[ReelMagic]

I owned a 1997 31 open for 10 years and never really missed a generator... I agree it takes up a lot of space in the engine room making serving difficult to say the least and adds to the maintenance costs/issues ... If you cruise as we did, staying at marinas, I don't think it's a necessity.... We cruised extensively over the 10 years, many trips in excess of 3 weeks. Covered lots of water including Chesapeake Bay, Hudson River/Lake Champlain to Montreal, East to Boston, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Block Island and points north to NH from our home port on Long Island Sound... Never felt we needed a generator even when we stayed on the hook for a day or so... Believe the 31's were split between those with and those w/o a generator. I now own a 38 Open with a generator and continue to cruise the same waters... Most of the time I run w/o the generator running although it's great to have the cabin cool, ice from the ice machine when tying up for the night. It's also nice when spending a night or 2 on the hook ensuring the batteries remain changed & ice for drinks. We never go to sleep w/generator running. Just open the hatches and port hole windows.....M2C