Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

First time filling up the new boat.
Of course the place i bought it wants me to take it to them, however they are a 20 min boat ride away. Not a big issue but i thought id check another option.


#1-Marina where I purchased: Octane 87 0% ethanol $3.19/gallon

#2-Closer marina to my slip: Octane 89 for $3.45 or Octane 93 for $3.77. Both have 10% ethanol.

To me, and my wallet, option 1 seems smarter. Especially since its 0% ethanol

Thoughts?

#1.

Avoid ethanol if possible. If you have to use it keep a supply of fuel treatment aboard.

What they said! Ethanol is not good! but treatment is compulsory in small and boat engines!

If you happen to be riding and close to the other marina, stop for gas. Those prices are pretty cheap for on the water fuel.

Our local marinas charge about $1.50 over the price of street gasoline. I have a buddy with a 27' Cobalt with a 498 cubic inch Mercruiser and he gets 2 mpg. By the time he goes to the other end of the lake and gets home, he's about 1/2 tank down on fuel.

I just bought a gasoline buddy (14 gallon) and I have three 5 gallon Jerry cans. For $1.50 a gallon difference, I'm glad to take the fuel down to my boathouse.

I just wonder how the guys in our neighborhood can afford to run their 38' Fountains with twin Mercruisers using about 75 gallons per hour? They run'em all weekend, and they're heavy on the throttles.

From what I am told by the marina i bought it.....2015 50hp 4stroke Mercury should be sippin gas on a pontoon.

I am gonna fill her to the top and see ill how great of gas mileage i actually get.

and agree, how the hell anyone can afford the big engines on the gas guzzlers is beyond me.

Yep, when I was doing the Poker Runs at LotO, I was feeding a 525hp 502, fuel through a 1" fuel line. I would burn 100 gallons an hour WOT. My last one was when gas prices soared to over $7/gallon for 93 octane on the lake. Went through over 400 gallons in one weekend. That's when we sold the Baja and bought the Manitou in 2007. Ya know what? I DON'T MISS IT!!!
Katie, for the fuel savings in buying gas at that distance, I would buy the 89 at the closer marina. Your probably gonna burn at least 2 gallons to get there. And use Stabil Ethanol treatment, for sure!
In the end, you'll figure it out as your wheel time increases. You'll find the best cruising speeds. Just takes time.
So, how are you liking it, so far?

no question... go with option 1.... avoid ethanol gas whenever possible.

ROLAND wrote:no question... go with option 1.... avoid ethanol gas whenever possible.

This ^^^^^^^^

Bryden24shp wrote:Yep, when I was doing the Poker Runs at LotO, I was feeding a 525hp 502, fuel through a 1" fuel line. I would burn 100 gallons an hour WOT. My last one was when gas prices soared to over $7/gallon for 93 octane on the lake. Went through over 400 gallons in one weekend. That's when we sold the Baja and bought the Manitou in 2007. Ya know what? I DON'T MISS IT!!!
Katie, for the fuel savings in buying gas at that distance, I would buy the 89 at the closer marina. Your probably gonna burn at least 2 gallons to get there. And use Stabil Ethanol treatment, for sure!
In the end, you'll figure it out as your wheel time increases. You'll find the best cruising speeds. Just takes time.
So, how are you liking it, so far?

So far so good. Only been out the day i got her since the weather has sucked ever since then. I want to take her out and just get acquainted with her but no dice. I put 3 hrs on her the first day. I want to fill her tank up seeing as they had 10 gallons in her BEFORE the 3 hrs.

What if you put the ethanol gas in it but dont put the stabilizer in? If i fill up w the ethanol mixture just enough to get me to the better gas station. Would mixing the two blends hurt it?

Nothing will happen, besides being dumb for using food as fuel have any of you actually had an ethonal related issue? I have ONCE and we have had E10 for 25+ in Minnesota and my issue involved an old lawn more where the old fuel lines got eaten by the ethonal. No need to "stabilize" it either unless you plan on not using it for more than 3 months or so. Any engine after the mid 90's shouldn't have any issues with E10, the only engines I watch are older performance 2 strokes where E10 might lean out the Air/fuel ratio too much and score a piston.

Yes, I have. On my 2006 Party Cruiser, the "ethanol safe" labeled fuel line dissolved, bits of the fuel line destroyed the carburetor and fuel pump, had to drain the tank. This was with fuel that was 2 weeks old. Boat US agent came out, took a report and claimed it happened to 100s of vessels that year in our area (2007). Fuel from many different refineries and companies.

On my way to the lake on Friday, I decided to top off my 50 gallon tank .. it took more gas than I expected but at 2.99/gal for 87 ethanol free gas, .. fill 'er up!

Do you get rebates on gas tax for your boat? Here in Delaware we get back $0.23 a gallon on gas used for your boat.

just to make the subject more confusing
when i bought my boat last year i also thought that it would be wise to use non ethanol fuel
I found a farm store about 3 miles away that had it for almost 2 dollars cheaper that my on lake marina
i noticed as the year progressed my boat started harder as the season progressed. when i first got it it started like my truck
just touch the key and it started, later I would have to hit the key a couple of times especially when cold.
on the last weekend we wanted to go for a short ride before storage so i got a 5 gallon jug put four in the boat and kept a gallon for
my lawn mower, when i put the gas in the mower i noticed the fuel was cloudy, i never noticed when filling my boat because I using my shaker hose as it is dark blue.
I spoke to my dealer and they told me they were having a lot of problems with boats using bad non ethonol fuel from several stations in the area. it seems that several companies are selling it for marine use or RV use and not selling enough of it to keep it fresh.
He recommends that we use automotive fuel and use the quicksilver fuel treatment, it is only about 10.00 for 12 ounces and one ounce treats 10 gallons. put fresh fuel in boat and runs great.
moral of the story, only buy fuel from trusted source.
Mike