Liveaboard dependence on electrical appliances has increased enormously on yachts. So have the headaches about how best to provide sufficient onboard electrical power to satisfy the ever-growing demand.
At one time, the primary solution was a generator or alternator mounted on the vessel’s engine(s) to charge a house battery underway, and on a shore-power connection to charge and provide electricity at a dock. When the average yacht’s hotel current draw began to exceed what a shore-power connection could provide, the use of onboard gensets steadily gained in popularity, eventually becoming a mainstay.
The problems with standalone gensets are that they’re heavy, they occupy a lot of space, and they’re noisy. Truth be told, they are often oversized for the loads they
