Archive for the ‘Boats and Gear’ Category

Outfitting Your Boat The Green Way

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

Outfitting Your Boat The Green Way

 The First Steps – You Have a Boat, Now What?

 

Where do I begin?

If you thought the expensive part of boating was going to be buying your boat you are almost right. Keep your checkbook handy for all the cool stuff that you need to enjoy your time on the water. Don’t panic here, but most serious sailors will tell you that equipping a boat to go cruising usually costs about a third of what you spent on the vessel itself. For those of us who are not heading off to Tahiti anytime soon the cost will be lower of course, but there is still plenty to do.  

Before we get too specific let me reiterate a concept from the early days of this blog. Being green is not cheap in the traditional sense of the word. As you are confronted by the dollar cost of the gear you need to go boating please remember the true cost of what you end up buying.

In our store we sell a lot of traditional nautical equipment- brass lanterns, barometers, and clocks, stainless steel, bronze, and aluminum hardware and all sorts of similar stuff. We are often asked how such products can be considered “green.” After all, there is no such thing as organic metal. 

There is however, a significant difference between the environmental impact made by the production, distribution, use, and ultimate disposal of one high quality item compared to the impact of buying a new, cheap version of the same item every few seasons.

To illustrate, let’s consider the environmental impact from the buying decisions of two boaters. Both need a new hand held compass, nothing fancy, just a reliable navigation tool every boater should have. Boater 1 buys a cheap $5.00 plastic compass. Boater 2 buys a nice brass and glass compass for $25.00.

From a dollars and cents standpoint Buyer 1 is probably thinking he can afford to replace his $5.00 compass 5 times before he spends what Boater 2 did in the first place. Looked at as a simple math problem Boater 1 is right. When you examine the true cost to the planet of his decision, however, Boater 1 will have a dramatically higher negative environmental impact than Boater 2.

First off, let’s look at the production of both compasses. While it does require more energy to melt and fabricate brass and glass vs. plastic the by-products that result from the production of plastic are much more harmful and persistent than those from brass and glass. Basic minerals, heat, and knowledge are what you need to make brass and glass. Complex petroleum-based chemical compounds, energy, and knowledge go into making plastic. Science is just now starting to unravel the long term damage caused by the numerous toxins that are released in the manufacturing of plastic. The creation of the popular plastic PVC ( poly vinyl chloride)  releases and creates this neat little poison called dioxin. Dioxin exposure has been linked to birth defects, inability to maintain pregnancy, decreased fertility, reduced sperm counts, endometriosis, diabetes, learning disabilities, immune system suppression, lung problems, skin disorders, lowered testosterone levels and much more. Perhaps the scariest aspect of plastic’s persistence in the environment is that everyone on the planet, no matter how remote they may be, now has measurable levels of chlorinated toxins in their bloodstream.

To get back to true costs for a moment, do you really think the health care problems, clean up costs, and numerous other negatives caused in the production of that $5.00 compass are not being paid for by someone? I don’t intend to turn this into an economics thesis, but I think it is safe to say we can add $10.00 to the true cost of the plastic compass from these factors alone.

Now let’s assume Boater 1 accidentally sits on his plastic compass and breaks it, or it just goes over the side. How do you measure the true cost of a piece of plastic  that has become a permanent part of the ecosystem? For those folks who don’t know, plastic is not biodegradable. Every piece of plastic ever made exists today in one form or another. In fact, one of the very first pieces of plastic ever made was installed on a WWII Japanese fighter plane. A sizeable chunk was recently found floating at sea, with serial numbers clearly visible. Perhaps some day bacteria will evolve that will find a way to eat this stuff, but conservative scientific estimates peg the time frame for such a possibility at 100,000 years or more in the future. To keep things simple let’s add another $5.00 to the true cost of making Mother Nature deal with an eternal plastic compass. 

If Boater 2 loses his compass over the side it won’t rot in a month, but it will eventually without releasing any neurotoxins or other equally awful stuff.

Now Boater 1 needs to replace his lost plastic compass. A drive to the store to buy a second compass doesn’t sound like much, but how much damage was caused producing that second compass and shipping it from China? Another $5.00? Lose a few more and it is easy to see that the cheap compass cost the planet much more than the brass version ever will.

Now I know there are holes to be poked in this little exercise, but at the very least I hope it makes people see past the myth that the cheap plastic compass only cost $5.00.

If my analogy doesn’t sell you on why you should outfit your boat with quality gear, all you have to do to convince yourself is spend some time on the water. Almost all the junk floating around where it has no business being is cheap, disposable crap.  Chunks of Styrofoam and an endless assortment of plastic everything can be seen bobbing in the waves of every Ocean and on the shores of almost every body of water boaters frequent.

When the time comes to shell out your hard earned dollars for gear it will be only natural that your conscience wrestles with your practical side. Just try to imagine the life cycle of what you are buying and remember, your initial expense is not the only measure of what something costs.

This does not mean you have to spend top dollar on everything your boat requires. For some things you do not want to be cheap – safety gear for instance, but my point is that you should not buy junk. Look for gear that will last, look for gear that does minimal harm when it is made, and look for gear that will cause minimal harm if it goes over the side. Besides doing the right thing for the planet, how cool will it be to hand your grandson the brass compass you used on one of your adventures, even if you never really had any?

How Big a Boat Do I Need?

Friday, April 4th, 2008

How Big a Boat Do I Need?

Like most boat questions, it depends. Small boats are fun, easy to handle, and relatively inexpensive if you do your homework before buying. Bigger costs more, especially with boats. As you move up in size you require a bigger power plant to move you through the water, whether it is made of steel or canvas. I will leave it to you to experience the sticker shock on a 40-foot boat vs. a 30-footer, but be prepared. The single best answer for what size is right for you depends on how you will use the boat. If you have kids or lots of friends, too small will get old in a hurry. If you are looking for something to enjoy alone or with just that special someone you will probably regret the handling issues and maintenance involved when going too big.

Once again, the art of boat buying is all about compromise. Remember the opportunity cost of what you think you need and choose accordingly.

Beware of the very real syndrome of two foot-itis. Ask any boater who has owned more than one boat and chances are each new vessel was a little bigger than the last. “If she was just a little bigger I could _______” is heard a lot in marinas. Avoid this problem from the beginning by choosing the boat that fits you and yours from the start.

The green implications of size should be clear as day. The bigger she is the more fuel she will use and the more soap you need to clean her. Bigger boats need bigger everything; from dock lines to fenders, boat slips to trailers, the list goes on. Unfortunately so many of these peripheral products are made from plastic, petroleum and a wide assortment of unfriendly materials. Like most green decisions, once you make one it leads to more, each of which has a noticeable impact on the world around you.

