Gas Vs. Diesel not the same old question

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GerryinMarco

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I know this is a popular question so I hesitate to ask. I have not seen this particular question addressed however, so here goes.

We are sailors, we have a 36 foot Catalina and we love it. But at 38 with a 5 year old we do not have time to use the boat as it was intended and we are looking to switch to a Motor Yacht.

We have always loved the Carver line, even the year we bought our boat from the Miami boatshow, (2000) I remember seeing the Carver 356 and thinking what a great boat.

So here is the question.
We mostly use our boat on weekends at anchor. We had a broker once tell us not to get a gas boat because he wouldn't trust sleeping on a boat with a gas generator, implying that both the CO and the explosive concerns.

We hardly go to marinas and need the A/C on at night much of the year. How safe is it with a gas GenSet running all night?

I would be just as happy on either but my wife is spooked because of this brokers comments.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Gerry
 
it really depends on the boat i think. Certainly gas has it's issues and there are certainly cases of CO poisoning and people dying from CO poisoning on gas powered boats and certainly diesel powered boats are much, much safer but....
I think that if you are talking about a relatively modern boat with modern CO detectors throughout the cabin and you regularly test them you are probably '"ok." Our boat is not a carver but it is a a gas powered boat somewhat similar to carver's boats. We run our genset off and on through the night in the middle of the summer. We try and run it as little as possible (reduced fumes, reduced fuel burn, and reduced noise) but reality is that here in Atlanta, in the heat of the summer, the a/c needs to be on and thus the genset. I usually will run it for a while at night, turn it off just as we turn in for bed, then sometimes wake up around 4 a.m. and turn it back on for a while or possibly on until dawn depending on how hot it is.
If you are talking an older boat I absolutely would make sure you have modern CO detectors wired in and tested for correct operation. Many people in our area will actually turn them OFF while rafted up b/c the detectors keep going off. To me that is the same as saying you don't really want to live...if my detector goes off during a raft up (which it never has), i'd be untying and telling my friends adios and anchoring out solo so i can live through the night. A couple on our dock had a relatively new boat made by a popular manufacturer and the wife almost died from them turning off the detectors and subsequent CO poisoning.

So...it can be safe to have gas powered...just have to have the right monitors/safety equipment installed and be very, very aware of safety.
 
I'm not a fan of gas generators either for the same reasons mentioned above. On my friend's boat we shut that genny down when turning in for the night at anchor...

Also, it can be a nuisance when running it while rafted up with other boats, if the exhaust vents over the side...
 
CO detectors are a MUST, if they go off, you need to find out where the CO is coming from and get it cleared out.

We raft up all the time, no one runs their gas genny overnight.
 
Many people sleep on the hook and run the gas gen set all night, like wood said:"So...it can be safe to have gas powered...just have to have the right monitors/safety equipment installed and be very, very aware of safety."

If the additional cost for diesel is affordable, then I would get diesel hands down. Re-sale will be higer especialy in your neck of the woods, also handling the boat around the dock will be much easier with diesel.

Walter
 
There is the actual answer that gas can be safe and the emotional answer of if diesel is safer how much is peace of mind worth???
 
Just throwing this out there: Our Carver Mariner 350 is gas powered - and the generator gets ALOT of use - if my wife is on the boat and it's summer time the genset is running and the A/C is on FULL BLAST. Typically the genset will be running anyway when it's warm as the icemaker is AC only - and ice is very nice in the Texas heat! CO detectors are hard-wired and tested - they've gone off once - and that was when I was at the helm, cruising across the lake, a buddy left the salon door open....so loud I heard it on the bridge...I shut her down, it vented out, CO detectors stopped alarming, all went back to normal.
 
Thanks all for the feedback.

As for the age of the boat it would be a late 90's or newer. I havnt gotten close enough on the decision process.

If I had to summarize what I have heard here; diesel is safer, gas "can" be safe if the proper precautions are taken....

What I was really hoping for was a resounding you have no worries, use the CO monitors and your all set. I dont think I am getting that feel....
 
For what it is worth, I feel safe from CO poisoning when my gas genset is running because I have 2 C0 detectors in each sleeping area. One hard wired, one battery powered.
We test them often and replace the batteries every few months.
Of course, I stay on top of the genset maintanence as well, to prevent exhaust leaks.

If you are that concerned about safety maybe a robust battery and inverter solution would be a better choice.

Given the precautions I've taken, I am more concerned about some drunk weenie in a speedboat driving through my boat as I sleep (has happened at my lake), than about CO killing me in my sleep.
 
rjcress,

Thanks for that feedback. I figured if you stay on top of the genset for leaks and have redundant CO detectors that would be good enough.

There is no practical way that I know of running an A/C off of a battery bank so a genset is really the only solution.

I hear you on the drunk boater. Where we boat there are plenty of places to anchor that are tucked away enough to be safe.

Gerry
 
My take.

Diesel is going to up the ante by bunche$. If money is no object, go for diesel. Far more power and much better fuel economy even with the prices being upside down from normal.

There is nothing wrong with gas particlarly in the size you are looking at and especially if you are going to use it at mostly trawler speeds.

In the years you are looking at, the gennie may or may not be an 1800 RPM model. If the gennie is original and shot, all the better. The new ones are low CO and most are 1800 RPM. Couple the gennie to a Xintex Model CMD-4MR-RLY (CO detector that shuts down the gennie when levels are at 10%COHb (whatever that is)) and you're good. Les has the CO detector. If that is not enough, you could hook up a Safe-T-Stack exhaust system and pump any CO about 10 feet over the boat.
 
quote:
Originally posted by pdecat

how do you test them???

Click to expand...

Bruce,
other than the test button, how do you test a co detector.

Walter
 
Walter: my problem exactly. we need a co gas dispenser to test more than the alarm.
 
I suppose you could "test it" the way I accidentally tested it - leave the salon door open while cruising around (no one done below of course)...the "station wagon" effect.
 
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