Obviously not the same boat but we just finished two weeks in Desolation north of San Juan Islands on our boat and when on the hook we used our Honda EU2000i many times. Ours is on the bow and I can start it from the forward hatch. We ran an ice maker, the microwave, the electric stove but had to turn off the hot water heater when all three of the above were running. Make sure your CO detector is in good working order and you'll be fine... I cover the genny when underway and have not had any issues with the 4 to 6 ft waves we encountered this past trip or the +8 foot waves we ran into last year. I attach the genny using footmans loops bolted through the deck and available at West Marine. My Admiral made a 2" wide clip belt to secure it.

I know the use of the genny will create some negative feedback so if you want, PM me with specific questions so you can avoid that...

 

Can of Worms officially open. Take from this what you will. I carry my Honda with me when i go to one specific Marina that does not have Shore power. I take it empty and do not store it in the engine room but on the swim platform. I do not run it while we are sleeping and i never run it on the boat. It is placed on the dock and i attach a 50' cord so it is away form the boat. I mainly use it to keep the batteries charged and cool to cool the boat BEFORE going ot bed

I never run it on the hook.

 

You might want to search CSR for "Honda" or "portable generator" before going any further. We have discussed this ad-infinitem in the past.

 

Omg! Not again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ad infinitem? More like Ad Nauseum....

 

I have a friend with a 240 Crownline that does this all the time with no issues. With that said, another with the same boat had a generator installed in his aftermarket, which is the best way to go.

 

No more please on this topic - PLEASE SEARCH.

Prior threads regarding these Honda Generators is like the topic of sex before marriage. There are those who are adamant and say you shouldn't do it. Many do it anyway... and enjoy it immensely. All agree that it could be dangerous.

 

You may also want to check about putting a true marine generator in the 240. If I remember correctly it was about a 3K third party option to add one. Not sure if the smaller Honda generators are going to handle the ac/heat you're looking for.

 

That's what I was suggesting. One friend put a 5E in his, the other has used a Honda 1000 for 6+ years with no issue. The exhaust from a portable is actually further rear of the boat compared to an installed unit.

 

Hello all...

Last weekend when I talked to him, the dealer in Louisville said that he would go with a 240 (to be able to tow) and buy a Honda (or similar) portable generator and, once stopped, tie it off on the swim deck and connect the SP cable up to it.

Louisville?

 

KY (the old stomping grounds)

 

OK. OK. I searched. It looks like I will not be going this route. *%#@! :smt013 I need a bigger truck.

 

OK. OK. I searched. It looks like I will not be going this route. *%#@! :smt013 I need a bigger truck.

Or....sell the 'Burb, save the hauling gas, and buy a bigger (used) boat. You'll have everything you need, and you can go anywhere in the world from Knoxville, TN. I wished I lived there.......

 

I used a Honda 2000 for a few years and no issues...never even an alarm from the CO detector. That being said....once you get used to not trailering and just hopping in and turning the key....Well....It's just nice. Get the bigger boat.

 

If you are buying a new or newer boat, odds are that the installed generator has a catalytic converter that will reduce CO to extremely low levels. Wasn't available when I bought my boat, but I wouldn't purchase a boat now without such a genset now.

Best regards,
Frank

 

Here is a link:

http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/portgen.pdf

The Coast Guard doesn't have any problem with them. Some folks says insurance companies will, I suggest you contact your insurance company and find out.

In the article, there were two investigated boating deaths out of 238 various causes between 1990 and 2003. The factory installed marine generator had quit working so the owner removed them and put in a portable in it's place gerry rigging the exhaust to the remaining exhaust from the removed generator. That managed to kill two folks in one event! A majority of the deaths happen in the winter and at home. So I would say it's more dangerous to use one at home! :grin:

Based on that, I use mine on the dock or on the swimstep when I need to power up the batteries or something else. We don't have A/C so we don't need to cool the cabin. It cools off without it around here! I've had more issues with CO from the twin 350's! I have altered our main engine startup procedure by making sure the cabin door is closed to keep out the exhaust when the wind is blowing the wrong direction. We didn't have a CO detector until we bought the generator! I should have had one in place regardless!

 

Get your facts straight.

Your link quotes the Consumer Products Safety Commmission, not the CG. The CG cannot regulate the use of portables because their authority is only over boat manufacturers, not over the equipment end users chose to use. The CG does in fact regularly warn or suggest that boaters not use portable generators on boats.

And, CO is only one of several potential dangers with portables. Unvented fuel systems, the lack of ignition protection on electrical components, and the potential for ungrounded systems are others.

 

Get your facts straight.

Your link quotes the Consumer Products Safety Commmission, not the CG. The CG cannot regulate the use of portables because their authority is only over boat manufacturers, not over the equipment end users chose to use. The CG does in fact regularly warn or suggest that boaters not use portable generators on boats.

