www.iFourWinns.com

We are staring a week vacation and plan to do alot of anchoring out overnight. Never used the genny before except to start it to check AC output. When at anchor and running the genny do you keep the bilge blower running also or only prior to starting like you do with the engines?

We run our Gen quite a bit, about double what the boat motors run. We have some great places to stay on the hook, I always leave the blower on while the Gen is running. There is no moving air so this is the only way the engine compartment can get vented.
Have fun.

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Terry
2005 Vista 348
5.7 Volvo I/O

If I might make a suggestion, bring along another home CO monitor. Like the kind you'd mount on the ceiling at home. I picked up a Kidde unit, one that has an LCD screen showing PPM count. I never hurts to have additional CO detection given how deadly CO poisoning can be. I keep one on the shelf behind the couch in the main cabin. Not mounted, just resting there. It tends to go off about 3 minutes ahead of the built-in sensors (I tested this). That and you can pop the battery on it to kill the gawdawful racket it makes, while you're opening all the hatches to let in fresh air (after you've stopped the genset, of course).

Just make sure to keep the main companionway door (and most hatches) closed when the generator is running. It's pretty easy for the fumes to waft in otherwise.

We've anchored out with ours several times and had no CO-related alarms. What we DID have was the built-in CO sensors go off in the middle of the night when the batteries ran too low. Apparently the CO alarms will go off if the voltage drops too far. This is no fun to learn when you're sh!tfaced and bare-ass in the middle of the night.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

haha Bill...love your %^&*faced and bare%$# reference. Had low battery go off one night same thing, we got all nerved out for a little bit.

As fro Generator we use ours quite a bit during day cruising and have had some hook experience. We always run the blower with Gen on. We dont sleep with Gen-on. we turn off almost all power mungering devices including A/C during night. Battery enough to keep us going (frig and occasional light/vacuflush). Of course nights on the hook are usually nice and cool here in New England! if I were to sleep with Gen-on because I need A/C then I would take Bill's advice and have a redundant CO sensor in cabin.

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2006 348 Vista
"Cruisin Home"
Hampton NH

Where you headed? we are thinking of spending the night on the hook at Chambers or insde Egg Harbor for Sunday night fireworks.

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Michael Bova


"Swept Aweigh"
2003 Four Winns 328 Vista

Previous Boat
2003 Crownline 230CCR

We used to sleep on the hook quite a bit when we first bought our 298 Vista but never ran the gen at night due to paranoia. Even when we had our Carver 406MY, we never took the chance. I read too many sad stories about how CO2 resulted in boaters deaths and it is usually cool enough at night not to need AC.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY