Dont think I am reinstalling Generator, What is a Westerbeke 7.0 bcgc worth?

Smashpjp

Active Member
Aug 3, 2021
325
Sandusky, Oh
Boat Info
2001 340 Sundancer w/ 8.1L 496
Engines
496 Merc 8.1L
I purchased my 2001 340 this last year and the previous owner had removed the generator. He did a lot of his own maintenance on the 8.1s and it is very crammed with the genset pulled. He placed all the batteries in the old gen location and all the harnesses are still there for a re-install. I was planning on doing the re-install this spring, but I am really rethinking the hassle for what we gain from it. Its lake Erie, so its very easy to Island hop and get shore power almost anywhere. Most dont use their genset around here. Air-conditioning and microwave is basically what we would gain.

The gen is a Westerbeke 7.0 bcgc with 540 hours vs the boats 900. Im guessing these were all on the 2 owners back when this thing was at Hilton Head. It has a new rebuilt carb on it and has been winterized. It runs well and we had it setup with a gastank and buckets for water cooling. Ran some power tools as a test. starts no issue. It also has all the installation parts, muffler and coolant reservoir. Everything is there if I wanted to re-install it in the boat.

Since I would just need AC to run the Air on some daytrips mostly, I was thinking about selling the Generator and possibly building a separate lifePo4 bank for the house and installing an inverter. It seems for the scenarios we would need AC power that battery technology is almost there rather than dealing with the additional maintenance of a gas genset.

Thoughts? What do you think this Westerbeke 7.0 bcgc is worth?
 
Imo, a genny adds more resale value to the boat than you will make off selling it. lets say you sell it for $8-10k, i am betting it adds $15k to the value of the boat. those numbers may be a little high... but i bet installed and running the resale is at least $5k more...

I purchased my 2001 340 this last year and the previous owner had removed the generator. He did a lot of his own maintenance on the 8.1s and it is very crammed with the genset pulled. He placed all the batteries in the old gen location and all the harnesses are still there for a re-install. I was planning on doing the re-install this spring, but I am really rethinking the hassle for what we gain from it. Its lake Erie, so its very easy to Island hop and get shore power almost anywhere. Most dont use their genset around here. Air-conditioning and microwave is basically what we would gain.

The gen is a Westerbeke 7.0 bcgc with 540 hours vs the boats 900. Im guessing these were all on the 2 owners back when this thing was at Hilton Head. It has a new rebuilt carb on it and has been winterized. It runs well and we had it setup with a gastank and buckets for water cooling. Ran some power tools as a test. starts no issue. It also has all the installation parts, muffler and coolant reservoir. Everything is there if I wanted to re-install it in the boat.

Since I would just need AC to run the Air on some daytrips mostly, I was thinking about selling the Generator and possibly building a separate lifePo4 bank for the house and installing an inverter. It seems for the scenarios we would need AC power that battery technology is almost there rather than dealing with the additional maintenance of a gas genset.

Thoughts? What do you think this Westerbeke 7.0 bcgc is worth?
 
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Take a look at the current of your ac and figure out how much power it consumes in an hour. I think you will find that it will draw down a battery bank fairly quickly. Just make sure you can run it for the time that you intend to use it.

To the point that Chris made, I passed up a nice meridian when I was looking because it didn’t have a generator. It was priced well below market value because of that as well. But I was looking for a year round boat, running the ac in summer and heater in the winter gives us an 11mo boating season.
 
Put her back in the boat. You'd spend more on the battery setup for a fraction of the functionality. At this size boat, buyers expect a generator. Even us northerners...mostly.
 
For what it’s worth we walked from at least two 340’s when I was looking for one almost solely because they didn’t have a generator (and we’re still priced like they had one, imo)
 
For what it’s worth we walked from at least two 340’s when I was looking for one almost solely because they didn’t have a generator (and we’re still priced like they had one, imo)

+1 on this. Not having a generator will not only hurt your resale value it may make your boat more difficult to sell in the future. Many prospective buyers will walk away from a boat in this class without a generator - especially if it has been removed.

-Kevin
 
+1 on this. Not having a generator will not only hurt your resale value it may make your boat more difficult to sell in the future. Many prospective buyers will walk away from a boat in this class without a generator - especially if it has been removed.

-Kevin
Right now it doesn’t matter that much as there are no boats available. But I agree. As a prospective buyer, a generator is a must. Even though we are on the Great Lakes it’s nice to have on those hot and humid days you want to chill out on the hook.
 
I was out at the boat today in storage. will need to take of engine manifold to get it back in. I don't think the generator will effect the sale price much in 5-6 years down the road for the age of the boat, but if I know the genset is solid it may be better to put it back in vs Lipo strategy. Im thinking I should review all the service point on the gen and see what it will take to get that all taken care of completely before planning an install.
 
You could just store the generator and reinstall when you’re ready to sell. It’s a heavy piece of equipment to haul around if you’re not using it.
 
I was out at the boat today in storage. will need to take of engine manifold to get it back in. I don't think the generator will effect the sale price much in 5-6 years down the road for the age of the boat, but if I know the genset is solid it may be better to put it back in vs Lipo strategy. Im thinking I should review all the service point on the gen and see what it will take to get that all taken care of completely before planning an install.

I think you would be surprised by how much of an impact that gen (or lack thereof) could have in 5 years. Generators are a big draw for those “moving up” from smaller boats. For many reasons…
 
I think you would be surprised by how much of an impact that gen (or lack thereof) could have in 5 years. Generators are a big draw for those “moving up” from smaller boats. For many reasons…
Put it back
Yep, put back in, get it, and all associated/on line systems up and operational. Make the boat whole again. Use it loaded, they need to run. The added value of a good working generator on that boat has got to be at least 5-8k.
 
As a buyer, boats without a genset were of 0 interest, regardless of price.

I’d put it back in

The gen on my boat is the first thing started, and very last thing shut down every single time.

yep, with the exception of the blower
 

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