One whole week of boat ownership...more disaster!

Sooooo....we go to the boat this morning with plans to do a little cleaning and then taking her out for the day. Hubby is unloading stuff from the car and as he rounds the dock he sees the AC cooling water just stop coming out the side of the boat. He comes in and tells me turn the AC units off. He goes in there to check it out and figures out the pump has died. He spends some time getting it out and then off to West Marine he goes. Didn't have one in stock so it had to be ordered. Should be in Tuesday.

Ok so no AC. Open up all the windows...it's not too hot today and we weren't hanging out inside anyway.

So nothing we can do about that right now so let's take her out and go play. Loaded up our marina neighbors and off we go. Boat is running great....no problems whatsoever. We docked at the city wall and went and had a late lunch and a few drinks and listened to the band playing for a while then back on the boat. Cruised up the river a bit more and then turn around to start heading back. Decided to stop at a marina there on the river and get some fuel. No problem...pumped about 40 gallons of gas in, started the engines and generator and leave the dock. Get about 100yds away and everything just shuts down. No engines, no generator. Well what the heck? The men go down into the ER and discover water in the gas tank. Drop the anchor right there in the middle of the river and call BoatUS for a tow. I sure am glad we took care of getting that towing policy on day one. The tow didn't cost us a penny. We had to wait a bit for them to get there because they were towing another big boat to our same marina because they too had fuel problems. We're going to find that boat tomorrow and see if they had gotten fuel at that marina also.

So now first thing in the morning we will call a mechanic to come and do whatever they do to fix such things and document all the water and make a phone call to the marina where we bought the fuel.
There was no water in the tank prior to us getting fuel....we had been running for prob 2 hours total with no issues at all and then as soon as put that fuel in the boat...disaster!

And I don't think I'm being overly dramatic this time! Lol

On a positive note, our rebuilt cockpit hatches are done and they are soooo pretty. And the guy did a fabulous job fixing the holes where the PO had a bicycle rack installed and where he had a ramp that he took off.
And I've convinced hubby to let me go ahead and pay him to clean up, reseal, strip, and repaint all the windows. At least I'll have pretty window frames and cockpit hatches....lol

I've decided the goal of owning a big boat is to see how fast we can drain our checking account.

Lmao. I love you.

You might want to invest in a big Racor water/fuel separator. I've got brand new tanks and i've already pulled about 2 gallons of water this spring doing sea trials. Sometime new fuel dumps in the tank and stirs it up.

Also, do yourself a favor and stop, right now, calling it "gas".... say that to a fuel dock attendant and you'll have even worse issues than water... or is that what somebody did already?

caltexflanc said:

Also, do yourself a favor and stop, right now, calling it "gas".... say that to a fuel dock attendant and you'll have even worse issues than water... or is that what somebody did already?

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I'm just a simple coonass.....I'll add politically incorrect in the boating world to my list of flaws....

Star0210 said:

I'm just a simple coonass.....I'll add politically incorrect in the boating world to my list of flaws....

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Nothing to do with political correctness. If you say you are in for gas he will hand you the gas nozzle and not diesel. That's would be very expensive.

The Blue Waters I've been around are gas burners, so gas would be the appropriate thing to ask for at the marina.

Yes, we has gasoline engines.

All part of boat ownership. Not a big fan of leaving the AC on while not at the boat myself, a lot can happen when you are not there. Also contact the fuel dock, I've seen them pay for issues like this, then ask around where people get gas/diesel and have had no problems. I only go to places I know pumps good fuel.
Hang in there, it will get better, or at least you get more tolerant!

You say you'll call that marina in the morning. Every minute from the time you found the problem is a minute too long waited. For each minute you delay calling, your credibility diminishes. As to a mechanic, that arrangement should be coordinated with Marina's insurance company. Ask the Marina for contact information for their insurer.

You'll need to get a commercial fuel polishing company out to remove the bad fuel and to check and make sure all of the water is gone.

There were at least couple of "Bluewater" brands, one the houseboats, which I guess now the OP has, and one a cruising trawler type boat, which is what I guessed given the forum. But even the houseboats had diesels in many of the large models.

Star said in her second post that it has twin 454's. Gas. She was using the correct term all the way.

Marlinmike said:

All part of boat ownership. Not a big fan of leaving the AC on while not at the boat myself, a lot can happen when you are not there. Also contact the fuel dock, I've seen them pay for issues like this, then ask around where people get gas/diesel and have had no problems. I only go to places I know pumps good fuel.
Hang in there, it will get better, or at least you get more tolerant!