Choosing The Right Boat – Introduction

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Choosing The Right Boat – Introduction

What is the right boat for you? Read any book or boating magazine on the subject and you will usually get the same answer; it depends. Choosing a boat is all about compromise. If you want a boat you can spend a week on without going stir crazy you will not be doing a lot of water-skiing. If you have visions of crossing oceans there are no gas stations along the way. If you just want to hit the lake for the day, do you really want to take out a second mortgage just to pay for it? These considerations and many more all go into the decision process when buying a boat.
If you have never owned a boat before you can expect some serious information overload. You should also plan on receiving all sorts of advice, some valuable, some not, from those folks whose opinion you seek. Before you get too bogged down take a deep breath and just ask yourself what you really want to do on the water.
Whether you are an experienced boater or brand new to the sport, if you are buying a boat that is new to you think carefully and do your homework.  In these pages we will not be arguing the virtues of horsepower, twin vs. single engines, sloops vs. schooners, and so on. Countless volumes have been written to address these questions with much more authority than I can muster. What we will discuss, however, are the green implication of boat choices in general. With this thought in mind there are a few high points to consider.

New Boat or Used Boat?

There are only a few instances, in my opinion, where buying a new boat makes much sense. If money is no object you could easily commission a new boat built to very specific, very green standards. If you plan to sail extensively offshore the fact that your life depends on your boat is reason enough to go top of the line. 
For the rest of us mere mortals, however, it is hard to justify a new boat for several reasons.
The first of course is money. Brand new boats cost a lot. Just like a car, when you motor out of the marina in your brand new boat you just left a wheelbarrow of money on the dock. Now I know there are boat salesmen who will argue that a boat is an investment that will hold its’ value over time. In a few cases they may be right, but how many people do you know that ever sold their boat for what they put into it? Enough said.
Boats are toys. Great toys, fun toys, life-changing toys, but toys all the same. If you are reading this blog I assume you tend to think about how your purchasing decisions affect the world around you. From a purely financial standpoint, the money you save buying used instead of new could make a big difference somewhere else.
Opportunity cost is one of the few concepts I remember from my disastrous experience with college economics. Textbooks will tell you the opportunity cost of a decision is based on what must be given up as a result of the decision.  When comparing the brand new, super fancy $150,000 boat to the three -year old version of something similar selling for $100,000 the opportunity cost of the new boat is $50,000.
Regardless of the numbers involved with your boat purchase, take a hard look at the opportunity cost of the boat you want compared to the boat that would work just fine. The $50,000 you might save buying a used boat could probably outfit your home with solar panels or any number of green upgrades. Invested conservatively, $50,000 might mean the difference between retiring early instead of slugging it out until you are too old to do everything you want with your life. Run whatever scenario you want, the idea here is to focus on how your choices affect the world around you.
One caveat here is to beware the boat that is too old. There is a fine line between the opportunity cost of a really nice boat and the disaster that can be had in a bad one. We will delve into this more when we discuss propulsion systems later on, but it would be a mistake to assume a cheaper boat is always a greener boat. Saving a few dollars buying a leaky, rusty, fuel-spilling tub does a lot more harm than good.
A careful, patient, shopper, however, can find a great late model boat with low engine hours and all the bells and whistles with little trouble these days. Spending some time on the Internet at websites like Yachtworld will allow you to compare prices, features and anything else you are looking for in a boat.
Walking the docks at a local marina will also give you a good feel for what is out there. Be especially aware of the sun-faded “For Sale” signs and you might find a very motivated seller. Many boats have sold on a late Friday afternoon for half the asking price. Patience rewards the careful, informed boat buyer.

Once you find what you are looking for make the purchase contingent on the results of a survey. This is not the time to be cheap. Leave cousin Eddy at home and shell out a few hundred bucks for a pro - the money and potential frustration you will save in the long run are more than worth the surveyor’s fee.

Would you rather find out before or after you own the boat that she needs to have her hull completely redone because blisters have formed in the fiberglass? On top of the several thousand dollars you will shell out for repairs you will also be creating some terribly toxic waste. The actual repairs are done wearing a respirator and a haz-mat suit since the material used is so nasty.

Don’t be cheap, get a survey.

Choosing The Right Boat – Hull Materials & Used vs NewWhich Hull Material is Best?

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

Choosing The Right Boat – Hull Materials & Used vs NewWhich Hull Material is Best?

Again, there is no single answer, but there are definitely some factors to consider. The boats afloat these days are primarily fiberglass, some form of metal, or wood. Ferro-cement, carbon fiber, and other exotic compounds are in use, but they make up a small percentage of boats out there today so we will not be covering them here for practicality’s sake.

For those who really think they need a Kevlar hull or some other exotic synthetic be aware that the manufacture of these compounds involves boiling a type of plastic composite in a vat of sulphuric acid.

Not a very green process.

  FIBERGLASS 

NEW FIBERGLASS BOATS

Fiberglass is the most popular hull material out there for good reason. When laid up correctly fiberglass has a long lifespan and is relatively easy to maintain. From a green perspective, the interior of a fiberglass boat factory is about as environmentally unfriendly as any place you can find. Advances are being made all the time, but to this day most fiberglass workers still wear respirators on the job. Most, if not all of the chemicals used in laying up fiberglass are carcinogenic.

If you choose to get a new fiberglass boat the environmental impact of its production will vary from manufacturer. Making anything from fiberglass involves applying a chemical mixture of liquid resins and hardeners to woven sheets of soft fiberglass matting. Once the liquids are applied, the saturated fabric is allowed to dry, solidifying into a hard, durable surface.  The ability to mold the fabric into almost any shape, and the nearly impenetrable nature of the finished product make fiberglass an ideal material for boat building.
The potential for environmental damage in this process arises from the toxic chemicals that go into the liquids involved, and the noxious fumes that are released when they are being used. Unfortunately, the degree of sophistication you will find from boat maker to boat maker can vary a great deal.
The use of fiberglass materials is regulated by numerous government agencies, primarily the Environmental Protection Agency. Like most EPA standards, however, what the law allows and what is good for the planet are two very different things.
On the most offensive end there are boat-yards that play fast and loose with the rules, meeting the minimum requirements for both environmental and worker safety. An unannounced visit to these careless facilities may reveal open containers of resin, storage and work areas that allow fumes to escape to the open air,  workers wearing cheap dust masks instead of respirators, and a general disregard for containing toxic material.  If you are having a boat built by a custom yard, or live near a manufacturing facility for a mass-produced line, take the time to drop in and check the place out. The impressions you get from a half hour physical inspection will be immensely more valuable than any marketing brochure.
If a visit is impossible, some quick questions asked of the manufacturer, in writing, with the replies requested in writing as well, will provide some valuable clues as to how green your prospective shipwright really is. The reason for asking for answers in writing is two-fold.
First, when dealing with potentially toxic substances, manufacturers are usually quite aware of the liability they face if they exaggerate or fabricate their claims. It is all too easy for a good salesman to tell you his boats are made in an environmentally friendly shop. It is another thing all together to have him put it in writing.
The second reason for asking for a written response is that it usually raises the level of awareness among upper management.  Most letters or emails from customers end up on the desk of someone in a position to influence company policy. When a smart business owner gets a dozen requests a month, in writing, from customers inquiring about his company’s environmental practices something good is likely to happen.  
Examples of the type of questions to ask are shown below.

