anyway.

I rarely run the generator at all, but when I do, I no longer worry about the noise.

You have AC that will run on 1,000?

[Bash]

We run 12v cabin fans down below, and never feel that we need AC. Better yet, our cabin fans produce just enough gentle white noise that we're rarely bothered by the jerk running his genset all night.

[capnorv]

About three weeks ago We were at a marine park dock when a large (50'?) Egg Harbor sedan came in. It was a two boat dock (Matia Island), I helped them land and was very surprised when the generator was left running. The guy had been the CEO of the local Coke Co. and was retired. He spent a large part of the afternoon complaining to me about how inconsiderate boaters are these days and how it just isn't fun any more. Several times I asked about the generator exhaust since it bothers my wife. His answer was always I'm not going to run it long. About dusk, we took off for another island, and he asked why, I told him and we left...a stupid look on his face. To me this was quite rude and uncalled for...beware "The Egg and I" Bellingham, not a courteous vessel. OP thank you for at least triing to distance yourself from others! Sometimes sailors don't like diesel exhaust, my wife is a case in point.

[stevensc]

How about wind generators the ones I have been around have been very noisy in a clacking sort of way.
Steve W

[O.C.Diver]

Originally Posted by Lucky Larry

I admit it; I use my generator. We currently only get to spend a few weeks on our boat at a time. It's in the Caribbean, and it's hot 24/7. During the day the heat is fine. If I get a little hot, I get wet. We don't like to sleep in a pool of sweat and two weeks is not long enough to get acclamated, so we run the deisel genset so that we can run the air conditioner through the night. It also helps to take a lot of the humidity out of the boat. And, of course it gets the batteries charged.

Now, I know that some, maybe most, of the people on here hate to hear a generator running. I don't care for it either but ours is pretty quiet as compared to others I've heard. It is far quieter than a dingy outboard, but of course a dingy doen't run all night.

When we enter an anchorage we try to choose a spot that is far enough from other boats so that we don't hear their activities. The exception would be a known party spot.

So, what can I do to let all you genset haters know that if you anchor close to us you'll be serenaded by the burning of deisel through the night?

From the jolly roger thread, I'm thinking maybe I can just hoist one of those to tell everyone that we might not be thinking about being the quieted boat in the anchorage.

On the upside, the boats running their gensets probably have the coldest drinks and plenty of ice. So anchor far away but feel free to stop by for a sundowner. Us part time cruisers that are planning to be full time cruisers would enjoy meeting those of you who are living out the way we plan to.



Lucky Larry

If you have made the effort to have a quiet generator, anchor away from others so as not to disturb them, and are running it to make sleeping bearable, then let it run. I have never had much use for neighbors who arrive after you and then tell you to change what you are doing because it bothers them. Simply, you aren't doing anything wrong until there is someone around to complain about it.

Ted

[Arch Stanton]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

You have AC that will run on 1,000?

I live in the Puget Sound and have never needed AC; I don't have it. I just use the gen for recharging batteries, gadgets and gizmos after a few days without motoring, and occasionally run a projector, stereo and laptop to watch a "bigscreen" movie with friends on the back of a large chart.

[clockwork orange]

I think if you are the first boat in the anchorage and fire up the genset before anyone else arrives your ok, otherwise be considerate and leave it off. Genset owners always seem to think that theirs is quiet and some are realative to others but when they shut down in an otherwise quiet anchorage the silence is truly amazing.
Steve.

[Palarran]

There's no way anyone is going to hear your generator running over the sound coming from my stereo so let it run. Heck, I can't even hear my own genset running over my stereo.

BTW, it's not hot 24/7 in the Caribbean. You need to anchor where you get a better breeze.

[Lucky Larry]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Larry, is the genset enclosed in a sound enclosure? Do you have a gas/water separator (Vetus or Soundown) on the exhaust? Those things help a lot to keep you on the good side of the others.

The genset is in a sound deadening enclosure, which is inside an isolated compartment. While I don't know if it's got a gas/water separator, the exhaust exits between the hulls about 6 inches above the waterline. It really is quite quiet. When running it and the air conditioner, the air conditioner is much louder inside the boat.

I feel fairly certain that my choices in where I anchor or moor keeps us far enough away from anyone who has arrived before us to not bother them. And unless it's a crowded anchorage, you shouldn't have to anchor close enough that you could hear it unless you were intent on isolating that particular sound.

We have tried several times to just use fans and leave hatches open only to have to get up and close them when the early morning rain woke us up. I can easily see that when we have the opportunity to spend more time in the environment we'll become acclimated and a wind scoop will be sufficient to get a breeze moving through the boat to cool it and get the muggy humidity out. I am definitely looking forward to that day.