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Or become an alcoholic! We're very tolerant....we just laugh, write another check, and pour another drink. Rinse and repeat.

Most people have fuel delivered which is what we plan to do as well...I'm not sure why we even wanted to put fuel in yesterday. I'm sure hubby had his reasons. As far as I know, this marina is the only fuel dock on the river. He talked to the marina this morning and they said they're gonna check their tanks and get back to us. Said if they find water they'll take care of everything. And of course they just called back and said they have no water in their gas. Just as I expected them to say....sigh.

As for leaving the AC's on, we're not really fans of that either but we pretty much have to. 90 degree temps outside here all week with very high humidity. Summer isn't even here yet. But we're tossing around ideas of putting a portable AC/dehumidifier on board on a timer. Also going to look into getting the Windows re-tinted with a heat deflecting tint...not sure how much that really helps but it will look better at least than old stuff on there now.

We're having the time of our lives in spite of our little mishaps...it's all good!

BandB said:

You say you'll call that marina in the morning. Every minute from the time you found the problem is a minute too long waited. For each minute you delay calling, your credibility diminishes. As to a mechanic, that arrangement should be coordinated with Marina's insurance company. Ask the Marina for contact information for their insurer.

You'll need to get a commercial fuel polishing company out to remove the bad fuel and to check and make sure all of the water is gone.

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They were closed. It was pay at the pump after hours. There was nobody to call until this morning. When hubby first spoke to them this morning he asked them if they had a mechanic they'd rather us use rather than our own although it's a very small town and our mechanic is well known in the community and I don't think he would be called into question by anyone. He has a solid reputation.
But they claim they checked their tanks and it has no water. Not sure where hubby left off with them at that point. He's at the boat and I'm at home. I know he's waiting on a callback from the mechanic.

Sounds awful coincidental that the ac raw water pump failed exactly as you got to the boat. Just a thought: Generally there is a switch that shuts off the ac raw water pump during those times in the normal cycle when the compressor is not running. This is perfectly normal and happens a lot - depending on ambient temp versus where you have the thermostat set. The usual first symptom of a failed water pump is some kind of high pressure error code on your remote ac panel. Are you sure the water pump was actually bad?

How many fuel tanks do you have on your boat? I ask this because I have two; I had a very similar thing happen to me a couple of years ago. Pulled in to a marina to fill up tank #1, switched over to fuel tank #2, and headed out. About 15 minutes later my engine alarm goes off and I'm dead in the water. As it turned out, the gas cap for tank #2 was not seated properly (probably since the last time I filled it), and ended up with some water getting into the tank. I had a fuel-water separator in front of the engine, as well as another float filter on my engine itself, so it shut the engine down before any damage was done. I did however, drain a good couple of gallons of water out of tank #2.

Moral of the story: something as simple as an improperly seated gas cap can shut you down.

Star0210 said:

Most people have fuel delivered which is what we plan to do as well...I'm not sure why we even wanted to put fuel in yesterday. I'm sure hubby had his reasons. As far as I know, this marina is the only fuel dock on the river.

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I found this interesting. This isn't a "thing" where I have kept my boats. Maybe it is in the high rent marinas around Seattle though.

How does the fuel delivery work? Does a fuel service come by and fill the tank from some floating tanker? If this is only done when you are there I can see doing it, but I would not want to have someone else fuel my boat when I am not present. Too many things that could go wrong in my simple mind. Obviously this works for the folks in your area.

How many other TF folks are in an area with a fueling service like this and how many take advantage of it?

dhays said:

I found this interesting. This isn't a "thing" where I have kept my boats. Maybe it is in the high rent marinas around Seattle though.

How does the fuel delivery work? Does a fuel service come by and fill the tank from some floating tanker? If this is only done when you are there I can see doing it, but I would not want to have someone else fuel my boat when I am not present. Too many things that could go wrong in my simple mind. Obviously this works for the folks in your area.

How many other TF folks are in an area with a fueling service like this and how many take advantage of it?

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Not a "most people" thing even in Fort Lauderdale. Now a lot of us do. You just schedule the delivery and the bring the truck, run the hose to the boat, fill like any other fill. We're always present and involved.

Now there is actually an on the water, floating, fuel barge in Fort Lauderdale. Peterson operates it.