What measure does your company take in the production process to minimize the exposure of your workers and the environment to toxic materials?
 

-A good answer will list specific tools and techniques used.
-A bad answer will lack specifics, sound fluffy but lack substance.

What type of application process do you use when applying the hull’s initial gel coat?

 
 
 

 

The gel-coat is your boat’s exterior surface that comes in contact with the air or water. Like your body’s skin, gel coat is designed to protect the structural layers beneath.

-A good answer will involve the latest technology being used to make sure the lamination process is done to exacting standards of thickness using low pressure, airless-assist equipment. These systems reduce airborne emissions significantly.
–A bad answer will be that the company relies on traditional, i.e. outdated, completely hand applied techniques where the workers eyeball how much material to apply. This approach usually results in more chemicals being used than necessary and an uneven gel coat thickness.

 What type of lamination process does your facility employ?

Lamination involves laying out the flexible glass fabric and saturating it with resins and hardeners to form your boat’s structural core.

-A good answer will be that the builder uses pressure fed rollers to apply controlled amounts of material to the fabric. Vacuum tools that completely draw the liquids into the glass mesh  also ensure that only those chemicals that are necessary get used.
-A bad answer involves workers applying material with nothing more than fancy paint rollers.

What type of ventilation systems do you use when working with fiberglass compounds?

 
 
 

 

-A good answer will be that the company uses high speed fans and filtration devices in enclosed work areas to capture toxic fumes and ensure worker safety.
-A bad answer will be that everything is done in a big open area with open doors and windows as the primary means of ventilation.

What type of warranty do you offer on your hulls?

 
 
 

 

-A good answer is ten years or more. These guys are using the best equipment and can back it up.

-A bad answer is three years or less. Often these guys are hoping that by the time their construction defects become apparent it will be too late for you to come back to them for compensation.
 

This list of questions could go on and on. The general idea is to ask specific questions in search of specific answers. Softballs like “Is your company environmentally friendly?” won’t tell you anything of real value. The polluting boatyard that recycles worker’s soda cans can answer “Yes” to the previous question.
          I don’t mean to hammer on small boat yards that employ traditional techniques. Most of them do exceptional work. Unfortunately, however, the original procedures for working with fiberglass were developed 40 years or so ago, about the same time Big Tobacco was telling us smoking was good for us. As the times have changed, so has the need to use the latest technology when dealing with toxic materials. Today’s forward looking boatyards, whether small or large, need to recognize this fact by employing the newest technologies to minimize the toxins they release. Patronize those who do and avoid those who don’t. 

 
 
 

 

USED FIBERGLASS BOATS

If you go with a used fiberglass boat most of the environmental impact that went into your boat has already been felt.  Not only will you save a lot of money buying a used fiberglass boat, you can feel good knowing you are not adding any new toxic fumes to the world as well.
Many of the original fiberglass boats are floating fine today with no expiration date in sight. Unless you buy a used boat with a defect in the fiberglass, or unless you hit something, you can usually count on decades of useful service from a glass hull.
 When buying a used fiberglass boat your greatest enemy will be osmotic blistering. Numerous reasons exist for this boat-pox, but in every case it is bad news. Blistering, like the name implies, occurs when bubbles appear in your boat’s gel coat. These bubbles usually break, allowing water to penetrate into your boat’s core. If your boat has a wood or metal core this moisture can be especially deadly, causing rot, rust, and ultimately hull failure, i.e. your boat sinks.
Many boat owners accept blister repair as a necessary evil, and if you wake up one day with the problem you must fix it. For the prospective buyer, however, the best boat deal in the world is a bad deal if it involves blisters. These little demons have an evil habit of reforming every few years, forcing the responsible boater to keep sanding down gel coat and applying sealants and epoxies to try and heal the hull. Every time this process is performed fiberglass dust, and an assortment of bad stuff gets released in even the most careful facilities.
Keep life simple, if the boat you are thinking of buying has blisters, or if the surveyor thinks it’s only a matter of time, find yourself another boat.

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT FIBERGLASS

Once you get past the trouble of making a fiberglass boat and conducting major repairs, the ongoing maintenance can be done with some of the greenest materials available.
We will cover this in depth later, but compared to metal, or wood, fiberglass is the easiest hull material to maintain by far. If you take the big picture view of what it costs the environment to responsibly construct and maintain a fiberglass boat over twenty years or so I believe you would find the impact to be less than that produced by either wood or metal craft.

METAL BOATS

 NEW METAL BOATS

Serious offshore sailors and hardcore fisherman often prefer metal boats to other hull options. If you end up grounded on a distant coral reef there  is nothing better than a thick piece of steel between you and the rocks. Boaters who plan on chasing fish through the shallows, or running their boats up on the beach for a barbecue will appreciate a metal hull that can handle stumps, rocks, and other obstacles that might crack a fiberglass or wood boat.
Metal boats are usually made from either steel or aluminum.

STEEL BOATS

Steel is the stronger than aluminum, but it is a maintenance nightmare, especially in salt water. Sooner or later a steel hull will begin to oxidize, or rust. Once this cycle begins it will be an ongoing fact of your boating life.
Paints and coatings exist which can slow the rust cycle, and we will cover them later, but the simple fact is a steel boat will require a lifelong commitment of time, work, and chemicals to keep it from sinking. Priming, painting, grinding and sanding your boat’s exterior will be a part of your life, or at least an expense you will pay for if you choose steel.
 On top of everything you must do to fight rust on the outside of a steel vessel, the interior of most steel boats  is usually treated with some pretty nasty anti-corrosive coatings. The resulting vapors that will be off-gassing into your boat’s cabin do not belong in the human body.

