Carver Owners Forum

I'm a new owner of a Carver 356. Just had the impeller on the generator replaced. Took the boat out. While under way the generator impeller malfunctioned. Mechanic said that the generator should not be used while on plane. Is that correct?

REALLY? On plane?
I guess it would depend on where the water intake is located for the generator .
Never heard of that as an issue in all my years.
How fast are you going that the bottom of the boat is out of the water? And if you are skimming the surface I would think just the bouncing back onto the surface would give enough flow to keep the impeller functioning.

When you say it malfunctioned, exactly what happened?
Many people run their gensets while on plane.

Not saying one way or the other that the tech is correct or wrong as we don't have all the facts but you can get away with it in some designs and not others. There's a few factors that will determine whether you can operate the generator while under way under certain conditions; the hull design, the placement of the intake, the type of intake fitting, pump efficiency, and hull speed. Sometimes conditions will cause a vacuum at the intake and pull water out of it instead of allowing it in.

I don't run mine often, but I have ran it while on plane several times with no issues.

I had a friend with a 356 and he ran the generator ALL THE TIME when he was cruising. His older generator failed from 'lack of use' and he was determined to not let the same fate befall the one on the 356. Plus, he had an air conditioned cabin that was already down to temperature when they got to where they were going to drop the hook.

If you were in a go-fast boat that was out of the water half the time I might say differently, but in a 356 you shouldn't have a problem at all.