10v MC2 + E85 (Bioethanol) = true or false?

[Mark R]

Yes, some rubbers (hoses) are attacked by ethanol... but the real danger to
boats is that ethanol reacts with fiberglass, forming a gel, and destroying
the integrity.  It's not just less expensive boats that were made with
molded-in fiberglass tanks... even some high end offshore boats were as
well.

So to add insult to injury, the fuel system gets clogged and the tanks fail,
leaving the ethanol to attack the hull, too.  The Wall St. Journal had an
article recently about marine insurance (fake) claims and abandonment of
boats are both on the rise.  Presumably because of the economy.  I suspect
Ethanol might have a part in it, too.  It might be far cheaper to scrap a
boat than to install metal or plastic tanks.  Sad that people would resort
to such illegal tactics.  In one case, the insurance company decided to
raise a vessel which sank... only to find several drilled (with hole saw)
holes in the bottom.

My older 34 foot Sea Ray has aluminum tanks, fortunately.  =)

Mark "Twin 454 Big Blocks" Rosenkrantz

On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 7:16 PM, Brett Dikeman <brett.dikeman at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 5:48 PM, Dag Bøsterud
>
>
> Lots of marinas had busy summers dealing with fuel system problems
> when the ethanol blends came out.
>
> Brett