ALUMINUM BOATS

Aluminum, on the other hand is considered by many to be an ideal material for boat building. Unlike steel, aluminum does not usually corrode when exposed to salt water alone. All metals, however, including aluminum, can fall prey to corrosion caused by electrolysis. The essence of this problem is that under the right conditions, any metal can decompose if electrical currents from your boat, marina, or a stray power supply react with the metal in your boat and the water surrounding it. Electrolysis is particularly aggressive in salt water, but it can eat a freshwater boat too if conditions are right. Plenty of great work has been written on how to avoid, or at least minimize the effects of electrolysis. Get your hands on some of this info and take it to heart.

Aluminum is lightweight, strong, and flexible; all great qualities for a boat. Numerous tales have been told of aluminum boats surviving for days aground under circumstances that would have devoured most boats.

Aluminum needs very little maintenance. In fact, many aluminum boats are not painted at all above the waterline because the aluminum looks great unfinished and paint would require more maintenance than leaving the surface unfinished.
 The bad thing about aluminum boats is the damage caused by the creation of the alloy itself. Assembling the vessel itself is not the real problem from an environmental perspective, but the process of actually making aluminum is one of the most energy intensive procedures known to man. In addition to requiring an enormous amount of electrical power to make this stuff, the main component of aluminum, bauxite, must be dug out of the ground. Some of the Mother Earth’s worst scars have been inflicted by bauxite miners.
 In the Pacific Northwest alone, the aluminum industry consumes about one fifth of all the power generated by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). In addition to operating a nuclear power plant, BPA generates hydroelectric power from almost 30 massive dams that collectively have decimated the population of salmon and other aquatic life.

If you want to compare the impact of aluminum production vs. steel you might be able to argue that steel production does not produce quite the side effects of its lighter weight cousin, but it is a pretty hollow argument in my book. Take a tour through the Pennsylvania countryside if you need confirmation.
Prospective green boat buyers who do not want to support these industries should keep such issues in mind when considering a metal boat.

NEW METAL BOATS VS. USED

The same issues we discussed about new vs. used fiberglass carry over to metal boats.
If you are must have a new metal boat, either steel or aluminum, ask the hard questions, in writing.
If you go with a used model you are making a much smaller impact than buying new, but beware of the maintenance nightmare you are unleashing.

WOODEN BOATS

Wooden boats are in a class all by themselves. Who can resist the appeal of these traditional craft? The alluring glow of the wood, the soft creak as you walk the decks, and the obvious pride most wooden boat owners have for their vessels  make it easy to want to join the club.
At first glance wood would seem to be an ideal material for boat construction, and in fact for most of history it has been the obvious choice. Wood can be sustainably harvested, it is fairly easy to work with, and several varieties are particularly suited to marine work. Unfortunately, the benefits of using wood come to an end once a new vessel hits the water. I write this next section knowing full well it will incur the wrath of the wooden boat purists.
 The beauty and charm of a nice wooden boat has lured many an unsuspecting victim into buying these maintenance monsters. Wood and water do not mix, plain and simple.  It is ironic that the creation of such a remarkable substance as wood is absolutely dependant on water, while water, can get along quite nicely without wood. Once you put the two together, in constant contact, however the end is inevitable, water will win the battle every time.  The only way you can keep a wooden boat afloat is with perpetual maintenance and an active checkbook.
With the same appetite that She has for steel, Mother Nature is literally eating your wooden boat every day it is in the water. In temperate climates this destruction is caused primarily by the constant attack of fungi and bacteria. Left untreated, almost any wood exposed to water will be destroyed by these unseen invaders. In tropical climates, these beasties’ big brothers –  barnacles, bugs, and borers, will finish off an untreated boat much faster.
Through the centuries, boaters have devised various means to prevent this destruction, but in almost every case the treatment is not at all green. Heavy metal shields, chemical treatments, varnish, and toxic paint are just a few of the tools used to combat the wooden boat destroyers. Several exotic wood species show remarkable resistance to marine pests, Ironwood, Teak, and Mahogany to name a few. The endangered status of these remarkable trees is a sad testament to how little value previous and present generations have assigned to them.
If you are seduced by the allure of a wooden boat, good luck to you. There is currently no inexpensive, effective, green way to maintain these vessels unless you are willing to devote your life to them. About the only hope you have of maintaining a wooden boat in an environmentally friendly manner is if it is small enough to routinely remove it from the water. Obvious examples are wood canoes and rowboats that live out their years upside down on blocks or in a boathouse.  
Small inboard and outboard vessels can be hauled out with electric boat lifts you can install right on your dock. Expect to spend at least a few thousand dollars for a good lift, and then plan on maintaining it through the years. If you do go this route be very careful with the wiring. It should go without saying that electricity and water don’t mix. As obvious as this wisdom is, tragic examples abound of people, especially children, getting electrocuted because a fitting shook loose and wires hit the water. I don’t mean to discourage those of you looking to keep your boat out of the water, just realize it will require time, maintenance, and money.
 For big wooden sailboats and cruisers, however, the picture is grim. Unless money is no object and you are willing to haul your boat out of the water each season to perform expensive friendly maintenance you should avoid a wooden boat. The sad reality for most green boaters is that without a constant regimen of applying something toxic to prevent your boat from being devoured, the most you can hope for is a few years of enjoyment followed by the slow death of your dream.
Recent advancements in non-toxic epoxy coatings show some promise in helping to preserve these classic treasures. It is my sincere hope that future editions of this blog will be rewritten with a new section on eco-friendly solutions to the age old death rot that claims so many wooden boats. As I Type these words, however, there are not any widely available options that I can endorse.

 NEW WOOD BOATS vs USED

See the previous comments on metal and fiberglass for the gist of what type of environmental impact you can expect when asking the new vs used question about wooden boats.

If by some miracle you have a few thousand board feet of cured teak, oak, mahogany, ironwood, or something similar that grandpa left you out in the barn, I can’t think of a better use for this treasure than turning it into a boat if your heart is set on  a wooden craft.

If, on the other hand, you plan to be the agent of destruction for an endangered species of tree just so you can have a shiny new toy, well, that’s an easy one.

Choosing The Right Boat – Hull Materials & Used vs New

Which Hull Material is Best?
Again, there is no single answer, but there are definitely some factors to consider. The boats afloat these days are primarily fiberglass, some form of metal, or wood. Ferro-cement, carbon fiber, and other exotic compounds are in use, but they make up a small percentage of boats out there today so we will not be covering them here for practicality’s sake.

For those who really think they need a Kevlar hull or some other exotic synthetic be aware that the manufacture of these compounds involves boiling a type of plastic composite in a vat of sulphuric acid.

Not a very green process.
 

 
  FIBERGLASS 

NEW FIBERGLASS BOATS
Fiberglass is the most popular hull material out there for good reason. When laid up correctly fiberglass has a long lifespan and is relatively easy to maintain. From a green perspective, the interior of a fiberglass boat factory is about as environmentally unfriendly as any place you can find. Advances are being made all the time, but to this day most fiberglass workers still wear respirators on the job. Most, if not all of the chemicals used in laying up fiberglass are carcinogenic.

