Does this make me cheap?

So current diesel price at my marina is $3.95 plus tax. Off road diesel at the station on the way to the marina, tax included, is $3.39. I have a pick up and enough jugs to haul 40 gallons a load so I've been stopping on the way to the boat and hauling 40 gallons down at a time.

So far I've put in 320 gallons at a savings of about $265. I have a 15 year old son and I make him haul the full jugs. Still a bit of a pita to pour it in though.

Worth it? Is it just me?

Yes, you're cheap. I'm as cheap as anybody and I resent the marine markups where we pay a million bucks for a stainless screw that rusts in a year, but for that price differential - no, definitely not worth the hassle. I just spent more than that differential over 100 gallons on a stainless piano hinge for the salon hatch.

Dougcole said:

So current diesel price at my marina is $3.95 plus tax. Off road diesel at the station on the way to the marina, tax included, is $3.39. I have a pick up and enough jugs to haul 40 gallons a load so I've been stopping on the way to the boat and hauling 40 gallons down at a time.

So far I've put in 320 gallons at a savings of about $265. I have a 15 year old son and I make him haul the full jugs. Still a bit of a pita to pour it in though.

Worth it? Is it just me?

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Probably fresher with less entrained water too.

We used to do that when we had a 24 ft bayliner with a 55 gal tank. No way would I schlep fuel for our Mainship. Too much hassle to save a few $$.

Dougcole said:

Still a bit of a pita to pour it in though.

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Save your back! Try a Safety Siphon, or Super Siphon.
You can find them at almost any auto parts store for about $10.

I wouldn't worry too much about what other people think, especially people you don't know.

Figure in the cost of the jugs, the cost to run the truck and the cost of your and your son's time. If it makes sense to you, do it.

Provided of course, that it's not against the marina rules.

We used to use a heating oil distributor who filled up all the commercial boats and supplied the Port as well. He would meet us at the commercial pier and fill us up, 200 gallon minimum for quite a savings. We would get three or four boats together and take on 1000 gal. total and he'd give us a pretty good discount.

But the Port finally wised up and lowered their prices, so now it's not much savings and not worth the time.

Our area Marina diesel is $3.80. The off road fuel at gas stations is $3.85. The thing that frost my butt is I just paid $4.03 for home heating oil. Go fugure

I often top up my fuel with a jerry can as well. Not due to cost savings, but for convenience.
The main reason is there is no fuel sales at our marina. The closest marine fuel outlet is a 2 hour cruise north, or a 6 hour cruise south.

With my low fuel usage, usually about 2-3 litres (1/2 gallon) per hour, its not really much of a problem.

fryedaze said:

Our area Marina diesel is $3.80. The off road fuel at gas stations is $3.85. The thing that frost my butt is I just paid $4.03 for home heating oil. Go fugure

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Depends on the states taxing scheme. Road fuel here adds another 37 1/2 cents per gallon to the price of gas or diesel at the pump. Off road fuel you don't pay the road tax, but you have to pay a sales tax on the total sale which is around 8% depending on the county you buy the fuel in. So at $4 per gallon you're still going to pay 32 cents more per gallon. They get their money one way or the other.

ps. Now they don't think that is enough so the Governor wants to add another 11 cents per gallon. If they could just figure out how to tax the air we breath, then all would be right with the world !!

Edelweiss said:

Depends on the states taxing scheme. Road fuel here adds another 37 1/2 cents per gallon to the price of gas or diesel at the pump. Off road fuel you don't pay the road tax, but you have to pay a sales tax on the total sale which is around 8% depending on the county you buy the fuel in. So at $4 per gallon you're still going to pay 32 cents more per gallon. They get their money one way or the other. ps. Now they don't think that is enough so the Governor wants to add another 11 cents per gallon. If they could just figure out how to tax the air we breath, then all would be right with the world !!

