Smart Boater: Going Green

With these 10 easy and eco-friendly tips, you can help keep the environment healthy for future generations.

by Clyde W. Ford

Increased dead-zones with little sea life. Diminished or extinct fish runs. Harmful toxins seeping into food supplies through the fish that humans consume. Endangered ecosystems depending upon the sea for sustenance. Elimination of once-thriving fishing industries. By all estimates, our marine environment is in a state of steady decline. Even though recreational boaters cause only a tiny portion of overall marine environmental degradation, you can nonetheless become a major part of the solution by demonstrating through example how to protect our waters while still enjoying them. Here is a list of 10 environmentally friendly ways that boaters can enhance the performance of their vessels, decrease maintenance costs, improve safety ... and, by the way, also be more "green":

1. Upgrade your outboard. All older carbureted 2-stroke outboards require oil mixed with gasoline and release a portion of this partially combusted mixture directly into the water and air with every stroke. Fortunately, carbureted 2-stroke outboards are no longer manufactured, though some boaters still use them. Switch to a four-cycle outboard or direct-injection 2-stroke engine, and save money in the long run. Of every $10 spent on fuel for an older 2-stroke outboard, $2 to $3 is wasted and winds up discharged into the water or air. In addition, newer outboards start easier, run smoother and perform better than their 2-stroke ancestors. Some other outboard options you can consider include diesel outboards and electric outboards.

2. Use Biodiesel. If you own a diesel engine, this is one of the simplest steps you can take. At low concentrations (up to 20 percent), biodiesel can be mixed with regular diesel without concern. At higher concentrations, though, biodiesel can soften rubber hoses, gaskets and seals. However, few boats still possess these older rubber elements, which have long since been replaced by nitrile and other materials impervious to biodiesel. The benefits of biodiesel are many: better combustion, increased lubricity, safer fuel handling, significant reduction of pollutant discharge ... and yes, that smell of french fries or steak, depending upon whom you ask. Be sure to use commercial-grade biodiesel only, though, and be prepared to change your fuel filters more frequently in the beginning - biodiesel is a solvent and it will dislodge sludge from your fuel system ... but rest assured, that's a good thing.

If your boat has a diesel engine, then fueling
with biodiesel is a non-toxic alternative.

3. Be vigilant with Ethanol. It's tempting to equate ethanol usage with gasoline engines to biodiesel usage with diesel engines, but more problems have been reported with ethanol for marine use. Still, most boaters with gasoline engines in the United States will have to deal with the presence of ethanol in their fuel, because ethanol is a mandated fuel additive. If you have fiberglass fuel tanks, inspect them regularly as ethanol has been known to attach fiberglass resins. Because ethanol absorbs a large amount of water from the air, limit your fuel onboard to what's needed within the next few weeks. Use a good water/fuel separator and carry spare separator filters. Also, be sure to empty your fuel tanks when winterizing your boat.

4. Use a donut. Whenever you fill your engine or your outboard up, make a donut by poking a hole through a piece of oil-absorbent material. Place the fuel nozzle or funnel through the hole, and you've got a simple first line of protection against fuel spillage. Also, make sure you have a catch container under your overflow spout so any fuel overfill doesn't end up in the water.

5. Close your crankcase. Most newer marine engines - especially the larger ones - have crankcase ventilation systems, which filter "blow-by gases" before feeding them back into the engine. Many older engines have open crankcases that vent combustion gases escaping from the cylinders (blow-by) directly into the engine room. Installing a crankcase ventilator is a simple, inexpensive process that either you or your mechanic can perform. These crankcase ventilators improve the air quality inside your boat, reduce oil leaks into the engine room and bilge, and eliminate one key source of pollutant discharge.

6. Use polymer bilge socks. All bilge socks are not created equal. A 2000 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) study on Buzzard's Bay in Massachussetts measured several important qualities of bilge socks: initial absorption (how quickly do they start to work?); overall absorption (how much oil do they consume in total?); retention (how well do they hold onto oil without leaking?); and swelling (how large do they grow when filled with oil?). Of the five different kinds of bilge socks - polypropylene, cellulose, biological, foam and polymer - only polymer bilge socks passed all the tests. They're a little more expensive than other bilge socks, but their improved performance outweighs their cost.

7. Be a dust-buster. When stripping or sanding wood or fiberglass, especially at the dock, use a dustless sander. Dustless sanders are essentially regular sanders attached to a vacuum cleaner. The material you sand, often impregnated with harsh chemicals, is sucked into the vacuum's container instead of being released into the water and air. Some yacht clubs or marinas have invested in vacuum sanders to be shared among many boaters. If your marina or yacht club doesn't have one, step forward and make a suggestion that they acquire a vacuum sander for boaters to use.

8. Use propylene glycol anti-freeze. Ethylene glycol is the common component of antifreeze, but you can find antifreeze made with propylene glycol - a less toxic cousin. Always keep antifreeze in a sealed container away from any children or animals. Recycle used antifreeze, and don't mix it with the other engine fluids. Antifreeze is 100-percent recyclable as long as it's kept in a container by itself.

9. Use a pumpout facility when you can. Not only is it smelly and unsightly to pump your head overboard, but in most places, it's also unlawful. Discharging raw sewage adds nutrient-rich material to the water, which ultimately contributes to creating dead zones and potentially hazardous areas polluted with harmful bacteria. Learn the locations of the pumpout stations nearest you, and be sure to make a habit of using them.

Human presence can be disruptive to marine creatures' habitats.

10. Enjoy safe encounters with marine mammals. We boaters share the marine environment with a wide variety of other mammals. Encountering a whale, porpoise, seal or manatee is an exciting experience that draws many boaters out onto the water. But our presence in these magnificent creatures' habitats can also be disruptive. When operating your vessel, you should wear polarized sunglasses that make it easier to see any floating objects, including partially submerged marine mammals - such as manatees - which can easily be missed. Be careful to avoid approaching within 100 meters (300 yards) of any marine mammal, reduce your speed when you become aware of a whale within 400 meters (1,200 yards) of your boat, and never drive through a pod of whales or dolphins. Always stay on the offshore side of whales or dolphins when they're traveling close to shore. Don't swim with or feed marine mammals from your boat.

Clyde W. Ford is an avid boater and the author of Boat Green: 50 Steps Boaters Can Take to Save Our Waters (New Society Publishers, 2008), and the Charlie Noble novels - a series of nautical thrillers set along the Inside Passage. A sought-after speaker, Clyde has cruised the Inside Passage for years on his biodiesel trawler, Mystic Voyager.