Most fuel trucks have minimums or charge extra below a certain amount. The advantage of fuel trucks to a large user of fuel is price savings. Depending on the marina, the fuel trucks may be anywhere from 20 cents to a dollar per gallon cheaper. Also should be fewer risks of bad fuel and they are able to fuel you quickly.

Other places fuel trucks are less use to filling boats, but they do some filling nearly everywhere.

Some marinas do charge you a fueling charge if a truck fuels you.

dhays said:

I found this interesting. This isn't a "thing" where I have kept my boats. Maybe it is in the high rent marinas around Seattle though.

How does the fuel delivery work? Does a fuel service come by and fill the tank from some floating tanker? If this is only done when you are there I can see doing it, but I would not want to have someone else fuel my boat when I am not present. Too many things that could go wrong in my simple mind. Obviously this works for the folks in your area.

How many other TF folks are in an area with a fueling service like this and how many take advantage of it?

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I am not sure that many boaters are aware of it. I know they do it at Port Charlotte FL and assume you can get diesel trucked for delivery in rural areas where fuel is delivered to farms and ranches. Delivery is probably available in places where large boats are kept at homes with private docks like Miami and Fort Lauderdale. No floating tankers. It is brought in by truck and a hose is pulled to the boat. Just like in the old days when they brought fuel oil to homes that were fuel oil heated.

Not to take pleasure in the misfortunes of others but just because it's nice to have company, I loved that first post and this thread. Ah, boat ownership, there it is. The best of times, the worst of times.

Donsan said:

No floating tankers.

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Fuel Barge....

The marina where we live (Lighthouse Point Yacht & Racquet Club) USED to have a fuel dock. But due to environmental concerns, the pumps and tanks were removed some years ago. Now, the yacht club contracts with a local fuel distributor who comes out periodically to fill resident boats which only have to come up and tie to the face dock for fueling. Even with the club's small percentage fee, it's quite a bit cheaper than going to a "normal" fuel dock. It's even better for us since we are in slip #1 and can be fueled right in our slip!

Since I typically take on 2,000+ gallons, and at the time had a seawall slip putting my boat about 10' from a public road with legal parking, I tried to arrange fuel delivery. After talking with several delivery companies, all of whom were happy to deliver that quantity for no extra charge (from road-tax free distributor pricing), I learned that in California, environmental restrictions require permits that basically cannot be had for this type of fueling.

Thanks for the information. Sorry to the OP for the thread hijack.

FWIW, my marina policies state NO refueling of boats in the marina. When I forgot to shut off the diesel heater on my sailboat a couple years ago and emptied the fuel tank, I had to get special permission to bring down a 5 gallon container of diesel to put in my tank.

Star:
What fuel delivery service do y'all use? Thanks.

When the AC unit cycles on temperature, the water pump automatically turns off. Set the AC thermostat to 50 degrees and try it again.

High Wire said:

When the AC unit cycles on temperature, the water pump automatically turns off. Set the AC thermostat to 50 degrees and try it again.

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Yep. Read Post #15. Still no answer from the OP.

Donsan " Just like in the old days when they brought fuel oil to homes that were fuel oil heated."

LOL: I guess it must be time to enter the modern age. Oh, no can do, no alternative fuel here, so oil heat will be around for a while. We get a tanker truck backing up the driveway about once every two years.

OP: Sorry this is not responsive to your original post.

Star0210 said:

No problem...pumped about 40 gallons of gas in, started the engines and generator and leave the dock. Get about 100yds away and everything just shuts down. No engines, no generator. Well what the heck? The men go down into the ER and discover water in the gas tank. Drop the anchor right there in the middle of the river and call BoatUS for a tow.

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Since you have gasoline, that may be Ethanol E10 gasoline. If so, and now you have visible water, that means phase separated gasoline.
10% of the former gasoline is floating as water and alcohol below the pure gasoline with lower octane on top.

If so, you can pump out all the water, and hope you get all of it. Then if you can fill up with premium gasoline, no E10 gasoline, no ethanol gas. That will help restore the octane of the fuel.

If the fuel was not E10, ethanol laced gasoline, then your problems are much less. Just pump out the water and put in more fresh gasoline, preferably non ethanol gasoline.

After the gasoline phase separated, if E10, you are left with gas of a much lower octane, maybe 3 to 5 points lower. That can cause some serious engine pinging or not depending I suppose on the engine. But it is not good for most engines to run such a low octane.

Well, it sounds like you did have a nice cruise till the water in fuel mishap. Dont worry things will be getting better! It takes some time to get to know the systems, and work out the bugs.
good luck!