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Texas must have a good setup. Visiting universities Texas A&M and UT this week. Highway diesel is 1.99....3.30 or so at Oregon marinas or worse.

Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

You are lucky that you can do it...

A lot of marinas prohibit it and some would terminate your lease over it.

I have known marinas to make life miserable for boaters that fuel down the waterway to save some money or flat out were asked to leave because they routinely filled elsewhere.

Cheap...well if it's no big deal to your marina then no...frugal may be the better word.

Lot's of people on here have the money not to worry about all kinds of things and they remind us every chance they get...but saving hundreds of dollars to some of us means we can do other things we like without scrimping elsewhere.

psneeld said:

You are lucky that you can do it...
A lot of marinas prohibit it and some would terminate your lease over it.
I have known marinas to make life miserable for boaters that fuel down the waterway to save some money or flat out were asked to leave because they routinely filled elsewhere.

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You have to go over to the commercial docks where the fishing boats fuel. They can't refuel you in your slip. Many of the Marina on the west coast are publicly owned "Port Districts" and lots of the private marinas don't sell fuel. So no pressure here!!

For the last boat with a single T6354 we used take 2 10L containers full each time we went onboard, kept it nicely topped up. And if you are a fuel additive/snake oil user, dose each 10L as you go, and as NS said, every chance it`s fresher, with less water. It`s just not practical with twin Lehmans. $4 a gallon, try around $6.60 best price at Baileys Sydney, per 4L.

Edelweiss said:

You have to go over to the commercial docks where the fishing boats fuel. They can't refuel you in your slip. Many of the Marina on the west coast are publicly owned "Port Districts" and lots of the private marinas don't sell fuel. So no pressure here!!

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I was talking jugs down the dock...

But you are right about delivery...I used to refuel behind my rental to my sportfish...was definitely worth it just in time saved.

The truck pumped about 10X faster and the fuel was definitely fresher.

Yeah, it is not a big deal to my marina, heck they have probably 75% of their slips empty (as does every other marina in this area pretty much). They won't send away somebody who pays their slip fee every month on time.

It's laid back up here in the redneck part of the state. That is one of the nice things about it.

Oh and I already owned the jugs. It sort of reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer and Newman take the bottles across state lines in the mail truck. You've got to control your costs to get ahead!

Oh, and I already knew I was a little cheap. I got it from my mom.

You are lucky you are allowed to do it though. As Psneeld mentioned, in many marinas it is not allowed. A sign stating this is the first thing to greet you as you approach the arm gate at our marina, that's for sure. And if you think you are paying a lot - you are not. You US folks have always had much cheaper fuel than anywhere else in the world, other than maybe the UAE. So enjoy while it lasts. Here we pay $1.60/litre for our boat diesel.

Peter B said:

You US folks have always had much cheaper fuel than anywhere else in the world, other than maybe the UAE. So enjoy while it lasts. Here we pay $1.60/litre for our boat diesel.

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Countries other than UAE have inexpensive fuel prices compared to the U.S, like Venezuela and Mexico. Higher-than-U.S. fuel prices are largely self-inflicted. You have higher taxes on them. (Governments in the U.S. -- federal, state, and local --- make more money off of fuel than the domestic producers.)

Mexico used to be a fraction of the cost of the US. I had friends in San Diego who would cross the border once a week to fill up. Not so much anymore, they've stopped subsidizing their fuel and added taxes. So they're a lot closer to our prices now . . . Pemex shows average cost is $3.76 USD for diesel now.

Fuel is expensive but I still maintain it is the cheapest part of boating. For all the hassle of dragging jugs around and dripping diesel and and and it's just not worth it. Haulouts, insurance, parts, moorage etc etc.

A friend of mine says boating is the best time you can buy.

If fuel is cheap or expensive, whether you like doing it or not....

If most of us could make $265 for less than an hours involvement and someone else doing the grunt work....AND it was illegal or not allowed...

I really wonder who would and wouldn't....