If you choose to get a new fiberglass boat the environmental impact of its production will vary from manufacturer. Making anything from fiberglass involves applying a chemical mixture of liquid resins and hardeners to woven sheets of soft fiberglass matting. Once the liquids are applied, the saturated fabric is allowed to dry, solidifying into a hard, durable surface.  The ability to mold the fabric into almost any shape, and the nearly impenetrable nature of the finished product make fiberglass an ideal material for boat building.
The potential for environmental damage in this process arises from the toxic chemicals that go into the liquids involved, and the noxious fumes that are released when they are being used. Unfortunately, the degree of sophistication you will find from boat maker to boat maker can vary a great deal.
The use of fiberglass materials is regulated by numerous government agencies, primarily the Environmental Protection Agency. Like most EPA standards, however, what the law allows and what is good for the planet are two very different things.
On the most offensive end there are boat-yards that play fast and loose with the rules, meeting the minimum requirements for both environmental and worker safety. An unannounced visit to these careless facilities may reveal open containers of resin, storage and work areas that allow fumes to escape to the open air,  workers wearing cheap dust masks instead of respirators, and a general disregard for containing toxic material.  If you are having a boat built by a custom yard, or live near a manufacturing facility for a mass-produced line, take the time to drop in and check the place out. The impressions you get from a half hour physical inspection will be immensely more valuable than any marketing brochure.
If a visit is impossible, some quick questions asked of the manufacturer, in writing, with the replies requested in writing as well, will provide some valuable clues as to how green your prospective shipwright really is. The reason for asking for answers in writing is two-fold.
First, when dealing with potentially toxic substances, manufacturers are usually quite aware of the liability they face if they exaggerate or fabricate their claims. It is all too easy for a good salesman to tell you his boats are made in an environmentally friendly shop. It is another thing all together to have him put it in writing.
The second reason for asking for a written response is that it usually raises the level of awareness among upper management.  Most letters or emails from customers end up on the desk of someone in a position to influence company policy. When a smart business owner gets a dozen requests a month, in writing, from customers inquiring about his company’s environmental practices something good is likely to happen.  
Examples of the type of questions to ask are shown below.
What measure does your company take in the production process to minimize the exposure of your workers and the environment to toxic materials?
 
-A good answer will list specific tools and techniques used.
-A bad answer will lack specifics, sound fluffy but lack substance.
What type of application process do you use when applying the hull’s initial gel coat?

 

 

  

 

The gel-coat is your boat’s exterior surface that comes in contact with the air or water. Like your body’s skin, gel coat is designed to protect the structural layers beneath.
-A good answer will involve the latest technology being used to make sure the lamination process is done to exacting standards of thickness using low pressure, airless-assist equipment. These systems reduce airborne emissions significantly.
–A bad answer will be that the company relies on traditional, i.e. outdated, completely hand applied techniques where the workers eyeball how much material to apply. This approach usually results in more chemicals being used than necessary and an uneven gel coat thickness.

 What type of lamination process does your facility employ?

 

Lamination involves laying out the flexible glass fabric and saturating it with resins and hardeners to form your boat’s structural core.
-A good answer will be that the builder uses pressure fed rollers to apply controlled amounts of material to the fabric. Vacuum tools that completely draw the liquids into the glass mesh  also ensure that only those chemicals that are necessary get used.
-A bad answer involves workers applying material with nothing more than fancy paint rollers.

What type of ventilation systems do you use when working with fiberglass compounds?

 

 

  

 

-A good answer will be that the company uses high speed fans and filtration devices in enclosed work areas to capture toxic fumes and ensure worker safety.
-A bad answer will be that everything is done in a big open area with open doors and windows as the primary means of ventilation.
What type of warranty do you offer on your hulls?

 

 

 

  

 

-A good answer is ten years or more. These guys are using the best equipment and can back it up.

-A bad answer is three years or less. Often these guys are hoping that by the time their construction defects become apparent it will be too late for you to come back to them for compensation.
 

This list of questions could go on and on. The general idea is to ask specific questions in search of specific answers. Softballs like “Is your company environmentally friendly?” won’t tell you anything of real value. The polluting boatyard that recycles worker’s soda cans can answer “Yes” to the previous question.
          I don’t mean to hammer on small boat yards that employ traditional techniques. Most of them do exceptional work. Unfortunately, however, the original procedures for working with fiberglass were developed 40 years or so ago, about the same time Big Tobacco was telling us smoking was good for us. As the times have changed, so has the need to use the latest technology when dealing with toxic materials. Today’s forward looking boatyards, whether small or large, need to recognize this fact by employing the newest technologies to minimize the toxins they release. Patronize those who do and avoid those who don’t. 

 

 

  

 

USED FIBERGLASS BOATS

 

If you go with a used fiberglass boat most of the environmental impact that went into your boat has already been felt.  Not only will you save a lot of money buying a used fiberglass boat, you can feel good knowing you are not adding any new toxic fumes to the world as well.
Many of the original fiberglass boats are floating fine today with no expiration date in sight. Unless you buy a used boat with a defect in the fiberglass, or unless you hit something, you can usually count on decades of useful service from a glass hull.
 When buying a used fiberglass boat your greatest enemy will be osmotic blistering. Numerous reasons exist for this boat-pox, but in every case it is bad news. Blistering, like the name implies, occurs when bubbles appear in your boat’s gel coat. These bubbles usually break, allowing water to penetrate into your boat’s core. If your boat has a wood or metal core this moisture can be especially deadly, causing rot, rust, and ultimately hull failure, i.e. your boat sinks.
Many boat owners accept blister repair as a necessary evil, and if you wake up one day with the problem you must fix it. For the prospective buyer, however, the best boat deal in the world is a bad deal if it involves blisters. These little demons have an evil habit of reforming every few years, forcing the responsible boater to keep sanding down gel coat and applying sealants and epoxies to try and heal the hull. Every time this process is performed fiberglass dust, and an assortment of bad stuff gets released in even the most careful facilities.
Keep life simple, if the boat you are thinking of buying has blisters, or if the surveyor thinks it’s only a matter of time, find yourself another boat.
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT FIBERGLASS
Once you get past the trouble of making a fiberglass boat and conducting major repairs, the ongoing maintenance can be done with some of the greenest materials available.
We will cover this in depth later, but compared to metal, or wood, fiberglass is the easiest hull material to maintain by far. If you take the big picture view of what it costs the environment to responsibly construct and maintain a fiberglass boat over twenty years or so I believe you would find the impact to be less than that produced by either wood or metal craft.
 

