On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:07:36 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:49:41 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

Questions:

1: Is the noise of the honda due to its exhausting into air?

That's a major part of it but the mechanical noise is also
significant.

2: Dont people who use these already have a diesel engine that should
power their alternator (seems not to be the case).

They seem to be showing up mostly on boats that do not have
permanently installed generators, no other pattern that I've seen. One
of the most annoying that we've encountered was on a 30 something
powerboat that was apparently running it for refrigeration. The boat
was on a mooring next to ours for several days and the generator was
being run more than half the time.

3: Is it outboard powered sailboats that have these problematic
generators?

No, a fair number of inboard sailboats also have them. They're OK if
used only for emergency charging or repairs.

4: Would the problem be alleviated by exhausting into the water via a
water lift exhaust as most inboard diesels do?

Possibly but it's hard to say without some testing.

I wonder if it has something to do with the hull or deck?

I have a 2000i (I posted about it further up the thread) and I think
it's very quiet compared to other small generators.

Now compared to the 15kw Kubota 3 cylinder diesel house generator,
it's positively silent. :)

Seriously, I have to wonder if it's something about the boats that
causes the problem rather than the generator itself. The 2000i is
rated at rougly 50dB which is normal conversation "noise" level. As
far as I'm concerned, it's quieter than that.