And, CO is only one of several potential dangers with portables. Unvented fuel systems, the lack of ignition protection on electrical components, and the potential for ungrounded systems are others.

First of all, I respect your opinions! However, I never suggested I was posting a CG link? I did some research on portable generator deaths and that is about the only publication I can find.

When I look for Coast Guard status, I run into the same recommendation over and over. If there is a publication that is more current, I'll go by that. This link is the only one that I ever see and I'll admit my research leaves something to be desired:

http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/pdfs/bscscan68a.pdf

At the top of page 4 is gives a blurb about portable generators. It suggests that they be used above deck and not near any accomodation areas due to CO concerns.

I get tired of the for and against arguments and I'm trying to find something DEFINITIVE one way or another! Surely there is something in writing? I can't find anything on deaths by portable generators on boats. If someone has something better, please share it!

I've carried one and when it's not running I don't see that it's any different from an auxiliary outboard carried in the cockpit. I've had fuel leak from outboards on their side, but I haven't had that happen with a portable generator, yet anyway. I've probably got a whopping 3 hours of run time with a portable generator in the 5 - 9 years I've owned one. In all instances it was sitting on the dock as far away as the cord would allow it and I was the only one ON the dock.

 

Sorry Frank...but your off a little on this one. The CG discourages INSTALLATION near or below deck and or sleeping area's. No mention of ignition issues. Read all about it...http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/pdfs/bscscan68a.pdf

 

I use a portable gen, honda 2000.

I figure if you use your head, treat it like you would a loaded gun, (which I have onboard), or a portable outboard, (which I have onboard), or a propane gas bottle, (which I have onboard), or the gas can for the outboard, (which I have onboard) or the many different lubricants for the outdrive and motor (which I have onboard) you can manage it with as much margin for safety as anything else onboard.

My point is, anything can kill you, just how you manage it's use, dictates the margin for safety.

My portable gen story is when I was anchored in Silver Glenn springs, Fla. I had mine running, (as so many in the springs do), All was well, no co alarms, slight breeze, gen placed in a position so exhaust pointed down wind. Then a trawler 40 or so feet pulls in, anchors up and starts up his "installed gen". Now, his boat is rafted next to me, and the exhaust is pointed right at my boat. Can't change that. Well not only does my co alarm go off, so does my cousins, my uncles also. Long story short, "WE" ended up having to move because he couldn't change the exhaust discharge. Didn't make me mad, but made me realize there is no difference between exhaust gasses.
Installed marine generator or portable generator there is a hazard that needs to be managed.

The question is, will you manage your "loaded gun"?

 

Groucho-

No I'm not wrong. The link you cite is nothing more than a 20 year old Boating Safety Circular where paragraph 1 explains in the first 2 sentences that the CG can not prohibit the use of portables and that they only regulate permanently installed generators by the boat builder.

Just because the USCG has not prohibited portable use does not mean they are safe to use, only that such a prohibition is outside their scope of responsibility.

Since the CG does not regulate end use, only manufacturers, so all you will ever see published by them is "suggestion". The piece I have was written by the USCG officer responsible for boating safety and was part of a boating safety meeting somewhere. Its too long to cut and paste here and I haven't looked to see if it is available somewhere on the net.

I really don't want to debate this again, but the last time we did, I searched everywhere for difinitive publications and ended up realizing that this is one of those areas where you have to collect all the information, examine it, consider what is not published and then decide why a portable on a boat is or is not safe. I ended up with "There are so many ways that a portable can hurt or kill you that it isn't worth the risk."

 

For the record, I agree with Frank on this...except, the "worth the risk" statement. For me it is worth the risk, and I do use it with a watchful eye.

Thank you Frank and others for caring enough to educate us and asking us to be responsible, and there is no scarcasm in this statement. It is heartfelt.

 

Bigger chance dieing from fumes from your engine...

http://www.boattest.com/Resources/view_news.aspx?NewsID=3642

 

I would forever hold my piece if someone could show me a newspaper article, or some other publication that a portable generator caused a death...I haven't even seen a publication. If they are so dangerous...there must be something!
Common sense rules here...

 

I don’t have the new article but I do know for a fact that in July of 08 here in Baltimore a man died from the use of a portable generator on the boat. The incident occurred in Frog Mortar Creek, a branch of Middle River out in front of Parkside Marina. Apparently he felt ill while topside in the cockpit, from the fumes, went down into the cabin to lay down. Well he never got up.

I tried to search the Baltimore Sun archives for the newspaper article but could not find it, but it did happen.

The worse part about that accident as it came right on the heels of one in the previous year, directly across the creek at the marina. Three people all died on the same boat while running the generator at the marina. They found all three the next morning in the closed cabin, generator still running.

 

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04141.html

 

http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/portgen.pdf

Page 3.........this was just the first Google search result. I didn't look further.