 

 
METAL BOATS
 NEW METAL BOATS

Serious offshore sailors and hardcore fisherman often prefer metal boats to other hull options. If you end up grounded on a distant coral reef there  is nothing better than a thick piece of steel between you and the rocks. Boaters who plan on chasing fish through the shallows, or running their boats up on the beach for a barbecue will appreciate a metal hull that can handle stumps, rocks, and other obstacles that might crack a fiberglass or wood boat.
Metal boats are usually made from either steel or aluminum.

STEEL BOATS
Steel is the stronger than aluminum, but it is a maintenance nightmare, especially in salt water. Sooner or later a steel hull will begin to oxidize, or rust. Once this cycle begins it will be an ongoing fact of your boating life.
Paints and coatings exist which can slow the rust cycle, and we will cover them later, but the simple fact is a steel boat will require a lifelong commitment of time, work, and chemicals to keep it from sinking. Priming, painting, grinding and sanding your boat’s exterior will be a part of your life, or at least an expense you will pay for if you choose steel.
 On top of everything you must do to fight rust on the outside of a steel vessel, the interior of most steel boats  is usually treated with some pretty nasty anti-corrosive coatings. The resulting vapors that will be off-gassing into your boat’s cabin do not belong in the human body.
ALUMINUM BOATS

Aluminum, on the other hand is considered by many to be an ideal material for boat building. Unlike steel, aluminum does not usually corrode when exposed to salt water alone. All metals, however, including aluminum, can fall prey to corrosion caused by electrolysis. The essence of this problem is that under the right conditions, any metal can decompose if electrical currents from your boat, marina, or a stray power supply react with the metal in your boat and the water surrounding it. Electrolysis is particularly aggressive in salt water, but it can eat a freshwater boat too if conditions are right. Plenty of great work has been written on how to avoid, or at least minimize the effects of electrolysis. Get your hands on some of this info and take it to heart.

Aluminum is lightweight, strong, and flexible; all great qualities for a boat. Numerous tales have been told of aluminum boats surviving for days aground under circumstances that would have devoured most boats.
Aluminum needs very little maintenance. In fact, many aluminum boats are not painted at all above the waterline because the aluminum looks great unfinished and paint would require more maintenance than leaving the surface unfinished.


 The bad thing about aluminum boats is the damage caused by the creation of the alloy itself. Assembling the vessel itself is not the real problem from an environmental perspective, but the process of actually making aluminum is one of the most energy intensive procedures known to man. In addition to requiring an enormous amount of electrical power to make this stuff, the main component of aluminum, bauxite, must be dug out of the ground. Some of the Mother Earth’s worst scars have been inflicted by bauxite miners.
 In the Pacific Northwest alone, the aluminum industry consumes about one fifth of all the power generated by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). In addition to operating a nuclear power plant, BPA generates hydroelectric power from almost 30 massive dams that collectively have decimated the population of salmon and other aquatic life.
If you want to compare the impact of aluminum production vs. steel you might be able to argue that steel production does not produce quite the side effects of its lighter weight cousin, but it is a pretty hollow argument in my book. Take a tour through the Pennsylvania countryside if you need confirmation.
Prospective green boat buyers who do not want to support these industries should keep such issues in mind when considering a metal boat.

NEW METAL BOATS VS. USED

The same issues we discussed about new vs. used fiberglass carry over to metal boats.
If you are must have a new metal boat, either steel or aluminum, ask the hard questions, in writing.
If you go with a used model you are making a much smaller impact than buying new, but beware of the maintenance nightmare you are unleashing.

WOODEN BOATS
Wooden boats are in a class all by themselves. Who can resist the appeal of these traditional craft? The alluring glow of the wood, the soft creak as you walk the decks, and the obvious pride most wooden boat owners have for their vessels  make it easy to want to join the club.
At first glance wood would seem to be an ideal material for boat construction, and in fact for most of history it has been the obvious choice. Wood can be sustainably harvested, it is fairly easy to work with, and several varieties are particularly suited to marine work. Unfortunately, the benefits of using wood come to an end once a new vessel hits the water. I write this next section knowing full well it will incur the wrath of the wooden boat purists.
 The beauty and charm of a nice wooden boat has lured many an unsuspecting victim into buying these maintenance monsters. Wood and water do not mix, plain and simple.  It is ironic that the creation of such a remarkable substance as wood is absolutely dependant on water, while water, can get along quite nicely without wood. Once you put the two together, in constant contact, however the end is inevitable, water will win the battle every time.  The only way you can keep a wooden boat afloat is with perpetual maintenance and an active checkbook.
With the same appetite that She has for steel, Mother Nature is literally eating your wooden boat every day it is in the water. In temperate climates this destruction is caused primarily by the constant attack of fungi and bacteria. Left untreated, almost any wood exposed to water will be destroyed by these unseen invaders. In tropical climates, these beasties’ big brothers –  barnacles, bugs, and borers, will finish off an untreated boat much faster.
Through the centuries, boaters have devised various means to prevent this destruction, but in almost every case the treatment is not at all green. Heavy metal shields, chemical treatments, varnish, and toxic paint are just a few of the tools used to combat the wooden boat destroyers. Several exotic wood species show remarkable resistance to marine pests, Ironwood, Teak, and Mahogany to name a few. The endangered status of these remarkable trees is a sad testament to how little value previous and present generations have assigned to them.
If you are seduced by the allure of a wooden boat, good luck to you. There is currently no inexpensive, effective, green way to maintain these vessels unless you are willing to devote your life to them. About the only hope you have of maintaining a wooden boat in an environmentally friendly manner is if it is small enough to routinely remove it from the water. Obvious examples are wood canoes and rowboats that live out their years upside down on blocks or in a boathouse.  
Small inboard and outboard vessels can be hauled out with electric boat lifts you can install right on your dock. Expect to spend at least a few thousand dollars for a good lift, and then plan on maintaining it through the years. If you do go this route be very careful with the wiring. It should go without saying that electricity and water don’t mix. As obvious as this wisdom is, tragic examples abound of people, especially children, getting electrocuted because a fitting shook loose and wires hit the water. I don’t mean to discourage those of you looking to keep your boat out of the water, just realize it will require time, maintenance, and money.
 For big wooden sailboats and cruisers, however, the picture is grim. Unless money is no object and you are willing to haul your boat out of the water each season to perform expensive friendly maintenance you should avoid a wooden boat. The sad reality for most green boaters is that without a constant regimen of applying something toxic to prevent your boat from being devoured, the most you can hope for is a few years of enjoyment followed by the slow death of your dream.
Recent advancements in non-toxic epoxy coatings show some promise in helping to preserve these classic treasures. It is my sincere hope that future editions of this blog will be rewritten with a new section on eco-friendly solutions to the age old death rot that claims so many wooden boats. As I Type these words, however, there are not any widely available options that I can endorse.
 NEW WOOD BOATS vs USED

 

See the previous comments on metal and fiberglass for the gist of what type of environmental impact you can expect when asking the new vs used question about wooden boats.
If by some miracle you have a few thousand board feet of cured teak, oak, mahogany, ironwood, or something similar that grandpa left you out in the barn, I can’t think of a better use for this treasure than turning it into a boat if your heart is set on  a wooden craft.
If, on the other hand, you plan to be the agent of destruction for an endangered species of tree just so you can have a shiny new toy, well, that’s an easy one.

