Evicted from the marina!

To the OP, does you policy state anything in regards to alcohol on the dock?

If so, I'm sure everyone still drinks on the dock, maybe the guy could get off with a warning?

Doug
 
True, if you are putting 100 gallons into your boat. . . .the savings is not insignficant.

Now, in my mind there is a huge difference between filling from cans and filling from *drums*. My view is that putting 100 gallons into a boat using 5 gallon cans is sort of like painting a house using pint paint cans. You can do it. . . .but *ugh*. Drums at least don't represent the same handling nightmare. Have I ever used cans on my boat? Every once in a while if the boat is really down on fuel. . .I will toss in a can or two. I keep a few around to fuel PWC's. I probably burn 5-10 gallons just getting the boat to my favorite fuel dock, and I would never live it down if I ran out while making a fuel run.
 
I fueled with a 5 gal can one day as I ran out on the water. What a mess!! Yes you can do it but boy was it ugly. Wasted a beach towel trying to keep gas from spilling into the water. The gas never hit the water but I had a gas soaked beach towel to deal with. One slip is all it took to drench the towel even with a funnel.


Now fueling with a drum and a proper nozzle, not a problem I can see.
 
Fueling from a drum sounds ok, but have you ever done it?

How will you haul it?
What about the risk of getting a drum to the marina in a truck or SUV in case of a rear end collision? Explain that to an insurance adjustor from the burn unit.
How will you secure the drum in your vehicle?.......it weighs about 350 lbs and will slide very easily once it gets going.
How will you get the fuel from the truck to the boat? Long hose - where will you store it? Hand truck 350 lbs down a ramp to a boat?

To save what? ..........$.75/gal X 55= $41.25?
 
douglee25 said:
To the OP, does you policy state anything in regards to alcohol on the dock?

If so, I'm sure everyone still drinks on the dock, maybe the guy could get off with a warning?

Doug
Click to expand...
I don't remember the alcohol policy, I seriously doubt is says no drinking.

To your point, perhaps a warning might be in order. I don't know if there is any history with the boat owner & policy violations. I'm sure exceptions can and would be made but I don't want anybody fueling a boat in the manner I described on a regular basis. The risks are too many & too high. If it was a one time deal(totally out of fuel or something), an exception could have been made. As for saving a few bucks, that was part of my original point, do the math & add in your time, hassle, I don't see it.

So, to the other 200+ slip renters at my marina, I'm sure you will see this real soon in your mailbox..... The marina sells fuels 24/7 down at the end of "D" dock. It's the lighted pier, away from other boats, next to the fire extinguishing equipment. Ya can't miss it. Happy boating!
 
AKBASSKING said:
Yes I am! When gas is $0.80 more a gallon that is worth the lugging the gas cans down to the dock.....
Click to expand...

No offense AK, but not for me it isn't. No way in hell am I lugging gas around.
Although it is marine fuel, it is usually $1.25 - $1.50 higher at my marina than it is on the street. $5 a gallon is not an issue for me.
 
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I filled up my boat at PW marina yesterday. I was shocked to find the price for 89 with valvetech mixed in was cheaper than all the local filling stations price for 87.
 
mwph said:
I don't remember the alcohol policy, I seriously doubt is says no drinking.

To your point, perhaps a warning might be in order. I don't know if there is any history with the boat owner & policy violations. I'm sure exceptions can and would be made but I don't want anybody fueling a boat in the manner I described on a regular basis. The risks are too many & too high. If it was a one time deal(totally out of fuel or something), an exception could have been made. As for saving a few bucks, that was part of my original point, do the math & add in your time, hassle, I don't see it.

So, to the other 200+ slip renters at my marina, I'm sure you will see this real soon in your mailbox..... The marina sells fuels 24/7 down at the end of "D" dock. It's the lighted pier, away from other boats, next to the fire extinguishing equipment. Ya can't miss it. Happy boating!
Click to expand...

I know on our marina policy, the #1 rule is no drinking on the dock. Drinking on the boat is OK because they consider it an extension of your house. Do people abide by this rule? Of course not. But the first day something happens, I'm sure they will enforce the rule.

I have on two occasions filled up 10 gallons in the boat with cans because there weren't any fuel stations open past a certain hour. I needed to go somewhere and I wasn't chancing it running out of fuel.

Doug
 
551307_10151451225375327_655520326_23440299_1768090123_n.jpg555032_10151451233475327_655520326_23440314_212893636_n.jpg This is how we roll in Arkansas at a lake with NO diesel.
 