Of course, then I'll feel the need to add some sort of grate to the hatch to sleep soundly knowing that I'll be awakened by the sound of anyone in the process of trying to enter the boat. Closed and locked doors and hatches go along with a well set anchor in enabling a good night's sleep.

In the mean time, if someone anchors or moors close enough that they might hear our generator, I'll dinghy or kayak over to let them know that we'll be running a genset through the night. I may even start it up before going over. That way they can see if it's going to be an annoyance to them.

I personally think that there are a lot of newer sound isolated gensets out there running that most people don't even hear.


Lucky Larry

[DeepFrz]

I'm not quite sure the reason for this thread when I read the last post. Is it to justify bothering others? If you have had complaints then your generator is bothering other boaters. If not, then you have a quiet generator and it should be no worry. One does have to be aware that sound travels very well through water most boats are very poorly insulated, so sound travels into the boat easily.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Lucky Larry

The genset is in a sound deadening enclosure, which is inside an isolated compartment. While I don't know if it's got a gas/water separator, the exhaust exits between the hulls about 6 inches above the waterline. It really is quite quiet. When running it and the air conditioner, the air conditioner is much louder inside the boat.

I feel fairly certain that my choices in where I anchor or moor keeps us far enough away from anyone who has arrived before us to not bother them. And unless it's a crowded anchorage, you shouldn't have to anchor close enough that you could hear it unless you were intent on isolating that particular sound.

We have tried several times to just use fans and leave hatches open only to have to get up and close them when the early morning rain woke us up. I can easily see that when we have the opportunity to spend more time in the environment we'll become acclimated and a wind scoop will be sufficient to get a breeze moving through the boat to cool it and get the muggy humidity out. I am definitely looking forward to that day.

Of course, then I'll feel the need to add some sort of grate to the hatch to sleep soundly knowing that I'll be awakened by the sound of anyone in the process of trying to enter the boat. Closed and locked doors and hatches go along with a well set anchor in enabling a good night's sleep.

In the mean time, if someone anchors or moors close enough that they might hear our generator, I'll dinghy or kayak over to let them know that we'll be running a genset through the night. I may even start it up before going over. That way they can see if it's going to be an annoyance to them.

I personally think that there are a lot of newer sound isolated gensets out there running that most people don't even hear.


Lucky Larry

+1

I don't have air conditioning and don't run my generator all night, but I have been running it a lot since I killed my batteries in May

As others have said, it makes an enormous difference what kind of genset you have. Mine is a 1500 RPM Kohler 6.5kW. It is in a sound enclosure, which is inside the boat's soundproof engine compartment, so two layers of soundproofing. It has a Halyard gas/water separator and Hydrohush muffler. It is virtually inaudible from more than a meter away. So I don't particularly feel any inhibitions in using it when I need it, and no one has ever complained about it.

Of course one of those screaming two-cylinder 3600 RPM jobs mounted in a cockpit locker and with cooling water coming out with the exhaust -- that's a whole different kettle of fish. But I would think that that would bother than owner at least as much as any neighbors.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Lucky Larry

When we enter an anchorage we try to choose a spot that is far enough from other boats...

I would suggest that instead of thinking in terms of "far enough" you should be thinking in terms of "as far as possible."

Then, if someone comes and anchors right next to you, it's their problem.

[sailorboy1]

Is it really possible to not be in an anchorage/mooring field that doesn't have something to bug someone else there?

- halyards slapping
- wind generators
- diesel generator
- radios
- drunks!!!
- loud talking (gets louder the more people on the boat)
- BBQ smoke
- cooking smells
- dingy engines
- kids
- dogs
- people in general
- flapping flags
- stinky boats for whatever reason

[anjou]

There is an airport firetruck here in the yard which has a 16 litre Detroit 2 stroke diesel and that screams like its about to blow. despite hauling tons of water, it does 0-60mph in under 6 seconds apparantly.
One hell of an engine.

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

I would never row over to someones boat to tell them to turn off their genset.....

To me it is "white noise"

There again there is a sailboat in Baltimore that has a 71 series Detroit Diesel Genset....It's been so long I can remember how many cylinders it
had....but talk about a screamer....that one can be heard from over a quarter mile away

That one would have me getting the swivel gun out.

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by Lucky Larry

... we run the deisel genset so that we can run the air conditioner through the night ... When we enter an anchorage we try to choose a spot that is far enough from other boats so that we don't hear their activities ... feel free to stop by for a sundowner ...

You've already indicated a thoughtful and courteous attitude, so you will probably be seen as a good neighbor. It doesn't seem reasonable to expect you to tour the harbor and inform your neighbors that the gen set will run at night, although a simple solution might be to broadcast some information on VHF if you are very much concerned. As another writer indicated, there are many wind generators that "out noise" a conventional gas or diesel generator, yet somehow "green" noise gets a pass.