 

Sailboat or Powerboat?

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

Sailboat or Powerboat?

From a purely green perspective this is a pretty stupid question. Which boat do you think will have a greater impact on the environment, one that relies on fossil fuels to move or one that doesn’t?

SAILBOATS

It would be pretty easy to make this blog all about sailboats. They are after all, one of the greenest boats out there. In addition to the environmental benefits of sailing, there is nothing in the world like harnessing the wind. It is difficult to convey the emotion involved in making a big boat move under sail at the speed of a  brisk walk. A lot of folks just don’t get it. The idea of crossing oceans at 6 miles per hour or so is also something mystical to many, preposterous to most.
Big traditional (mono-hull) sailboats are flying if they reach speeds above 8 miles per hour. Most of the time sailors are happy to be moving at all, so bear this reality in mind if you have stars in your eyes about the sailing experience.
Sailing catamarans (vessels with two or more hulls in the water) can reach much higher speeds than mono-hull boats, but most of the big cats top out at 20 miles per hour, fast for a sailor, a snail’s pace for others.
Learning to sail can also be a bit intimidating at first. All those lines running everywhere are confusing, but only for a little while. Getting caught by a big gust with too much canvas up will be scary at first but easy to prevent with a little practice.
And remember sailboats usually tip, or heel, when they get going. In theory, the big heavy keel that hangs from a mono-hull – but not from a cat – will keep you from flipping under most conditions, or bring you back upright if your boat does go over.  Theories look good in books, living through the actual experience can be a bit more daunting. Many a tale has been told of the sailor who took his girl to sea on his new toy, only to end up sailing solo because she did not enjoy the ride.
Besides the speed issue, sailboats tend to be a little more cramped inside than do power boats of similar size. Because of their shape, the interior of most mono-hull sailboats is like a long hallway. Some people consider this part of a sailboat’s charm; others consider it claustrophobic.
 The big cats are once again the exception here. They let you sail and have a wide open living area onboard. If you plan on having plenty of company on the water a catamaran might be the answer. Many boaters find the speed and roominess of a cat is the perfect complement to its ability to sail. Compared to a power boat of equal dimensions, a cat can be a much greener vessel to operate. The incredible number of cats showing up in exotic anchorages is testament to their growing popularity. 
Pure mono-hull enthusiasts usually have less than flattering opinions of catamarans. The safety issue of not having a keel to right your boat in a capsize is a serious issue to consider, not from a green standpoint, but from a staying alive one. Having occasionally shared an anchorage with these boats, decked out with blaring big screen TVs and frat boy crews launching water balloons at each other I can appreciate the negative opinions some of the crankier traditionalists have about cat sailors.  

Most Sailboats have some auxiliary power supply, be it a small outboard hanging off the stern or a compact engine hidden away in the cabin. Either option can be run with very little impact on the environment as long as you are careful.

If you are new to boats you owe it to yourself to look into sailing. All those lines and nautical talk can be a bit overwhelming, but the steepness of the learning curve is what makes sailing so rewarding. Like few other pursuits, sailing takes a short while to learn, a life time to master. Some of the coolest old folks on Planet Earth can be found nursing a sundowner on a thirty foot sailboat in the most remote lagoons imaginable. I am convinced that the longevity these rock solid seniors enjoy would not be attainable on an eighty foot mega-yacht equipped with uniformed cabin boys and crew.
I also believe that the more you connect with Nature the greener you become. Sailing encourages this connection more than anything you can do with a boat, in my humble opinion.
Like everything having to do with boats, the choice of power vs. sail, mono-hull vs. cat is one of compromise. There is no perfect craft to satisfy all wants and desires. For green boaters, however, sailing holds an allure all its own

 

 POWER BOATS
 

Being green under power will take more effort than being green under sail, but it can easily be done.

 If going fast is more your style, being green on a powerboat involves a commitment of both time and money. Once you get the hang of the green boating techniques we will cover in this blog the time required lessens. Unfortunately, the money required usually goes the other way.
Despite the advances engineers keep making, internal combustion engines are simply not suited for a long, maintenance free life in a marine environment. The same type of engine that will run trouble free for years in a car has a much shorter lifespan on the water. Constantly exposed to moisture, corrosives, heat buildup, and numerous other destructive forces, marine engines live a hard life. Making matters worse, their design and placement in a boat usually make routine maintenance a chore that many boaters neglect. To top it all off, the intermittent use they do receive is often the straw that breaks their back.  
If you want to be green on the water just accept the fact that your engine will probably cost you more than any other aspect of your boat, both initially and for as long as you own her. There are lots of cute little sayings about boats, most of them true. The one that says B-O-A-T stands for Bring On Another Thousand is as true as they come.
The biggest environmental impact power boats usually have on the water comes from their engine.

OUTBOARD ENGINES

Outboards are engines that you can see. They hang off the back of your boat with a propeller that is under water and a fuel line that runs to either a built in tank or a portable, carry-on version. You either yank on a starter chord or push a button to get them running. Engine power and cost are measured in horsepower – the more horses, the more speed you can attain and the more it will cost, both initially and in fuel used.

COMBUSTION OUTBOARDS

Old engines and cheap engines are almost always terribly inefficient. Conventional 2-stroke outboard engines can spill as much as 30% of the fuel they use directly into the water because they are engineered so that the intake and exhaust valves remain open at the same time. Look at the colorful slick spreading behind almost every loud, old outboard and you’ll see this environmental damage clearly. In practical terms, for every 10 gallons of gas you use in these monsters you will dump 3 gallons overboard. Spend a summer on the lake and you’ll add a bathtub of gas to the water. 2-strokes usually produce oily clouds of smoke along with plenty of noise pollution. You can clean, tune, and maintain these older engines all you want, but they will still cause harm. Most of them were designed in an era when draining fuel overboard was acceptable. Newer 2-strokes may be cheap to buy but their true cost to the Planet is enormous. Stay away from 2-Strokes.

