Recommended fuel grade Crusader 350s

[AC3207]

Just purchased a 1986 3207 AC with Crusader 350s. The boat has been upgraded to electronic ignition. The prices at the marina for gas is out of this world. I live on the water so the boat will be stored at my dock. Trying to save some costs here and looking at what type of fuel that is recommended as I would like to purchase fuel at the local gas station and fill up at my house with a transfer pump or 20 5 gallon cans if that's what it takes! Just looking to see if it is even recommended to run 87-89 fuel in the motors or generator and any tips on fueling at home to save money safely. Thanks.

[tomschauer]

Anything 87 or better is fine for your engines and generator.
You will find it takes a lot of time to fill your boat with 5 gallon cans!

[bud37]

You may want to research the effects of gasoline with ethanol on old marine fuel systems before you decide on this, how much will you use your boat in a season ?

I have tried this many, many, many years ago and it was a lot of work hauling 5 gallon cans around and possibly dangerous filling so many. Not worth it in my opinion.

[g36]

Marina gas in my area is ethanol free or pure gasoline. With that consideration you may want to search out the same on land. You'll find lots of stories about changing to regular gas station gas with ethanol on what issues boaters have had using it.

[Cooler]

You should have a manual in your info folder. The manual discloses 87 octane, and 87 AKI as the recommended fuel. The manual also provides a STRONG warning against using any gas containing alcohol, either ethanol or methanol. Depending on your location, you may find the price difference at the marina, compared to non-ethanol gas at land based stations, is not enough to take on the risk and effort to gas up on your dock. You may also have to deal with local regulatory issues about environmental concerns. One citation will more than wipe out your savings. Search different marinas for gas prices. AND, make sure the marina is not using alcohol blend. There are a few in our area that have switched to ethanol gas, but have not informed boaters. Pay attention to the pump sticker or ask the attendant about ethanol. Good luck! er

[km1125]

All the above cautions are warranted. If you're using "landlubber" gas you may still be able to find non-ethanol and it will likely be 89oct or better. If I was regularly going to schlep those quantities of gas I'd probably invest in a 20gal gas caddy with wheels.

[tomschauer]

I agree with all the negative regarding ethanol fuel, However, I have not been able to find non ethanol fuel on the water in my area for at least 10 years. Even on land there is only one station I know of within 50 miles of me that has non ethanol gas.
I fill my tanks, then run them to dam near empty before I refill. So far, no issues for me with the boat. Fingers crossed.

[bud37]

QR_BBPOST I agree with all the negative regarding ethanol fuel, However, I have not been able to find non ethanol fuel on the water in my area for at least 10 years. Even on land there is only one station I know of within 50 miles of me that has non ethanol gas.
I fill my tanks, then run them to dam near empty before I refill. So far, no issues for me with the boat. Fingers crossed.

I agree, if you buy the fuel and use it then probably no big deal for you at this point after that much time, so long as the fuel does not sit around for long periods without treatment. The other thing is his boat is 12 years older and has carbs, mid 80's fuel residue coating everything tanks/lines etc unless previous owner cleaned it all up.

Sometimes I guess there is no way out , just good to be informed and ready in case anything happens IMO. I use 91 up here in the car and truck cause they can sit around sometimes, the 91 up here at certain stations is ethanol free.

[Cooler]

Tom, how do you handle winter layup? Empty tanks with heavy treatments? Are you carbed or FI? There are a number of areas where it is difficult to get non ethanol gas. Probably about 100 miles of west shoreline on Lake Michigan that has ethanol only gas. A person needs to be aware if that concerns them. er

[Midnightsun]

There are only 3 drawbacks with Ethanol fuel that I know of. It won't harm your engine however older hoses and rubber seals will not hold up to ethanol in the long term so you may have a failure somewhere along the line. Ethanol is a solvent.

Ethanol tends to absorb water much more than gas, is 10 or 15% ethanol blend going to make that much of a difference? I doubt it.

Ethanol has less power than gasoline which translates to higher fuel consumption for equal amounts of power applied. Kinda like diluting your Whiskey with water.

I have an old ragtop Mercedes, 1996 to be exact. Fuel pump just started spewing gas a few years back. Ethanol ate the seals.

On the other hand I purchased a new Yamaha 25hp fuel injected outboard last year for the rib. No issue running ethanol blend in those as all components are designed for ethanol blend use. Says so in the manual.