 

http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/portgen.pdf

Page 3.........this was just the first Google search result. I didn't look further.

Ok..I looked...see any regarding boating? I did not...most of the deaths were at home and inside.

 

Okay....it always comes to this when the question arises. If I may, let me summarize. I'm sure this is not the final word, and I would never offend any of my CSR buddies, but it's almost like politics.....

I respect your opinion and your right to make your own decisions, and I understand the need for 120VAC, but if you use a portable generator on your boat, no matter how careful and caring you are, it's a big mistake. I will not even go into the reasoning. If I see anyone doing it around me, I will stay as far away as possible.

 

And on that note...I rest my case.

I also hope I didn't offend anyone...That isn't my intention. I respect each and every post by the posters before me.
However....I just need to see some hard evidence about the use of them in boating.
Thats just me.

 

I just need to see some hard evidence about the use of them in boating.
Thats just me.

In other words if no one died yet, then it must be OK. Except for those two people, because they did something you wouldn't do. There's always an excuse for bad decision making. Hope that the statistics you are looking for isn't going to be someone from this site.

This is like the pilot thread. One can make all kinds of bad decisions and survive them. Sooner or later, though, one of those bad decisions might have a bad outcome. The intelligent and prudent person works to mitigate and minimize risks knowing that he can't control all of the variables.

My 26 didn't have a genset and I certainly wanted it on many occasions to run the A/C system. Didn't get a portable since the risk / reward ratio was suboptimal. When the deficiencies of that boat became too much, bought a new one. If you need a generator that your boat doesn't have, then you need a different boat.

Best regards,
Frank C

 

CO is a lethal poison that is produced when fuels such as gasoline are burned. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 2,500 people in the U.S. will die per year of carbon monoxide poisoning, and over 10,000 will be hospitalized, making it the most common causes of death from poisonings in the United States. It can rapidly accumulate even in areas that might appear to be well ventilated such as being outdoors on a boat. Because CO is colorless, tasteless, odorless, and nonirritating, it can overcome the exposed person without warning. It produces weakness and confusion, depriving the person of the ability to seek safety. For visitors boating, exposure to deadly airborne pollutants is the furthest thing from their mind.
The cause of death for these CO poisonings is reported as "drowning" and CO is not routinely tested by medical examiners unless specifically indicated. Because of this and because the symptoms mirror those of heat stress, flu, or even a hangover, experts believe that there many CO related poisonings are reported as mere drownings.

 

CO is a lethal poison that is produced when fuels such as gasoline are burned. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 2,500 people in the U.S. will die per year of carbon monoxide poisoning, and over 10,000 will be hospitalized, making it the most common causes of death from poisonings in the United States. It can rapidly accumulate even in areas that might appear to be well ventilated such as being outdoors on a boat. Because CO is colorless, tasteless, odorless, and nonirritating, it can overcome the exposed person without warning. It produces weakness and confusion, depriving the person of the ability to seek safety. For visitors boating, exposure to deadly airborne pollutants is the furthest thing from their mind.
The cause of death for these CO poisonings is reported as "drowning" and CO is not routinely tested by medical examiners unless specifically indicated. Because of this and because the symptoms mirror those of heat stress, flu, or even a hangover, experts believe that there many CO related poisonings are reported as mere drownings.

We were talking about portable gen sets right?
This seems to be running an engine...So should we all get sailboats now?

 

Your not going to change my mind...I won't change yours.
Your statement about anyone dying just firms up my argument. In fact more people die using thier lawnmover than portable gen sets. Are you not going to mow your lawn now?
Many people can't "afford the boat they need".
You call it a bad decision...That same argument could be used for ANYTHING you do in life. Sometimes sh1t happens.
Common sense rules as was said before.
If you don't have common sense virtually anything you do could be dangerous including driving a car.

 

Groucho,

You said just show you one article indicating a death attributed to use of a portable generator on a boat. I did....and even told you where to find it. In your haste to prove others wrong or yourself right, you apparently didn't make it to page 3 where it clearly states:

"Two investigated deaths were associated with a portable
generator used on a boat,......"

For me this whole discussion is not about who does what or how they try to sufficate themselves or blow their own asses off, but it is about our resposiblilty as knowledgable boaters to help others, who are not as experienced, learn from what is posted on CSR. You are probably right that almost anything we do in life has some danger associated with it. Just because my car has 160 on the speedometer doesn't mean I drive that fast. Safe boating is all about fully understanding risk and avoiding all the risky behaviour that you can.

When we advocate taking unnecessary risks, what kind of example are we setting for those who are new to the sport or who are non-technical and just want take their family boating?

 

When we advocate taking unnecessary risks, what kind of example are we setting for those who are new to the sport or who are non-technical and just want take their family boating?

Now there is the best statement in this entire thread!