Like most guys, I have a bad habit of
tinkering a little too much at times. I’ve
been told all my life, “If it’s not broken,
don’t fix it,” which is actually good
advice in my case. It’s just sometimes my
curiosity about how something works gets
the best of me, or in some instances my
attempts to improve something actually
makes it worse.
However, in the case of our ethanol
policy in this country, as boaters we
already know it’s broken and it’s time it
gets fixed! Back in May a letter was sent
to the Trump administration and Congress
by a coalition of recreational boating and
sportfishing interests urging action to fix
America’s ethanol policy.
The American Sportfishing Association
(ASA), Boat Owners Association of The
United States (BoatUS), National Marine
Manufacturers Association (NMMA)
and Marine Retailers Association of
the Americas (MRAA) on behalf of
the nation’s 12 million recreational
boat owners, 46 million recreational
anglers and 35,000 recreational boating
businesses, respectively, expressed
concern with the Renewable Fuel
Standard (RFS). Isn’t it nice to know as
boaters we have this kind of support in our
corner as this really does affect all of us?
The RFS is the 2005 law that mandates
the blending of biofuels such as corn-
ethanol into our gasoline. When written,
it was assumed that America’s use of
gasoline would continue to rise—and you
know what they say about assuming, right?
However, US gasoline usage has actually
dropped steadily since 2005 and now the
law forces more corn ethanol into fewer
gallons of gasoline. With the RFS program
increasing amounts each year, it will
eventually escalate to 36 billion gallons by
2022! Yikes!
Boaters and anglers need access to
safe and approved fuels. The letter said
the RFS “...has discriminatorily affectedthe boating public—groups of boaters
and anglers who purchase fuel for their
boats... We write to ask that you set a new
course for the RFS—one that takes into
account the objective concerns expressed
by the boating community.”
Because of its ability to damage boat
engines, federal law prohibits the use of
gas blends greater than E10 (10 percent
ethanol) in recreational boats. However, as
the RFS forces E15 (15 percent ethanol)
and higher blends into the market, the
chance of misfueling increases.
A 2016 Harris Poll found that 64
percent of consumers were not sure of or
did not pay attention to the type of gas
they used. ASA, BoatUS, NMMA and
MRAA believe that the increased volumes
of E15 and other higher ethanol-blend
fuels also reduce the availability of E
and ethanol-free gas.
The letter asks for common sense
reforms, such as ensuring that any future
ethanol volumes do not exceed 9.7 percent
of the nation’s total fuel supply, protecting
true consumer choice at the pump by
not artificially decreasing the supply of
ethanol-free gasoline, and implementing
new and more effective misfueling
mitigation protections that will educate
and protect all consumers.
Will common sense prevail? I sure
hope so. This is a problem which, as
boaters, we’ve seen coming for a long
time. It is steadily getting worse and
could continue to wreak havoc on our
engines. We’re all about promoting the
boating lifestyle, and worrying about
higher blends of ethanol when fueling
up is clearly bad for business. Yes, we
have tremendous support in our corner
and that’s very reassuring, but let’s not
let these associations stand alone. We
need to do our part in this fight and I
encourage you to contact your own state
representatives and let’s get this fixed
once and for all.“We’re all about
promoting the
boating lifestyle,
and worrying
about higher
blends of ethanol
when fueling up
is clearly bad for
business.”
By Brady L. KayRFS Is Broken,
So Let’s Fix It
Captain's Chair Thoughts from the helm
12 Pontoon^ & Deck Boat July^2017 http://www.pdbmagazine.com