Ethanol Free gasoline on Lake Winnipesaukee, 2009

[BroadHopper]

I bought my boat last year in Virginia. I was told the gas tank, fuel lines and all the gasket in the carb had to be replaced because of ethanol. The boat was built in 1988 and ethanol eats the rubber and plastics that was formulated that year. I am told newer boats are formulated for ethanol. I am also told, I shouldn't have any problems.

Check with your owner's manual for the engine and see if the engine is OK to run on ethanol. A local mechanic told me that the ECU may or may not sense ethanol presence in the fuel. Ethanol tends to burn differently. There is a service bulletin out on most engine makes that the ECU can be reprogrammed for ethanol. Check with your dealer.