Boaters rocked by effect of ethanol-laced fuel

Those problems require boaters to make adjustments, but they are manageable, said Adriance, who also edits Seaworthy, a publication by sister organization BoatUS Marine Insurance. He said newer boats had ethanol-tolerant fiberglass tanks and other components, but older boats with certain types of fiberglass tanks, rubber seals, hoses and gaskets and the like could be severely damaged by ethanol-laced fuel.

California's Air Resources Board, the agency that shepherded the switch from MTBE to ethanol as a fuel additive, was surprised to hear that boats had been damaged by the state's 5.7% ethanol fuel blend, which is well below the 10% blends common elsewhere in the country.

"If this reported case is with a California boat that was using California fuel, this would be the first that I've heard of it," agency official Jim Guthrie said.

He asked boaters to notify the air board of any problems, especially because California plans to raise the ethanol component in gasoline to 10%.

"To my mind, the state isn't in a position to know about all of the effects," said Adriance of BoatUS.

As for the lawsuit against oil companies, though, "it seems to me that they have a legitimate point," Adriance said. "Nobody told the boat owners. The oil companies or somebody ought to have warned them."

--

elizabeth.douglass@latimes.com