Doctors tell us it’s important to lower our cholesterol to keep our blood running freely and prevent a clump of fat from breaking loose and clogging something essential. The same is true of boats: Fuel, water and waste tanks will collect gunk over the years that can get churned up and find its way into the plumbing or the engine. Nothing ruins a fine summer afternoon faster than an engine dying from fouled injectors, or a waste tank leaking fumes and effluent into the bilge. Act beforehand to prevent this: Clean your tanks while the boating season’s still young.
Dirty fuel tanks cause the most trouble, so deal with them first. Dirt, water or biological gunk in gas or diesel tanks can be sucked into and clog the engine’s delicate fuel system—more common now that many engines use high-pressure fuel injection. Fuel has to be absolutely pristine. Folks who remember the problems caused by the change from pure gasoline to ethanol blended fuel can vouch for this: “Older boats had dirty tanks, and ethanol is technically a cleaner,” said Jim “the Boat Guy” Valiante, a mobile mechanic from eastern Connecticut. “It would remove the dirt and growth from the inside walls and pass it through the
