Bill Cochran

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There are places we fish for saltwater striped bass where we must tend our boat carefully or within seconds it can be swept by the wind or tide into riprap that will tear it apart.

So we always keep the engine in idle, and if it isn’t idling smoothly, we worry.

Last season, we did a lot of worrying.

That’s because there is a new threat to boating, and it starts at the fuel pump and can lead to poor engine performance, breakdowns and costly repairs. It is called E-10, which stands for fuel that may contain up to 10 percent ethanol.

Most of us don’t pay much attention to the E-10 warning on the fuel pump when we fill up our car or truck, because it isn’t that big of a deal. Fuel seldom has time to age in a road vehicle, but that is not the case for boats where it may sit in a tank for weeks, even months, and cause a bunch of bad things to ruin your day as it deteriorates. If you haven’t experienced them, just wait. You likely will.

Here are some of the things Yamaha says about E-10 fuel:

• Its useable lifespan may be less than the normal length of off-season boat storage.
• It will clean gum, varnish and corrosion from any surface it contacts in the boat fuel system. The loosened sludge can clog fuel lines and filters.
• It will increase the amount of water accumulating in fuel tanks. The water can drop to the bottom of the tank resulting in phase separation and poor performance.
• It may dissolve plastic resins used to make some fiberglass fuel tanks in older boats.

One mechanic I deal with told me that some of his customers had to have their outboards serviced three times last season. Another mechanic told me E-10 problems are way overrated.

Both probably are correct, depending on how much use or lack of use an engine receives or the extent of preventative maintenance it is given.

I’ve read releases from outboard manufacturers claiming their engines have no problem with E-10, yet some of their service bulletins warn of problems.

Even if you don’t have mechanical problems, be aware that E-10 fuels do not produce as much energy as gasoline, which hurts performance and fuel economy.

So why burn the stuff?

Well, you don’t have much choice. The government is mandating that ethanol be mixed with gasoline for a number of reasons. It is derived from plants, so it saves on fossil fuel consumption, its emissions are cleaner and it benefits farmers who grow the corn and other crops to produce it.

Gasoline without ethanol can be difficult to locate, but if you look hard you still can find it, as I did recently in the Roanoke Valley at Liberty-brand stations. Where I do most of my fishing, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, I haven’t seen it for the past year.

Is it worth towing your boat to an out of way place where you can buy fuel free of ethanol, or carrying containers to transport such fuel to your boat? I believe it is. But that may be short lived because I understand everyone will have to sell the stuff by 2010.

There are things you can do to help protect your motor. I replaced my fuel filter with a water separation filter which better repels water and tiny solids and lets you drain water that collects in a bowl. I switched my fuel line primer bulb so it is stationed before the filter, not after it. That way I can drain the filter and pump fuel back into it with the primer bulb.

Several outboard manufactures are recommending 10 micron filters, and they aren’t cheap and should be serviced often. Some boaters are carrying an extra filter with them.

Keep your tank as full as possible to reduce condensation, and run your engine as often as you can. Most problems are resolved by frequent use. Avoid running your tank to near empty so as not to suck into your engine the water or gunk in the bottom of the tank.

Perhaps the biggest step most boaters can take is to faithfully add a fuel stabilizer, such as Star Tron, Sta-Bil or Pri-G, each time you top off your tank. It isn’t cheap, but neither is a trip to your mechanic.

Be aware, things may get worse. The new Secretary of Agriculture has stated that he would like to see the current 10 percent ethanol mix go higher. As far as I know, no outboard is set up to run more than 10 percent ethanol.

Boaters are watching a lawsuit in Florida alleging negligence against six oil companies for failing to warn of potential harm from ethanol blended gasoline when used in outboard engines.

A solution would be to make ethanol free fuel available for boat use only, similar to how off-road diesel is available at a tax discount. But that would be costly, so it isn’t likely to happen. We are stuck with ethanol problems and will have to learn to deal with them.

All my life, I’ve owned outboard engines that would start easily, require little maintenance and always get me home. I wonder if those days are over.

For additional information on E-10 and boats check Boat U.S. and startron.com.

Your comments welcome: xrails@earthlink.net