I think other than the potential mess, fueling with diesel from a can is not a big deal. It only makes sense if there is no other option and you are low on fuel. If you can't pay a little more for the conveinence of dockside fuel then get a trailer boat.

Gasoline on the otherhand is much more dangerous and hauling gas just to save a few bucks is a stupid risk. Static builds up easy and it only takes one spark.

I see people drinking on the dock but usually its at private marinas. Every state treats alcohol differently so its good to know the local laws.
 
Frank you have a point on convenience however fuel is transported every day in the back of pick-ups. They are bed mounted tanks and have hose reals and lever nozzles. There is also a square tank that is used for temporary use in the bed.
I truly can’t think of anyone rolling a 55 gal drum down a pier or dock that has any incline at all. Other than refueling because I ran out and making a big mess in the bow of my boat I really can’t blame someone for trying to save some money when they’re fueling 100+ gal at a time.
 
douglee25 said:
I have on two occasions filled up 10 gallons in the boat with cans because there weren't any fuel stations open past a certain hour. I needed to go somewhere and I wasn't chancing it running out of fuel.
Click to expand...


Yup. That's how I roll.

To Frank's point: There is an infrastructure involved with hauling drums of fuel around. I don't have it. . .so I don't do it. I have seen people bring PWC's to the fuel dock. I suppose it is "safer" to fuel at the dock than at your house. . . .but for me having 2 or 3 cans on hand for weekend PWC use is well within my capability. In my case, it isn't about the money. It's about (1) not sending people with cash to fuel 2-3 times a weekend, and (2) I always seem to need PWC fuel when the fuel docks would be closed. (i.e. morning or evening).

To old school's point: Fueling a boat or PWC with a can is not really trivial. Certainly would NOT do this away from my rather well protected dock.
 
I guess for those that fuel thier boats by gas cans when there is a fuel dock have never seen a boat fire.
I have seen a boat catch on fire at the fuel dock. The trained marina staff jumped to action and did their job by the numbers. First all aboard got off the boat. Second the boat was cut loose and kicked away from the dock. Third the fuel emergency shut off button was pushed which also set off an alarm. Forth the alarm notified other marina staff to use the marina work skiff to catch and tow the burning boat away from all docks. The boat fire was extinguish with large fire extinguishers by the marina staff. No one was hurt. The boat was a loss.
The first marina staff to take action was the bikini topped eighteen year old gas dock girl. She was well trained.
 
Bill,

You are sort of singing to the choir here. I have a 100 gal tank in my pickup that I use for construction and farm equipment............but you guys were talking about drums, not AST certified fuel tanks.

I can drive up to the backhoe to tractor needing fuel or drive it to the truck, but it would take 250 ft of fuel hose to reach my boat......not so practical since the tank hose and hose reel are not a trivial expenses. Perhaps some conditions make sense, like a marina with no fuel or fueling PWC's but for most of us it isn't a practical alternative.
 
This is a good discusion...

I have a few people that fuel their own boats. Two use the 75/100gal truck type and pull their boat on a wall away from others and let gravity fill up their tanks. A few others have actual fuel delivery trucks stop and fill them up. I only have so many hours in a season to enjoy my boat. If I need fuel on my way out of the channel I fill her up on the way. The convinence of stopping when I need to vrs trying to lug it myself and take the added safty precautions is just not worth it. It hurts paying a few hundred bucks to fill up but paying $50 more vrs paying millions in damages is a no brainer...
 
A couple of years ago I tried to get one of the fuel companies to bring a truck down to the docks but they won't. I had arranged for six of us with diesel boats to get filled from whatever truck I could arrange for. Seems there's a $500 permit needed to fuel on the water from a truck, and they weren't willing to take the risk of even a small fuel spill.

One of the advantages of belonging to the yacht club is the fuel distributor who fills the tanks at our club, a nearby club and at the marina where I keep the boat gives us a discount on fuel. With the discount it puts the price pretty near what the street price is for diesel.

AKBassking, FYI, if you belonged to any yacht club you could buy your gas from Columbia River Yacht Club at a seriously discounted price. It might be worth checking into what it costs to join some of the smaller clubs in the PDX area.
 
Just out of curiosity...anyone have a problem with dropping in 10 gallons of gasoline at a time (from a red jerry can) if you keep your boat behind your house in calm water? I'm sure that some states have regulations that forbid this - but I'm gauging "outrage" here, not the legality of it. Let's assume for a moment that you put the gas in the right hole, you do all the proper "blower" protocol and you don't start the boat until a couple of days later.

disclaimer: I do not have a waterfront house and do not fuel my boat anywhere but at a sanctioned fuel dock.
 
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