Modern 4-stroke engines, on the other hand, are efficient, quiet, generally smoke free, and they do not spill fuel unless there is something wrong with them. They still require fossil fuels, of course, but if your budget dictates your choice of propulsion systems, a well maintained, carefully fueled 4-stroke is a good option to consider. They are the cleanest of the gas powered outboards available today. You’ll have trouble towing anybody behind all but the biggest 4-strokes, and even then don’t expect to pull big water skiers, but they are ideal for fishermen, dinghies, or just taking a ride.

 While not very common, diesel outboards are worth looking into. Diesel outboards offer two major advantages over gas models. First, a well maintained diesel is much more fuel efficient than a gas engine, saving you money and requiring less toxic stuff to move your boat through the water. Second, with bio-diesel becoming more mainstream it is possible to use a combustion fuel that doesn’t have to be transported half way around the world. An Ocean with a few less supertankers on it would be a good thing.
ELECTRIC OUTBOARDS

The new generation of electric outboards are worth a look if towing and long distances at speed don’t enter into your boating needs.  Advances in battery and power train design have made some of the high end electric outboards competitive with gas engines in terms of attainable speeds and initial power output. The beefiest of the new models claim to produce thrust equivalent to a 6 horsepower combustion engine. These environmentally sound outboards won’t contaminate the water with fuel or oil, produce no emissions, and are extremely quiet. Light weight rechargeable power packs connect easily to the motor, eliminating heavy batteries and cumbersome connections. Easy to charge from a 110 volt AC outlet, the manufacturers claim these units will hold power for about two hours. At this time, high end portable electric outboards cost about the same as a new mid size 4-stroke – about $2,000.
The drawbacks inherent with electric outboards relate to how you use them. For boaters needing to pull a small sailboat in and out of a slip, zip ashore for groceries in the dinghy, or take a quick cruise a few cabins down the lake, these motors are ideal. Dawn to dusk boaters, those who spend time in remote areas that require lengthy trips ashore, folks who may need to tow other vessels, or those who need speed will probably be disappointed with today’s electric motors.
 The concept to ponder here is that the more load you put on an electric motor the more juice it will use. The last thing you want to experience as the sun is going down and the wind is picking up is a dead battery, so plan accordingly.

For those of you who are not in a hurry, or do not expect to encounter the extreme, combining a rechargeable electric outboard with a simple sail kit can give you the best of both worlds, especially if you are outfitting a dinghy.

Another neat option is to get a portable solar charger. Many of the newest solar panels can be rolled up and spread out like a towel, making them easy to stash anywhere. With one of these handy gizmos, if you do lose battery power a few hours of sunshine should be enough to get you home.

From a durability standpoint, the jury is still out on most of the electric outboards. Their manufacturers make all sorts of great claims, but the unfortunate fact is most of these motors are essentially plastic. More on the nastiness of plastic later, but for now be aware that electric outboards are no where near as tough as a lightweight, metal-clad 4 stroke.

INBOARD ENGINES

 

As their name implies, inboard engines are concealed inside your boat, in many cases under a removable seat or on bigger craft in a dedicated engine room. The propulsion system, usually a propeller, is connected to the engine by a driveshaft that runs through a hole in the bottom or back of your boat. Usually reserved for bigger boats, inboards have a number of advantages over outboards when it comes to being green.
One of the best features of an inboard from an environmentally friendly standpoint is that all of the combustion and exchange of fluids such as fuel, lubricants, and other toxic materials takes place inside your vessel where it can be minimized or contained, as opposed to an outboard where everything happens as your engine hangs off the transom. You obviously still have to deal with oil leaking into your bilge if you have an inboard, but at least it’s not going directly over the side like it would with an outboard.

Your inboard options are essentially gas combustion engines, diesel combustion engines, electric motors or a type of combustion/electric hybrid arrangement.
COMBUSTION INBOARDS

 

From a green perspective, gas inboards are the worst. Most of them get horrendous mileage and there is nothing green about gas. There is also a very real safety issue you should consider before buying a gas inboard. Gasoline fumes are both explosive and heavier than air, possibly creating a literal time-bomb if your boat does not vent properly. Assuming you never experience something as drastic as a fireball onboard, being exposed to and breathing these noxious fumes is bad news.
Lastly, there is a reason that the lifespan of marine engines are measured in hours. Gas inboards are a candle burning at both ends. They operate in an environment of contained heat, moisture, and usually dirty air, all factors that lead to their premature demise.
Diesel inboards are the engine of choice for most  boats over thirty feet long. We touched on the green aspect of diesels a few paragraphs back, but let me reiterate that diesels are your greenest choice when it comes to combustion engines. Add to these features the fact that most diesels enjoy a much longer existence than their gas counterparts. If your engine is new you can expect it to run for years without much trouble, assuming you keep up with routine maintenance.  If you are buying a used boat, a thorough survey should provide valuable clues as to how much life the iron horse has left. Be warned that an overhaul or replacement of an auxiliary diesel in an old boat may require you to rip her apart, an expensive process that often creates more problems than it cures.   
ELECTRIC/HYBRID INBOARDS

 

Some of the most exciting ideas in today’s inboard engines involve electric/hybrid motors.
100% electric inboards do exist, but most of them look like a science experiment gone wild. They are suitable for small boats that can be plugged in at the dock for recharging. From a practical standpoint, unless you have the means to recharge your system if the batteries run dry you could be spending a lot more time on your boat than you really want to.
Some of the most exciting ideas in today’s inboard engines involve electric/hybrid motors. Working on the same basic principle as the automobile hybrids, the new marine versions employ an electric motor for periods of light use, backed up by either a combustion generator or engine. In either case the boat’s propulsion system is dominated by a green, efficient electric motor that draws on its combustion partner when the juice runs low.
At this point, inboard hybrid systems are reserved almost exclusively for the sailboat crowd. Sailors are used to moving slow so the modest horsepower produced by these engines is just fine for getting around. Until the technologies evolve, which they most certainly will, there is not yet a viable hybrid system that will get your large cabin cruiser up to 20 knots or more.
With solar panels, a wind generator, or some of the underwater propeller driven generators it is possible to enjoy your time afloat with a hybrid system without ever needing the combustion back up. For the truly committed, hybrid inboards are as green as it gets.
In addition to their newness, the major drawback the hybrids have come to servicing. If you live near a big metropolitan boating market, especially in the southern states, you should have little trouble getting qualified help when the time comes. Trying to service a hybrid in a remote tropical boat yard will be a whole different matter.

 

Expect to pay more for these systems and just accept the fact that within six months of buying it a cheaper option will emerge.