MONEY is a tool , using it wisely is usually the best idea.

>Still a bit of a pita to pour it in though.

Pour it thru a Baja filter , just to be sure its really clean and water free..

I "get" the concept. The problem I have is Murphys law. Any "incident" will quickly wipe away the $265 savings.....and much more.

psneeld said:

If fuel is cheap or expensive, whether you like doing it or not....

If most of us could make $265 for less than an hours involvement and someone else doing the grunt work....AND it was illegal or not allowed...

I really wonder who would and wouldn't....

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Illegal or not allowed.....Then it should be a simple answer. No. We would not. Really, break the law for $265? That's like robbing vending machines. First, we're by nature, law abiding. Second, to be tempting would require much more than $265. Third, no we really don't have any price on our integrity.

I can tell you someone else who wouldn't be pleased with the small cans and filling from them if they knew. The marina's insurance company. More for environmental purposes than fire. Spill some one time and all those savings will be long ago out the window.

AusCan said:

I often top up my fuel with a jerry can as well. Not due to cost savings, but for convenience. .

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This is what I do. My marina does not sell diesel and although I pass by marinas that do sell diesel on the way to or from my marina, I don't want to pull into one to buy ten gallons or so. It's also easier to "top off" my tanks with jugs.

My marina has a rule against fuelling except at the fuel dock but they are pretty lax on rule enforcement. Also, handling diesel fuel is a lot safer than handling gasoline. The manager has talked to me while I was hauling jugs down the dock but did not mention rules. Also, handling diesel fuel is a lot safer than handling gasoline.

At 90 gallons capacity, it's not worth going out of my way, calling in a truck, or buying a 28 gallon rolling cart. I just want to keep the tanks topped off.

I guess I'm of a different sort...

When I take on fuel its always something over 200 gallons.

If I could save say a dollar a gallon, and haul forty, five gallon jugs to the boat, or eight trips with five jugs per trip, its just not worth the time. Actually it sounds like about half a days work for me to get that 200 gallons in the tanks.

I dont have kids at home to do the labor.
I am not retired yet, so my boating time is more valuable than money savings.

Its also just not worth the trouble. Not at this stage in life.

At some point, perhaps when I retire, and the money has more meaning than the free time my prospective will change.

psneeld said:

You are lucky that you can do it...

...

Lot's of people on here have the money not to worry about all kinds of things and they remind us every chance they get...but saving hundreds of dollars to some of us means we can do other things we like without scrimping elsewhere.

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I'd certainly do the same. As Scott said, it's nice to save so you have the money for other things.

Yes - You are cheap, cheap, cheap! Obviously a beggar in disguise!

Imagine, a guy owning a "Pleasure Boat" and trying to save money! Well, I've never heard of such a thing! And, of course, I would never try to save any expenses in boating!

Good On Ya!!

We all do what we want or have to do to keep our plates spinning and boats cruising!

Happy Boat Fueling Daze! - Art

I'm not clear why road tax is applied to boat fuel. It's not that way in every state. I typically buy fuel at less than auto pump prices. The marina deducts the road tax and then adds a marina "premium", but it's still a saving for the boater.

I do not use jerry cans for diesel but I do have a small one for gas (extra portable gen and outboard) My marina does not permit this but frankly they also do not care as they do not sell fuel and many fellow boaters do use this fill up method. I do not blame them as it is almost an hour run for me to get to fuel. I have enough capacity and the fuel was only $3.99 all last summer so I can plan for it. Besides I have to have a pump out occasionally so I live with it.

The problem is all about risk management. Rising insurance is part of the reason why marina fuel is expensive. The insurance companies are concerned about fire but with the changes in the environmental regulations it may be a smaller loss to burn a few boats than to spill any of that fuel in the water.

BTW for the same reasons my marina also bans BBQs. Now that is a real sacrilege. But again nobody pays any attention and in fact the marina manager has one on his own boat.