????Boats & Sustainability

[spuderico]

Albeit I am relatively new to the boating pastime if you discount experience 20 yrs ago but I feel that I must bring up an issue that is hypocritical with our passtime that is as an important an issue as Bycatch being discussed at the present on another thread. We all know and discuss on this forum the many aspects of boat & trailer maintenance. It is these many differing aspects of application of maintenance and servicing that adds to the polluting of our waterways. Eventually these products reach the water. Do we ever stop to think as we crank up the horses on the Outboard/inboard, the overflow of fuel and oil that literally disperses like tea from a tea bag? I was flushing the mota at home the other day and was suddenly very aware of the fuel/oil that was flushing from the exhaust :-[ as it made its way to the storm water drain (gulp) hope no buggers watchin :-?

Some use grease, some oil, whilst others use solvents and fuels re: trailer bearing maintenance, outboard steering services etc. Correct me if I am wrong but does it not all add up to a huge soup of crap in the water that kills or discourages sustainable fisheries and the like. There are 200,000 registered boats in QLD,,,,,, thats a lot of oil byproduct leaching, dripping, pouring and in some cases pumping into our water system!! Outa site outa mind!!!!!!!!!!!

What do others think? ;)

[ahoj]

If i go fishing in Barumba dam on thursday or Fiday i don't have to wash my CAT but on Sunday its a full wash ( HULLS ) and have to wash with water soap and kero.... One can see the oil travel on the surface with a light breeze... someone is going to spoil it for everyone.... Old inboard V8s could be the culprits.... I hope it gets cold very quick and they will not come for a while...... Or else Barumba Dam will become electric motors only waterway

Ahoj

[PADDLES]

Pretty much everything that mankind does, has an effect of some sort on the environment. The only thing we can do is try and minimise our impact for the short time we're alive and hope that our kids can go boating and catch a fish in the same places we did. I'm with you though, I cringe when I see the oil in the water when I flush my outboard.

[PeterT]

From a post I made in a similar topic in early Feb. Pay particular attention to the part in bold. On the weekend I was out off Darwin at a spot where jewies were chewing. a boat anchored about 60 metres up current of me was leaving a visible slick of 2 stroke behind it when it dropped anchor. Under way, it was like a smoke machine in a monie. Would have been hilarious if I didn't know the environmental impacts of just one badly out of service machine like this one.

"Two stroke oil has some special toxins that dissolve and build up in sediment. They are taken up by micro and macro orgs and hence to fish, moluscs etc, resulting in cancer and or chromosomal damage and reduced growth rates. Then we eat the fish, prawns etc.

The pollution impacts disproportionatly on shallow nursery areas because it tends to float and settle in shallows. They are biomagnifiers, that is, they build up in organisms' system the more they eat the animals down the food chain. More a problem in areas with large populations, hence more boats. But adverse impacts have been recorded with low levels of usage by 2 stroke motors.

The most worrying toxins are a class of organic compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. http://oils.gpa.unep.org/facts/airpoll.htm#ships Benzene, and tolulene, known carcinogenics are also emitted. One scary statistic stated that one hour of use of a 70 horse power 2 stroke marine engine equaled 8,000 hours of emissions from a new car. "Four-stroke motors emit less than 4 g/Kwh (grams per kilowatt hour) of hydrocarbons, while two-stroke motors emit more than 150 g/Kwh. Even the latest fuel-injected two-stroke engines (developed for 1998) emit 10 times as many hydrocarbons as do four-stroke engines." http://www.wnrmag.com/supps/2002/aug02/onin.htm. One paper claims 2 stroke motors are the number 1 water pollutant in the US contibuting 1.1 billion pounds of hydrocarbon emission.

The argument that modern tech 2 strokes us less oil doesn't stand up because there are more boats so each is contributing to the problem, no matter how small each is contributing. Chesapeake Bay is accelerating phase out of 2 strokes. "In June, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Chuck Fox signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the Marine Retailers of American and the Marine Trade Association of Maryland to speed the transition by jointly promote the use of the cleaner, but slightly more costly, engines." http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=701.

Two stroke oil also reacts with chemicals used in fresh water purification to produce carcinogens. Two stoke engines are banned in some rivers in the US upstream of water purification plants. http://www.rbbi.com/desks/regs/ca2439/toxic.htm. Some lakes are mandated as 4 stroke only.

The US Oil in the sea report of 2002 states that 2 stroke oil contributes 85% of oil pollution in the US with an estimated 1.6 million gallons of oil entering US waters. http://www.americanboating.org/how_oil_really_enters.asp. Interesting that this is published by a US boating association.

All they need do is find a biodegradable non-toxic form of 2 stroke oil and no problem. In Sweden some parks only allow use of two strokes if they use vegetable oil. http://www.linnaeus.net/veg_based_2stroke_oil.htm" target="_blank">http://www.linnaeus.net/veg_based_2stroke_oil.htm Maybe use your old chip oil. But then the oil companies won't be able to sell their product will they.

Greenie hysteria?

Which way do you think the trend is going?

Do a google search and you will find heaps on the issue but little in Oz."

[spuderico]

Two stroke oil also reacts with chemicals used in fresh water purification to produce carcinogens. Two stoke engines are banned in some rivers in the US upstream of water purification plants. http://www.rbbi.com/desks/regs/ca2439/toxic.htm. Some lakes are mandated as 4 stroke only.

Thanks Peter,
This is very telling evidence of a very serious social ill.. Makes me realise that I and many others are informed of the damage/risk but are not serious or concerned enough to giveaway their favourite vice :-/ What we dont see or impact directly with, is an ignorant blind eye no matter which way we look at it.

Simular to skin cancer!! 8-)

[ahoj]

Gas bottles next mates and why bloody not???

Ahoj

[PeterT]

Gas bottles? has anybody seen an outboard run on LP?
Why can't a 4 stroke be set up to run on gas? and why can't someone come up with a biodegradable two stoke oil? If they are running 2 strokes in Europe on vegie oil whats going on here?
Diesel will be the go. Then you can run your motor on the oil left over from cooking fish and chips.
Surely the technology is up to making a diesel motor light enough and powerful enough to get your average 5m OB up and planing.

pete