To generate or not to generate

B

Bye Bye Money

New Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Age
36
Model
Marlin
So my wife gave the green light to get a marlin 300 since we have kids now... the only thing is it’s a bigger boat than I’ve had previously and with kids it’s hard to say what the electronic usage will be. The boat is currently without a generator but a FP 5kw was quoted around 20-25k installed. Regardless of generator type I was hoping to get a feel for putting in the FP or getting an eco portable or something to make due when needed?

Any feedback is helpful.. and it’s a 2021
 
I'd go without for a while and see if you really need/use it. I don't use it a ton, but I'm on a slip with shore power. If I were buying new, I'd skip and have the smallest Honda generator avail for the few times I'd want it. It really comes down to your use case. If traveling a lot, it is nice especially if you are on the hook versus a slip.
 
When we were looking for a 305 Express I did not want a generator, just didn’t feel like we needed it. Well the boat we found and bought had a FP generator and now am glad we have it. Have only used about 7 gallons out of the 12 it holds and that was over 5 months so not a lot of use but being able to just push a button and have boat powered up while out is so nice. 20-25k is a lot especially when a small Honda would probably work but if I were building a new boat I would just go all in and do it right.
 
If you can afford it I'd buy it. Comes in real handy when you need it, especially on those hot days. When buying a used boat it was a must for me. Resale wise you may not recoup your money but will certainly increase the size of the audience of prospective buyers. I never had a buyer walk away from a deal because the boat had a generator.
 
20k is a big purchase, but on a brand new boat I guess it’s not huge compared to the overall price. My kids love being able to heat up food and have a hot meal offshore. Mac and cheese is a winner. Running the AC is nice too.

Depends on your usage. We spend lots of time just in marinas and on shore power as well.
 
I have a 330 and we will use the boat to cruise and overnight a lot. Definitely need a generator. My current generator on the boat I just bought is a Kohler 5E gas it has 6. Hours on it. My plan was to pull it and put a diesel in it but it’s in such good shape and I have dumped a ton of money in this new to me boat I decide to run it for a year or two.
I checked out a nexgen 3.5 diesel for like 7500.. that’s probably the one I will go with when it’s time.
a cheaper option than that to try would be a Honda 2000 eu. I use to run one on my Marlin. I would put it on the pulpit and run the shore power cord to the back. Just make sure you have an 02 sensor mounted in the cabin.
 
ocdansar said:
I have a 330 and we will use the boat to cruise and overnight a lot. Definitely need a generator. My current generator on the boat I just bought is a Kohler 5E gas it has 6. Hours on it. My plan was to pull it and put a diesel in it but it’s in such good shape and I have dumped a ton of money in this new to me boat I decide to run it for a year or two.
I checked out a nexgen 3.5 diesel for like 7500.. that’s probably the one I will go with when it’s time.
a cheaper option than that to try would be a Honda 2000 eu. I use to run one on my Marlin. I would put it on the pulpit and run the shore power cord to the back. Just make sure you have an 02 sensor mounted in the cabin.
Click to expand...
MA208 said:
20k is a big purchase, but on a brand new boat I guess it’s not huge compared to the overall price. My kids love being able to heat up food and have a hot meal offshore. Mac and cheese is a winner. Running the AC is nice too.

Depends on your usage. We spend lots of time just in marinas and on shore power as well.
Click to expand...

I appreciate all the responses! However for those that run the gensets do you guys also have inverters?
 
that’s interesting, our main use will be over nighters to Catalina but short ones till the kids get bigger so won’t be shore power there. Cuz otherwise fishing is no worries it seems or even day trips. I guess we’ll just have to get out and see
 
I love my FP which is still the original in my 2003. But, if/when it dies I will almost certainly replace it with an inverter (and hopefully lithium batteries will be pretty standard by then). However, we rarely if ever turn the air conditioning on or use the hot water heater, so my main use case for 110v AC is to make coffee in my Keurig, microwave a quick meal, or run my George Foreman grill to do some hot dogs or burgers. For that, an inverter and moderately sized battery bank would work great and would be one less motor to winterize and maintain.
 
love and use the generator on my 330 all. the time. I run it every time I leave the dock. That said 20-25 is a lot I ran a honda 2000 all the on my 265 and it worked great. I would use a honda 2000 for a season and see how much you really use it before you spend the 20-15. Good luck
 
We (4 of us) did a lot of overnighting - even extended weekends in our Sea Ray Sundancer (cruiser). So likely, very similar use to what you are asking out. I used ONE deep cycle battery for the house loads and never ran it down. In fact, I once went 3 days and purposefully never switched away from the DC battery. I ran the engine a total of about an hour that whole time and still was able to start the engine just fine on the last day. We had the frdige running the whole time, some stereo use, lights at night and the all-around light on all night. All cooking was done on either on-board alcohol stove or the cockpit Magma stove. Point is, you can do quite a lot on a battery. If you wanted, you could put two deep cycle batteries in parrallel to double the run time.

This is not to say that I'm against a genny - you'll need that for AC - but you do have options. One last thing... a built-in genny will never be less expensive than ordering it with the boat... although it sounds like you're buying a boat that is already in stock at your dealer?

Before you consider (if you are, that is) a portable genny please read up on the safety problems with them. Every year, there are people who never wake up from the use of the portables on boats and RV's. CO poisoning is just one of the issues - and whether the genny is placed on the bow or the platform, CO can still enter the boat. Rather than list everything here, go to post #9 at the thread below. You owe it to yourself and your family to read the entire thing.

Genny Replacement Marlin

I'm kindof sick of the amount of maintenance and babying I have to do for my 2007 FP Mini4+ generator. For a handful of reasons this thing requires the capsule to be removed WAY TOO OFTEN to replace relays, troubleshoot, etc... Not to mention how I have to dislocate my shoulder to access the...
www.greatgrady.com www.greatgrady.com
 
Last edited:
My 305 came with a generator and I end up using it a lot more then I thought I would. Being able to run the A/C during hotter summer months and heat in the colder months when not on the dock is very nice as well as using the microwave and coffee maker. The ability to overnight fishing trips and not worry about battery power is wonderful. If i was building new I got definitely add the generator. if Helm A/c is also an option i would add that as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: frankm
You must log in or register to reply here.