Considerate use of ship's generator please

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It seems to me that users of well soundproofed built in on board generators believe them to be silent. They are not.

This summer, anchored alone at the N end of Loch Aline on a perfect summers evening, we were enjoying the silence being only occasionally interrupted by an Oystercatcher and, amazingly, an Eagle in a fight with a pair of crows.

Then a large yacht (probably 18m LOA) comes in and anchors not more than 20m from us. Unnecessarily close but, fair enough, we thought. And then the genny was fired up and was running for the next three hours.

The beauty of the evening wholly compromised by the need to cook burger and chips or whatever.

Please, if you have such a thing, please be aware of others and use it considerately. I've always thought genny hours were 10.00 to midday daily. Maybe 15.00 to 17.00 but no more than that.

If your boat can't survive without running the blessed thing then your boat is inadequately kitted out.

Thanks in anticipation of next summer.
 
Why not knock on the hull and tell them? Much more likely to have an effect than posting on a random internet forum they're unlikely to read :)

Or if you're feeling a bit antisocial, roll out the portable speakers and blast them with some Dimmu Borgir or the Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme over and over again :devilish:
 
Maybe he's a gentleman?

Definition: A gentleman is a person who can play the pipes, but doesn't.

Regards
Donald
 
Happened to us in Yarmouth (IOW). Something’s gotta keep all those blue LEDs going on a mobo.

Yarmouth specifically bans ‘em, so you ought to have had the backup of the harbour staff if inclined to complain.

We were opposite a very large motor yacht in St Peter Port two nights ago with a remarkably noisy genny. Didn’t bother us especially as we arrived about 2230 and went straight to bed; that sort of constant drone doesn’t stop me sleeping and my crew wears earphones for tinnitus. But if I had been the owner, I’d have had words with whoever installed the thing - really quite unreasonably loud and must have been clearly audible on their decks even if it wasn’t from inside.

Pete
 
Why not knock on the hull and tell them? Much more likely to have an effect than posting on a random internet forum they're unlikely to read :)

Fair point. I've tried that on one occasion before. On the pontoons up the River Truro at 23.00 one lovely evening about five years ago. I was told to "F*** off and mind your own f***ing business".

Since then I've been somwhat reluctant to make a polite request as I'm not overkeen on being told to "F*** off".
 
Another aspect of Robin's post; why in a more or less empty anchorage with acres of space, like Loch Aline, do some people feel the need to anchor so close?
 
We were opposite a very large motor yacht in St Peter Port two nights ago with a remarkably noisy genny.

We were near an average sized yacht (can't remember mobo or raggie) in St. Peter Port a few years back, with generator droning on for hours. Not so loud I didn't hear him telling another boat (not sure whether they were complaining) that it was because his wife wanted the water heating up for a shower. It must have been a very long, hot shower.
 
Some years ago I had the pleasure, if that's what it was, of quoting the harbour rules to the owner of a powerboat in Yarmouth and getting him to stop his generator one evening. I can accept a morning charging time, but some people are beyond decency. After some hours on a hot afternoon in Stralsund it took someone braver than me to get the owner of a 50' sailing boat to stop running his engine - when electric power was to hand.

On the other hand, a friend with an Island Packet 46ftish has a generator that outlets underwater. I have been tied up next to him and all you hear when the generator cuts in is a gentle blip blip blip.
 
Some years ago I had the pleasure, if that's what it was, of quoting the harbour rules to the owner of a powerboat in Yarmouth and getting him to stop his generator one evening. I can accept a morning charging time, but some people are beyond decency. After some hours on a hot afternoon in Stralsund it took someone braver than me to get the owner of a 50' sailing boat to stop running his engine - when electric power was to hand.

On the other hand, a friend with an Island Packet 46ftish has a generator that outlets underwater. I have been tied up next to him and all you hear when the generator cuts in is a gentle blip blip blip.

Mine also vents under the boat, so the Genset cant be heard from outside and can be barely heard from the cockpit. It seems inconsiderate to vent the Gneset in any other way, as most of the noise is created from the exhaust.
 
Ah, that's what did it.

Rofl.gif
 
Yarmouth specifically bans ‘em, so you ought to have had the backup of the harbour staff if inclined to complain.

We were opposite a very large motor yacht in St Peter Port two nights ago with a remarkably noisy genny. Didn’t bother us especially as we arrived about 2230 and went straight to bed; that sort of constant drone doesn’t stop me sleeping and my crew wears earphones for tinnitus. But if I had been the owner, I’d have had words with whoever installed the thing - really quite unreasonably loud and must have been clearly audible on their decks even if it wasn’t from inside.

Pete

I was alongside a large yacht at yarmouth that kept its genny on all night. It was to keep it's freezers running they said, many people were complaining to the harbour and the crew but no one wanted to know. It was loud enough to keep you awake.

My small genny has an exhaust water separator which allows the gas out above the water line, but the water out below. It is quieter than an ebespacher. As the engine itself is under my bed then running it all night isn't an option anyway!
 
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