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Random Quote: Always tell her she is beautiful, especially if she is not. LL
After reading a many posts on gasoline octane, I find many posts referring fueling at marinas but almost none referring to refueling at a gas station. I plan on trailering my boat. Are there any legal restrictions or problems with filling up my boat at a gas station?
That's the only way I ever fill up. I've never heard of anything wrong with it. Now there is fuel made for off road use only and it is illegal to use on the roadways. The difference is the tax charged for the fuel.
Should be same gasoline- and both will likely have the highway tax factored into the price. Save your receipts- In some states, you can get a refund on the highway tax if you're burning the gas in your boat. Most people that trailer will fill up at a gas station because prices are cheaper.
In CT if you buy more than $200. you can get a refund of the state tax. - but you have to save reciepts with your name, or boat name or credit card and fill in a form. probably similiar programs in other states. - go the NJ.gov and to their dept. of revenue services or equivilent.
2) Always the thought in the back of my mind about potential water in a marina tank that you probably won't find at a BUSY service station!
3) As was said, SOME states will allow you to deduct the TAXES on gasoline that is NOT used on the highway.
4) Sometimes you get launched and putt-putt around to the marina gas and - BANG - there is a 50-footer there taking on 500gals. and you can't get to the pump! DELAY, DELAY!
I just prefer the service stations - good place for a "stopping point" on the way and to get your "last minute" gear in the boat and check for anything else - pull AWAY from the pump BEFORE you do this, so as not to tie up the pump area! It aslo keeps you from tying up the ramp area lot when you get there - a NO, NO!
I can't remember WHICH octane the marina sells where I usually launch? If it sells 89 or higher ONLY - then I'm throwing money away by not using the 87 octane that my Yamaha manual says to use! Another reason for going to a service station - you get the EXACT octane you need!
NOTE: I usually stop at a station that is pretty CLOSE to the ramp! No use in hauling a bunch of gasoline around when you don't have to!
One of the drawbacks in some states such as California is that at least the additional taxes on the fuel on the water helping to make it higher at the Marinas etc go to the Departmey of Boating and Waterways, These funds can pnly be spent on waterway boating related things, also low intrest loans to help rebuild and build Marinas and such as that. These funds are dedicated to those projects and only those projects. Taxes paid at the gas station go everywhere but the waterways. Remembering this at least helps to take the bite out of the higher price on the water
Tom
You know what I just don't get; gas station gas prices are lower than buying at a marina, so why then does the goverment give some of you guys tax credits for buying the cheaper gas? To me, it would make more sense of giving a credit for buying the more expesive gas that is found at marinas.
When in doubt which direction to go, move forward.
Good point, Garet. I have always heard that marinas don't make any money pumpimg gas. I have heard from the farmers that taxfree gas is a thing of the past. Only diesel can be bought without road taxes. Am I wrong?
By the way, I fixed a nurser with 2-55 gal drums on a small trailer I use to bring gas to my boat which is always on the water. I carry 100 gallons at a time and save $60 a trip. The barrels are red and I have waterseparator/filters on them with gravity feed, just like we did on the farm. I carry a fire extinguisher as well, of course, but there is always someone who says I am going to blow up something.
Dry
I'm sure the reg.s vary from state to statebut if you're hauling a few containers for personal use, I don't think anyone is going to bother you.
Bulk supplies like 'Dry Rot' described are probably a gray area (it sounds like a sweet setup though). If the cops want to hassle you for that they probably can. Go onto your local D.O.T. website for the rules that apply in your area.
Do a search on this forum for "gas tax" and "fuel trailer" to find some more posts on these subjects.
In CT you can get the refund of the State highway tax (gasoline or diesel) whether you buy it at the marina or the gas station.
You just have to declare that it is used by a boat you own and list the reg number of the boat(s). You can do the same for any non-highway use like lawnmowers, but most people don't spend $200. or more for those uses.
If your state dedicates fuel tax revnue to highway use, things like new road construction or road mainatinence then by putting that gas in your boat you are paying for service you can not possibly receive. Boats do not run well on roads. So that state will refund the taxes that were inappropriately charged to you for use with an off-road vehicle. That works for farm equipment, race cars, boats, and using it to light up your bar-b-que grill too for that matter. So the states that do that refund the tax but you have to keep the records in accordance with the state's (and it does not have to be your home state - the reason for that's called full faith and credit) requirements.
