Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by drandlett on 09/08/07 - 2:27 PM

Last week I asked the forum for thoughts on a Yamaha that would not run.

I have since found that the morning she died, the gas dock i filled up at was accidentally selling a gas diesel mix (apparently their supplier's delivery truck had a broken seal).

I called to inquire about this and was quickly put off and told that because i have a 2stroke i should be fine. However i filled up my almost empty tanks (16gal) and in about 15mins it began smoking and shortly after died. I filled up on a day they confirmed they had sold bad gas.

Does anyone know what a gas diesel mix might do in short and long term? Would a 2stroke burn it up without difficulty (as said before, mine is dead and waiting another dealer to look at it)...

The other problem i have is after my engine died i pulled the boat and began unloading it for storage. not knowing about the bad gas i dumped about 15 gallons into my Jeep.... the gas dock told me NOT to run the jeep.

Could this be a nasty conicidence and my engine troubles are not related to the bad gas?

Any thoughts?

Have since had a chance to cool down a bit over this issue (however am still a little pissed off considering i ran my jeep for 2hrs towing my boat on the stuff) but wanted to alert anyone who have taken on fuel in Boothbay Harbor ME last weekend!!! Leaving names out, its the fuel dock on the Left side of the harbor when entering by water!

Edited by drandlett on 09/08/07 - 2:54 PM

Posted by MWH on 09/08/07 - 7:28 PM

Sorry to hear about your problem. Thats another reason why I never fuel up at a Marina. Have they indicated they would pay for your repairs, such as the tanks pumped out? I would be all over them. Demand they pay for the work and replace the fuel and fuel filters immediately. Good luck.

Posted by MW on 09/09/07 - 1:52 AM

Here we go again "BAD FUEL" ! a true diesel is a 2-stoke motor, I still fail to see the connection of why it would be o.k. for the engine, sound's like they are blowing everyone off, get a lawyer, GET ON THEM FAST ! They are probably going to go out of business when they get whacked with all of those insurance claims, and law suites. They have to eat this one.

It's a GOOD thing that "fully automatic" weapon's are ILLEGAL !

Edited by MW on 09/09/07 - 1:56 AM

Posted by jlh49 on 09/09/07 - 5:52 AM

I would quickly get a written estimate of the damages to your boat and jeep. Then write a letter to the marina outlining the events as you described above and the damages suffered. Include your expected remedy and a timeframe for receiving the same. Send the letter certified mail and get a copy of the receiver signature. If you end up having to litigate to recoop your damages, the certified letter will serve you well if the marina attempts to avoid responsibility. If there are any witnesses to the situation, such as other patrons who experienced the same, get their names and contact information. Good luck!

Posted by WhalerDan on 09/09/07 - 7:09 AM

Speak to the insurer of your boat and your car. You might be able to make all the repairs you want, have your insurer reimburse you, and then your insurer can subbrogate the claim and in turn get reimbursed by the Marina's insurance, which will then subbrogate the claim against the fuel company.

This way you can let your insurance protect you and not have to get involved with lawyers.

Good luck!

Buying gas at Marinas is like buying Sushi at restaurants -- you have to buy from places you have full confidence in.

Posted by drandlett on 09/09/07 - 4:26 PM

thanks for all the responses! it really is unfortunate, as the morning after i filled my tanks i was going to make the 60mile trip from boothbay harbor to my home (belfast). i've made the trip several times, but always in a larger grady, was really looking forward to the trip... next year.

anyway. there have been 70+ boats with problems from the bad fuel. monday morning i'll learn more as i'll be talking with the man handling the bad gas issue, my boat mechanic, and car mechanic.

the long term problem is i really liked that fuel dock.. the only other in the area is run by bandits, 9bucks a qt for generic 2stroke oil! oh well, guess thats boating!

does anyone know the symptoms i'd see from running a gas diesel mix? or the solution? would it just need a wicked good cleaning of the fuel system?

again thanks, and enjoy the rest of the boating season!

dana

Posted by Buckda on 09/09/07 - 6:55 PM

#1, I don't know the symptoms you'd see from running the mix, other than you'll have problems....and know that under no circumstances, upon knowing that their was such a mix in my fuel tanks, would I attempt to run the motor (well, I guess in life/death situation).

You need to fully drain the fuel tank, fuel lines and carburators...and then take the boat directly to your mechanic.

In the case of your Jeep, which I assume from the post above has not been run with this mix - you will need to simply drain the tank and replace with fresh gasoline.

I agree with the posts above - contact your insurance company and ask what they want you to do to best handle the repairs to your motor.

This is a serious problem (as you are no doubt aware). Do NOT run the motor until a qualified mechanic has given you the all clear.

Good luck!

Dave

Posted by jsneed on 09/10/07 - 12:38 PM

#10

Once in the middle of nowhere in the Bahamas, I pulled up at a fuel dock and pumped 30 gallons of diesel into my 80 gallon tank before a kid pointed out to the dockmaster that the color coded fuel lines had been swithched. A call to my mechanic stateside resulted in him telling me to just fill the rest with gas and run it out. I had a carb version yamaha 175. Apparantly it was designed to tollerate significant octane variations.

It smoked like crazy, but ran ok. I filled up a spare tank with gas and would switch over before we pulled into a harbor so we would not look like refugees coming into port. I have to confess, I worried about doing it, but relied on his advice

Posted by drandlett on 09/10/07 - 2:32 PM

#12

Talked to the boatyard (own the fuel dock) today but never got the ratio out of them. They simply said tell your boat mechanic to send us the bill... we'll also pay for your engine winterization. Felt good not to have to argue, they were willing to help in anyway, in part I'd guess cause they are being paid off by the fuel delivery company.

I brought my Jeep to my mechanic and he ended up pulling the gas tank and draining it. He also checked my oil and found a large amount of diesel had seeped passed my rings and mixed with my oil. Had the oil changed, fuel rail emptied, new gas and she's running pretty well. Extra smoke and slight hickups here and there.

I know my boat bill will get passed along as my mechanic is the Yamaha dealer for the boatyard and will be billing them directly. The jeep bill will be in my hands, and I plan on sending it along in the next few says along with a request for a refund for the 17gallons of bad gas I bought.

All in all it seems to have ended on a good note... it helps that I was the dockmaster for the boatyard last year! Just hate seeing my boating season end early.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and ideas, luckly it has not required any lawers!