Back on July 22 I posted an article and link, which you can still access here: http://www.followthescience.org/.

The title was More Ethanol Horrors. In that entry I provided the link above that I really wish more people would check out because this whole ethanol thing is really starting to annoy me and a whole lot of other folks representing many industry sectors including environmental, food, motor vehicle, power equipment and our own NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association) to name a few. Why do I bring this up again? Our good friends at the EPA (let me spell that out: Environmental Protection Agency) are scheduled to protect us by the end of September, a mere 4.5 weeks from now. They're going to protect us by making a decision on whether or not to propose an increase of from 10% to 15% for ethanol in our gasoline.

I have a better suggestion. If the EPA really wants to protect us, they should ban the use of ethanol fuels as they are currently produced. I haven't heard of, seen or read anything in the last several years that tells me this movement is  in any way actually protecting the environment. The only thing as near as I can tell, that's being protected with this movement are a few big time corn farmers that produce the raw material for making the ethanol. Science can do way better than this and use other plants to produce ethanol if they must. Why not use the corn to feed some of the starving millions around the globe? That'll keep farmer John busy.

Please people, we're running out of time here. Read the link above and then call or write your congress person and tell them you really want this whole idea squashed. Its not helping us, and the EPA to date has shown no real grasp of the science and economics involved in this matter. I'm afraid they'll just sign off on the 15% requirement. There's a whole lot more than how well your boat engine runs at stake here.

A week or so ago I posted some mid-season tips you should consider, like touching up any brightwork on your boat and getting the bottom cleaned to improve both speed and fuel economy. Well, there's another thing you need to get a look at and deal with, especially if you're running an outboard engine or IO drive on your boat. The drive anodes. If they are more than 50% consumed, get some new ones installed right away. Remember, once they're gone the next piece of metal in the corrosion food chain is your engine............Do I need to say more?

Just in case you don't know an anode from a fish hook, the diagram above illustrates where you might find them on your engine. Get a look at yours and replace as needed. Just a reminder, many folks call these "zincs". The best anodes today are actually made of an aluminum alloy. Much better performance and easy to find these days. 

Yesterday Yamaha Motors came out with some really sound advice regarding running their engines in the Gulf of Mexico, more specifically what to do if you find yourself running through an oil slick. As far as I'm concerned, their advice will work for just about any makers engine. Here's the official Yamaha take on it:

"In the weeks following the BP/Transocean's Deepwater Horizon's oil spill Yamaha has received many calls from many concerned consumers who wish to learn more about the operation of Yamahaa outboard motors in crude oil contaminated waters. The conditions that currently exist in portions of the Gulf of Mexico are are unique and unusual. There is very little data to support any assertions for how the product might react when exposed to them.

While Yamaha does not recommend deliberate operation of it's outboards in oil contaminated water, we realize the outboards will be used in these conditions.

Yamaha takes some pride in the fact that so many Yamaha-powered boats are being used in support of clean-up efforts in the Gulf, and we have been monitoring dealer and consumer comments regarding the performance of these outboards. To date, few difficulties have been reported as a direct result of oil contamination.

For outboards that are used in crude oil contaminated water, Yamaha has the following general recommendations:

• Operators should use extreme vigilance in monitoring water pressure and temperature conditions of the outboard.
• Frequently clean the outboard lower unit, using a mixture of liquid dish detergent and water.
• Frequently clear debris from the cooling water intake intakes using a stiff brush.

Consumer questions regarding use in oil contaminated waters should be directed to Yamaha Consumer Relations at: (866)894-1626.

This all seems like sensible sound advice to me and again, my view is that this is good advice for all outboard motors running around the Gulf these days.

Well its Memorial Day weekend and at least for me the boating season has begun. On my power boating side that means striper fishing here in the northeast.

Every now and then the fish get smarter than fishermen and one of the ways they do that is to get our fishing line caught up in the propeller on the boat. This almost always means that the fish will break off and miss the chance to get hauled into the boat. Bummer on the lost fish! But don't turn an event like this into something worse like a blown up lower unit on your outboard engine! The photo below shows what happens:

If this fishing line is left on the shaft behind your propeller it will eventually destroy the seal behind it that keeps water out of your gearcase and oil in the gearcase. The bottom line is that if this goes unattended, the lost fish is going to be the least of your worries.

So, the tip here is to pay attention! If you or somebody on your boat gets a line caught up in your propeller, don't ignore the issue. Just because the engine still runs and the propeller still turns does not mean that trouble isn't just around the corner. When you get back to shore, remove the propeller for inspection to see if fishing line, as shown above has wrapped itself around the shaft. If it has, get it rid of it! While your at it, if you didn't already grease the shaft as part of your spring maintenance routine, do it now. Reinstall the propeller and give that striper another go tomorrow. Have a great holiday everybody!

This one falls in the why didn't I think of that category. One of our readers sent me a photo the other day showing his solution to pushing some fuel through his diesel fuel system to get it to his fuel lift pump. He had been changing his fuel water separator filter and had drained quite a bit of fuel off. The new canister held about a pint of fuel, and he did pre-fill the filter housing before reassembly.

But in spite of doing the right thing on that end, he still had air in the system and was having a heck of a time getting fuel from the tank to his electric lift pump, which would pressurize the system slightly from that point to the engine. His solution is brilliant, but may not work on all boats, at least not without several people involved. Check the photo below:

Yes, that's correct, he's using his inflatable dinghy pump to pressurize his fuel system just enough to get flow from the tank to his electric fuel lift pump, where the pump should take over to prime the system up to the engine, where additional bleeding will probably be needed.

Now on a lot of boats, this little trick might not work due to the fact that the fuel tank will most often be vented directly to atmosphere. But, if extra hands are available, you could temporarily block the tank vent and get some pressure going. Not much is needed, just engough to get the fuel flowing. So you might need somebody down below working the bleeder either at a designed bleeder screw or by cracking open fuel attachment fittings, and somebody on deck blocking the vent. Depending on your vent fitting, you may be able to temporarily block it with a small piece of old tire inner tube to act as a seal, and tighten a hose clamp around the vent fitting. That could eliminate the extra body.

This particular boat is equipped with a somewhat unique venting system made by Seacurefill. Systems like the Seacure fill are the future for all boats as the EPA tightens things up relative to evaporative emissions from boats. You should check them out at: www.seacurefill.com

Anyhow, with the Seacurefill system, the venting and fill are essentially a closed loop, so pressurizing the system with the dinghy foot pump and an appropriately sized adaptor to fit in the fuel fill and attach to the end of the pump hose, you're in!