Ethanol-enhanced fuel doing dirty disservice to boat gas tanks

When Congress passed the 2005 Energy Bill, the legislation included a mandate that oil refiners increase the percentage of corn-based ethanol they add to their gasoline products.

Bill supporters argued it was the "green thing" to do, and it would result in lower vehicle emissions while reducing America's need for imported oil. The jury is still out on both counts. In the meantime, motorists continue to burn ethanol-enhanced gasoline, and so do unsuspecting boaters.

Not long after the gasoline suppliers in the Long Island area of New York switched to ethanol-blended gasoline, the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) started receiving reports of ethanol-related problems from boat owners. According to an article in Seaworthy, a BoatUS newsletter dealing with marine insurance issues, there were "several engines in the Long Island Sound area that seemed to have been badly damaged when fiberglass tanks that had been filled with ethanol-enhanced gasoline started to fail. Some of the tanks had begun leaking."

Similar reports came in from California and the Great Lakes area, so BoatUS conducted tests to confirm whether the problems associated with fiberglass tanks were linked to ethanol-blended fuel. The results showed that tanks exposed to the gasoline mixture lost as much as 40 percent of their structural strength.

While attending a boat accident investigation course a few years ago, I learned that fumes from a single cup of gasoline spilled or leaked into the bilge of a boat could result in an explosion equal to that of several dynamite sticks. It then would be logical to believe that dissolving fuel tanks could lead to an explosive situation.

Most of the reports received by BoatUS involve fiberglass tanks made before the mid-1980s by manufacturers such as Hatteras, Bertram and Chris Craft, but any boat with a fiberglass fuel tank that was not designed to be used with ethanol-blended fuels probably should be considered suspect. It's also a good idea to check fuel hoses for leaks or deterioration.

In addition to weakened gasoline tanks, boat owners also have reported significant engine damage as components in the fiberglass dissolve and pass through their boat's fuel system. The reports described symptoms that include a black sludge that builds up on engine components such as intake manifolds and valves. This sludge is the result of a chemical breakdown in the fiberglass and causes engine parts to stick, and it eventually destroys the motor.

Like most boaters, Lawrence Taylor, a 50-year-old California attorney, was unaware that ethanol-blended gasoline could weaken the integrity of his vessel's fiberglass gasoline tank. It wasn't until he had to cough up $35,000 for boat repairs that Taylor became aware. So he decided to do something about the situation and filed suit in federal court. Among the 10 gasoline producers and distributors listed as defendants in his suit are Chevron and Exxon Mobile.

Taylor's argument, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, is that the defendants failed to warn boaters that using ethanol-blended gasoline could damage their vessels.

An article in ABA Journal, an online publication of the American Bar Association, quoted Shell Oil Co. president John Hofmeister as saying his company was not at fault because "there were years of advance notification that this change was coming." He contends that "any boat owner or any boat seller or any boat maintenance shop that didn't know about this impending change and the potential consequences simply wasn't listening or reading."

So what can boat owners do now? If the fuel tank on your boat is made of fiberglass, my suggestion is to have your mechanic inspect the tank to make sure that its integrity has not been compromised. If necessary, replace it with something that will stand up to ethanol. Your mechanic can help you with that as well. It might cost you a few bucks, but gasoline isn't anything to fool with. I've seen the aftermath of vessel explosions.

For more information on the subject, read a synopsis of the BoatUS test results online at www.boatus.com/seaworthy/fueltest.asp#results. And have a dictionary handy.

Doug Nielsen is an award-winning freelance writer and a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His "In the Outdoors" column is published Thursday. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.