Ethanol Decision Delay Criticized by NMMA and Mercury Marine
11-26-2014, 10:58 AM
#1
Correspondent
CorrespondentThread Starter
Ethanol Decision Delay Criticized by NMMA and Mercury Marine
The waiting continues on the ethanol front, http://speedonthewater.com/in-the-ne...mercury-marine
11-26-2014, 01:22 PM
#2
Gold Member
Gold Member
Matt,
I believe the key point the EPA is missing on the whole Ethanol in marine gasoline debate is the average age of the fleet. On the automotive front, the fleet is relatively new. (And by "the fleet" I mean all cars currently registered / on the road.) This means most of this fleet was actually designed with some percentage of Ethanol in the fuel - so it's not a huge issue. You could ask somebody with an older car what havoc the new fuels has caused in their vehicles, but they're definitely the minority. So nobody really cares or listens.
On the other hand, compare the age of the automotive fleet in any marina parking lot with the average age of the boating fleet at the docks in the same marina. Guess, what? That fleet is significantly older for any number of reasons that the EPA just doesn't understand. So most of the marine fleet was designed and built at a time when nobody was even thinking About Ethanol - hence all of the destruction many of us have seen and experienced. (Just ask me how much my dumb old carbureted Mercury 2.5 liter outboard likes the new fuels.)
If you ask anybody in the Obama administration what they think about this situation, you need to understand that high performance boating enthusiasts are considered environmental criminals. As such, we should all be sentenced to buy slower boats made out of free range organic materials and powered by bananas, oatmeal, butterfly wing downdrafts or something similar. The fact that this type of boat would cost 10X what our current ride costs is simply the price we should pay for our past criminal acts. And no, I don't believe a word of what I just wrote. Pardon me while I puke.
As many of you might guess, the delay all comes down to politics. Let's put this decision off a little longer so the lobbyists (to be fair, from both sides) can twist a whole lot more ears. Once enough pockets have been lined, we can expect a decision that primarily benefits those who did the most effective job of pocket lining. Of course this has almost nothing to do with what the boating population like you and me really want or need.
Tom
I believe the key point the EPA is missing on the whole Ethanol in marine gasoline debate is the average age of the fleet. On the automotive front, the fleet is relatively new. (And by "the fleet" I mean all cars currently registered / on the road.) This means most of this fleet was actually designed with some percentage of Ethanol in the fuel - so it's not a huge issue. You could ask somebody with an older car what havoc the new fuels has caused in their vehicles, but they're definitely the minority. So nobody really cares or listens.
On the other hand, compare the age of the automotive fleet in any marina parking lot with the average age of the boating fleet at the docks in the same marina. Guess, what? That fleet is significantly older for any number of reasons that the EPA just doesn't understand. So most of the marine fleet was designed and built at a time when nobody was even thinking About Ethanol - hence all of the destruction many of us have seen and experienced. (Just ask me how much my dumb old carbureted Mercury 2.5 liter outboard likes the new fuels.)
If you ask anybody in the Obama administration what they think about this situation, you need to understand that high performance boating enthusiasts are considered environmental criminals. As such, we should all be sentenced to buy slower boats made out of free range organic materials and powered by bananas, oatmeal, butterfly wing downdrafts or something similar. The fact that this type of boat would cost 10X what our current ride costs is simply the price we should pay for our past criminal acts. And no, I don't believe a word of what I just wrote. Pardon me while I puke.
As many of you might guess, the delay all comes down to politics. Let's put this decision off a little longer so the lobbyists (to be fair, from both sides) can twist a whole lot more ears. Once enough pockets have been lined, we can expect a decision that primarily benefits those who did the most effective job of pocket lining. Of course this has almost nothing to do with what the boating population like you and me really want or need.
Tom
Last edited by Too Stroked; 11-26-2014 at 02:43 PM.
11-26-2014, 02:04 PM
#3
Correspondent
CorrespondentThread Starter
Matt,
I believe the key point the EPA is missing on the whole Ethanol in marine gasoline debate is the average age of the fleet. On the automotive front, the fleet is relatively new. (And by "the fleet" I mean all cars currently registered / on the road.) This means most of this fleet was actually designed with some percentage of Ethanol in the fuel - so it's not a huge issue. You could ask somebody with an older car what havoc the new fuels has caused in their vehicles, but they're definitely the minority. So nobody really cares or listens.
On the other hand, compare the age of the automotive fleet in any marina parking lot with the average age of the boating fleet at the docks in the same marina. Guess, what? That fleet is significantly older for any number of reasons that the EPA just doesn't understand. So most of the marine fleet was designed and built at a time when nobody was even thinking About Ethanol - hence all of the destruction many of us have seen and experienced. (Just ask me how much my dumb old carbureted Mercury 2.5 liter outboard likes the new fuels.)
If you ask anybody in the Obama administration what they think about this situation, you need to understand that high performance baoting enthusiasts are considered environmental criminals. As such, we should all be sentenced to buy slower boats made out of free range organic materials and powered by bananas, oatmeal, butterfly wing downdrafts or something similar. The fact that this type of boat would cost 10X what our current ride costs is simply the price we should pay for our past criminal acts. And no, I don't believe a word of what I just wrote. Pardon me while I puke.
As many of you might guess, the delay all comes down to politics. Let's put this decision off a little longer so the lobbyists (to be fair, from both sides) can twist a whole lot more ears. Once enough pockets have been lined, we can expect a decision that primarily benefits those who did the most effective job of pocket lining. Of course this has almost nothing to do with what the boating population like you and me really want or need.
Tom
I believe the key point the EPA is missing on the whole Ethanol in marine gasoline debate is the average age of the fleet. On the automotive front, the fleet is relatively new. (And by "the fleet" I mean all cars currently registered / on the road.) This means most of this fleet was actually designed with some percentage of Ethanol in the fuel - so it's not a huge issue. You could ask somebody with an older car what havoc the new fuels has caused in their vehicles, but they're definitely the minority. So nobody really cares or listens.
On the other hand, compare the age of the automotive fleet in any marina parking lot with the average age of the boating fleet at the docks in the same marina. Guess, what? That fleet is significantly older for any number of reasons that the EPA just doesn't understand. So most of the marine fleet was designed and built at a time when nobody was even thinking About Ethanol - hence all of the destruction many of us have seen and experienced. (Just ask me how much my dumb old carbureted Mercury 2.5 liter outboard likes the new fuels.)
If you ask anybody in the Obama administration what they think about this situation, you need to understand that high performance baoting enthusiasts are considered environmental criminals. As such, we should all be sentenced to buy slower boats made out of free range organic materials and powered by bananas, oatmeal, butterfly wing downdrafts or something similar. The fact that this type of boat would cost 10X what our current ride costs is simply the price we should pay for our past criminal acts. And no, I don't believe a word of what I just wrote. Pardon me while I puke.
As many of you might guess, the delay all comes down to politics. Let's put this decision off a little longer so the lobbyists (to be fair, from both sides) can twist a whole lot more ears. Once enough pockets have been lined, we can expect a decision that primarily benefits those who did the most effective job of pocket lining. Of course this has almost nothing to do with what the boating population like you and me really want or need.
Tom
Happy Thanksgiving!
11-26-2014, 05:28 PM
#4
Gold Member
Gold Member
