Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

At a lake near me in CA, you are not allowed to fill in the water. Have to put it on the trailer pull it up a few feet so spills hit the ground instead of the water. This includes PWCs. I have only heard of this reg at this one lake.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

Most marina's in Michigan have rules that prohibit this type of activity for insurance purposes and if you are caught doing it, you could be in trouble. Private landowners who do this would be another story, not sure what the state says about that, but many or most do do this type of refueling to avoid the high cost of gas on the water. I trailer my boat so it never is an issue for me, but guys with twin big blocks must cringe when they pull up and load a couple hundred gallons for the week.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

but many or most do do this type of refueling to avoid the high cost of gas on the water. I trailer my boat so it never is an issue for me, but guys with twin big blocks must cringe when they pull up and load a couple hundred gallons for the week.

Yup, that would be me . . .

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

... Gas at the marina is $4,509 for 90 octane ethanol free...

Wow! Remind me not to fuel up in NC!!!!!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

Quote Originally Posted by crabby captain john View Post

... Gas at the marina is $4,509 for 90 octane ethanol free...

Wow! Remind me not to fuel up in NC!!!!!

Sounds cheap. $5.39 on the water in Lake Minnetonka last time I noticed. I prefer the $3.59 E10 premium from the local gas station

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

$5.80 in Tahoe

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

$5.80 in Tahoe

That's nuts . . . I'd be turning my boat into a raft at that point . . .

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

That's nuts . . . I'd be turning my boat into a raft at that point . . .

What was interesting was that the price on land was almost $0.15 cheaper up there than down in Los Angeles where I live. It is usually the reverse of that.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

We are looking at about $3.50 at the regular gas stations and $4.90 ish at the marinas . . .

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

Tahoe is a unique place. I am sure there are more regulations there than the average place which boosts the cost to sell gasoline. Just the zebra mussel inspection and sticker can run you over $100 easy.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

I live on the NC/SC border.
SC marina $4.30 land $3.11
NC marina $4.50 land $3.32

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

I keep my boat in water at the house and fill with 5 gallon jerry cans. I can't stand the new unvented cans that are so slow, so I unscrew the spout and pour into a big funnel. Can't do it in a breeze. legal unless you spill.

80 gallon tank so I try to keep it full and put in 15-20 gallons at a time--one trip to the station and one roll down to the pier.

I just bought a 15 gallon caddy at a yard sale for $7.00 (yes seven dollars) so worth giving it a try. I couldn't justify full cost esp. if it didn't work for me.
Mixed reviews for my use. Easy to fill at the station; hard to get out the back of the car (Tahoe) by myself without slamming it down. Fills the boat nicely but I have to work the tides so my fill opening on the gunwale is lower than my pier, and also I moor with the fill on the wrong side so I have to move the boat around--not a big deal but we're talking about convenience here. It's a little slow and I learned the hard way I have to stand by during the fill (mine doesn't have the fancy spout) but I am going to modify that.

This is where you need the jiggler.

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[guy48065]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

We've got one of these at the lake place. Not the fastest thing in the world but you don't spill anything. It is gravity feed so you need to set it up on the engine cover when filling the boat.

Flo n' Go Duramax Fuel Caddy ? 14-Gallon Capacity, Model# 06792 | Fuel Caddies| Northern Tool + Equipment

What that thing needs is a pump. I wonder if a hose barb up near the cap could be connected to a bellows foot pump to pressurize the caddy with air so it could transfer gas uphill...quickly

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

What that thing needs is a pump. I wonder if a hose barb up near the cap could be connected to a bellows foot pump to pressurize the caddy with air so it could transfer gas uphill...quickly

I would think that one of those cheap crank transfer pumps would work too. You would need to jam the handle open since it does not latch. We usually just tie something around it if we are sure that there is space for the full tank.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

Sounds cheap. $5.39 on the water in Lake Minnetonka last time I noticed. I prefer the $3.59 E10 premium from the local gas station

oldjeep, reread crabby john's post that I quoted. He said it's four thousand, five hundred, nine dollars for gas in NC. He didn't specify if that was for one gallon or a thousand gallons! Hence my mock surprise and joking comment.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

oldjeep, reread crabby john's post that I quoted. He said it's four thousand, five hundred, nine dollars for gas in NC. He didn't specify if that was for one gallon or a thousand gallons! Hence my mock surprise and joking comment.

Ah - I'm so used to seeing european representations of money that I figured he was just from out of town.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

We've got one of these at the lake place. ... It is gravity feed so you need to set it up on the engine cover when filling the boat. Flo n' Go Duramax Fuel Caddy ? 14-Gallon Capacity, Model# 06792 | Fuel Caddies| Northern Tool + Equipment

I'm impressed! When full it will weigh over 90 lbs. I would have trouble getting it Off the truck to the ground.
Lifting it into the boat and setting it on the engine cover would be a No Go!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

I'm impressed! When full it will weigh over 90 lbs. I would have trouble getting it Off the truck to the ground.
Lifting it into the boat and setting it on the engine cover would be a No Go!

I think the wheel/tire on my truck weighs more than that

But it is pretty easy to get out of the truck. You have it laying down, so you pick it up from each side and lift from around waist level. Getting it onto the boat is the easy part - roll it down the dock, grab the top handle and basically swing it onto the boat. The dock and engine cover are at pretty close to the same level at our place.

No reason you couldn't have a helper grab one side and take 1/2 the weight if needed.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

as I said earlier, I find it hard to get out of the back of the vehicle but I've only done it a couple times; will try your techique. With two people it's no problem even my wife was helpful just to take a little weight off and prevent a slam down.
But it stays on the dock for filling; if I dropped it into the boat the bottom would be 2' below the fill cap on the gunwale--and thus I have to work with the tides, too.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Boat refueling on the water from 5 gallon gasoline cans . . . Regulations???

Yea, for me 70-90 lbs would be too much to lug around in my situation. The 5 gallon containers are about 35 lbs each, filled, so that is more manageable.

By practice, I do not put the fuel containers in or on the boat anywhere, to avoid the chance of fumes getting into boat compartments, etc. That is why I pull my dinghy along side the boat right next to the fuel fill and secure it. Fumes stay out of the boat and any spills go into the dinghy and can evaporate, rather than going into the water.

If I had a private dock that was elevated, I think that 14 gallon fuel caddy would be a great thing . . .