Why 2 generators

[Chiller11]

Why are there two generators on 55, 60 and 65 Convertibles?

 

[jim rosenthal]

The usual rig is two gensets of different sizes- the big one, which will run everything on the boat, and the smaller one, which is used at night to keep essentials like AC and fridges/freezers going. At least that's what I've been told. Maybe the redundancy is useful, or if they are the same size, they alternate running them.

 

[Pascal]

The biggest reason for having two gens is redundancy. On many boats over 50 or so when you loose the gen it s pretty much game over, back to the dock. This is really important on long trips I’m the bahamas for instance. Also have when spending a lot of time on the hook, it allows you to do fine one a rest a do some maintenance like oil change.

In some cases, a second genny maybe needed when using everything on board like cooking, water maker and laundry. Many boats can’t really run it all on a single gen and having to juggle loads is a pain

On older boats, sometimes you’d have a smaller gen to use at night when loads are lower. I m not a big fan of that set up as you have to double the spare parts and loose some of the redundancy.

Like everything else on a boat it all depends on how you use the boat… if you rarely spend kind time away and on the hook a single genny saves weight and leaves more room in the ER

 

[Briankinley2004]

My 55C has only one generator. I do not see where another was ever installed. If it was they did an excellent job of removing it. The current one I have is a 23KW and it runs everything on the boat unlike using a single 50 amp shore power connection. I have had it quit on the hook. Since it charges the only 12 V battery on the boat (In addition to a 120V charger for 12V) I turned all of the 12volt off which meant electronics too. I think I left VHF and AIS on. Turned out the push on spade connector at the fuel pump had vibrated loose so should have been an easy repair but I was tired. A second generator would have been nice.

 

[rsmith]

The original owner of ours had Rybovitch outfit the boat from new. They put a 7.5 in addition to the 15kw. There was also an elaborate transformer set up with huge pots to manually boost the low voltage that was found in the outreaches of the Bahamas then. We used to use the boat for multi day trips to the NE offshore canyons. 100 mi offshore lose the gen your done. Plus it’s nice to shut one down to give it a rest and check the oil and fluids.

 

[JuiceClark]

Wait until we have hybrids. You'll have a big genny to run the electric motor on each shaft and another to supply the boat. Quietly moving at hull or trolling speed with the big motors off will be nice. When operating normally, the centrifugal clutch on the electric motors will retract and all will be like it always was.