On the other hand some states just dump the money directly into a general fund where it is not designated for any particular use at the time. You'll not be seeing any refund from those states.
My home state uses the second method and there is no refund for non-highway-use of the fuel. On the other hand North Carolina, the state were the vast majority of the fuel I buy - always at service stations, never at marinas - comes from does designate the taxes to highway use and as a consequence I file for and receive the refund every year. It works out to a little over $0.20 a gallon, which is a considerable savings over the year. The state is slow to refund, make no mistake about that, but the check comes in the spring, about 3 months after fileing.
Marinas make alot of money off gasoline and diesel fuel. I work in the petroleum industry, most marinas are supplied with unbranded fuel unless they are flying a flag, Texaco, Mobil, etc. The distributor pays in most instances for the underground tanks and pumps and then amortizes the deal over a period of time and a gallonage requirement. I prefer buying my gas at a service station because as you stated its lower in price and I know what I'm getting.Then again I am fortunate that my boat is only 18 ft. My suggestion would be to purchase from a marina that sells with a known oil company sign. That marina has to buy that product. With unbranded fuel, you generally are buying the cheapest price and product on the day the marina needs to be resupplied. Texaco did a great job of having a good place to buy gas for your boat with their starport concept. Texaco as you know is being phased out here on the east coast with Shell. As Shell purchsed them. Chevron owns the brand on the west coast. Just my two cents.- Craig
Thanks Thom, now that makes sense to me. Now I'm going to have to see if I can swangle any of that insightful knowledge this side of the ditch this Feb.?
When in doubt which direction to go, move forward.
here in the panhandle, we love jokes about
wv....what do you have if you combine a high
school`s football and basketball teams???...
a full set of teeth....
then there is the wv and the md guys out
hunting together...they come upon a deer which
has become entangled in fencing wire and is
unhurt, but immobilized....the md hunter drops
his trousers, has sex with the deer...he comes
back, hitching up his belt with a smile and says
to the wv hunter, "ok, now its your turn"...the
wv hunter drops his trousers, walks over toward
the deer and wraps himself in the wire..
sorry, thom...your dentition may be just as
good as mine, but the stereotype is persistent.
dan
Have any of you guys had problems with gas with the summer additives for smog? I thought I read somewhere that the smog/ozone gas bought in the summer does not store well in the tanks over the winter? Obviously not a problem for the florida guys. Anyone heard of this?
Gasoline is sold with all road taxes added. It doesn't matter where you buy it. Farmers and other off road users can get a refund for the federal taxes and most states allow a refund of state taxes for off road use. Marinas do not make a lot of money off gasoline in most cases. They do make more than gas stations, but they also pay more than gas stations. They buy it from the guys who own gas stations, commonly called jobbers. Most marinas are paying 10c to 20c more per gallon than your typical gas station. They also do not do the volume of your typical gas station. Your typical gas station makes about 10c per gallon. your typical marina makes about 30c per gallon. Consider a gas station pumps 100,000 gallons and a marina only pumps 25,000 gallons. You can see the Marina is not getting rich off selling you gas.
Shell did not buy the Texacos on the east coast. Chevron bought Texaco entirely. Texaco and Shell had formed an alliance on the east coast. As a result the owners of the stations had the right to choose which brand they wanted to sell, either Shell or Chevron. Also Shell had the right to purchase some corporate owned stores. This gives the appearance that Shell bought Texaco on the east coast. Our company is a jobber than owns convenience stores that sell Chevron, Texaco, and Valero. I would agree to stick with branded gasoline.
Cadman you are right that marinas tend to sell less gas than stations. However alot of marinas have account setup with various suppliers and on a daily basis can call for the best price. I use to run a jobber and you know if you want the sale you will sell low to get that guy buying product from you. I have done deals as low as a penny over cost to get my product in.As you also know it depends if I am putting the capital expenses in. Then I have to get my costs back thru a supply deal. Lastly Here on the East I would not call it a merger when every Texaco station is dissappearing. That to me is a takeover.
gasoline 
Now I'm going to have to see if I can swangle any of that insightful knowledge this side of the ditch this Feb.?
