[FarCry]

While not designed to shut the motor down, there are many raw water flow alarms on the market. If you are alerted to the lack of flow, it could even be sooner than a temp gauge knows what's going on. In either case, you've likely eaten an impeller.

All that said, I would never sleep with a generator running. While accidentally frying the genset is one reason, which the OP is trying to prevent, presumably the generator is running to power something. That power draw is a fire hazard, while sleeping.

Our Mase generator has both an oil and temp cutoff built in. Still, no sleep with it running. In fact, I've received false alarms too and the motor won't start, thinking the oil is low. I dig into the genset locker, check, no issue. Have to fully reset the brains on the genset and start over. Fail safes are not fail proof either. Again, why one shouldn't rely on one while sleeping.

There is an Onan in a charter fleet that did shut down (repeatedly) when it sensed a lack of water flow, complete PIA as it was far to sensitive for charter guests to trouble shoot. It is still connected and functional but another electrical pump was added to help increase the raw water flow...

Do you sleep with the air conditioning on when at a slip? Isn't that power draw a fire hazard too? What about the battery charger? Refrigeration? You don't trust that those devices are wired up to the current standard (bad pun) and that the breakers will trip as designed and save you, do you?

I recall you have chartered in the BVI. The majority of the hundreds of catamarans in the charter fleet have generators that run every night, and many all day, for AC. In the 9 years I've been here I've yet to hear of a single fatality. Have you? I'm not disagreeing that running any electrical item while asleep has the potential to be hazardous. The act of boating itself carries risks. Statistically I'm aware of far more people seriously hurt after being hit by ferry boats than of having been injured by a generator. Ferry operators scare me, generators do not. Again, why one should be scared of ferries in the VI.

 

[FarCry]

No worries, it's all good Minnewaska. I understand your concern. My belief is that if factory installed generators are killing people in production boats, somebody is getting sued and the problems will be fixed pronto!!! Even before the lawsuits are filed, there will be threads galore on the sailing forums. If some hack were trying to install a Honda 2000 inboard with some PVC for exhaust piping and a death was the result, probably a lively thread but not so much concern for other boaters.

I spent a fair amount of time on a 54DS and it never entertained me. What does yours do, juggle? Teasing, I know what you meant, very comfortable vessel that is excellent for entertaining above or below deck. The way you wrote it made it seem like your DS routinely served drinks and took care of guests while you were away. That's a factory option that would be popular.

Fire scares me more than anything else on the water.

When are you coming back down to sail the local waters?