Unless you can find a commercial fuel dock, you're probably going to be
charged road tax anyway. In addition, you're paying a premium for
convenience and also more to cover the massive liability insurance they
fuel dock is forced to carry. In many states, you can get a rebate of
the road tax as long as you show you're putting the fuel into a boat.
This is fairly significant.. save your receipts! You can see the policy
for your state he http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/hwytaxes/2001/pt5.htm

He will probably go broke as fuel polishing is a treatment to a symptom
of a tank that needs cleaning, as polishing the fluid in a dirty tank
doesnt remove the problem but only the symptoms. Since his 'polishing'
service wont solve the problem but only temporarily remove the
symptoms, the 'call back' and customer complaints are going be costly.
Recirculation polishing will only reduce the 'background' particles
from the fluid and wont do anything for the source of the particles
that are growing/agglomerating on the tank walls, etc. ... that will
immediately be available to recontaminate and issue particles to the
fluid. What he needs to better consider is a tank 'cleaning' service
.... where polishing is used to remediate what the cleaning doesnt
remove.

Commercial filter polishing is a learned 'art form' and will require a
bit of lab equipment to verify/validate the removal - otherwise like
posted above, its may be quite costly to serve all the 'call-back', and
unhappy customers.








In article , Gordon
wrote:

My neighbor, who is a bit of an entrepreneur, had dirty fuel problems
in a cruising sailboat. When he tried to find a service to polish his
fuel, there wasn't one.
So his idea is to start such a service. Finding a serviceable old
bowpicker or such with deck space for barrels, hoses, spill gear, etc
and traveling marina to marina with pre publicity to service all those
pleasure boats that feel they may have a need.
So, is this feasible? Enough customers for a reasonable income? What
would customers be willing to pay? Bill by minimum charge and then by
the gallon or poundage on top of that?

If you feel this is spam don't bother answering. Just plonk me! It's
not spam, it's just looking for help to maybe set up a service you may
someday want.
Thanks
Gordon

Gordon wrote in news:12k4if17qre2e41
@corp.supernews.com:

So, is this feasible?

I would think his first stop was the local/state/EPA pollution control
bureaucrats who are going to be VERY interested in its operation, taxing
and licensing. Wanna bet it's going to require a master's license with
HAZMAT handling endorsement(s) before it even gets off the ground?



--
-- (shameless tagline) --
If you're sending someone some Styrofoam,
what do you pack it in?

On Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:03:02 -0700, Gordon wrote:

My neighbor, who is a bit of an entrepreneur, had dirty fuel problems
in a cruising sailboat. When he tried to find a service to polish his
fuel, there wasn't one.
So his idea is to start such a service. Finding a serviceable old
bowpicker or such with deck space for barrels, hoses, spill gear, etc
and traveling marina to marina with pre publicity to service all those
pleasure boats that feel they may have a need.
So, is this feasible? Enough customers for a reasonable income? What
would customers be willing to pay? Bill by minimum charge and then by
the gallon or poundage on top of that?

If you feel this is spam don't bother answering. Just plonk me! It's
not spam, it's just looking for help to maybe set up a service you may
someday want.


There's such a service in Bellingham, WA, and I see them working somewhere
in the marina almost every day. But Bellingham has a large enough harbor
-- 1500-2000 boats and plenty of big ones -- to keep such a service in
business.

They have their equipment on carts, which they wheel down the docks. They
may have a boat too.

We've used their services when someone put water in a fuel tank. I think
they also checked the tank's condition with a video camera after removing
the fuel (ours were perfect).

I don't know what they charged, but I could probably find out.

Matt O.

I picked up 10 gals of really bad fuel at the West End, Bahamas.
Fortunately it was only in one tank, and just before the trip I had finished
the install on the second racor. I can now switch either tank thru either
filter. When I got back to St. Augustine there was a fellow a few boats down
that was polishing fuel on a trawler.
The following day he polished mine. One tank (40 gals) for $220. It was
full of gunk! What surprised me also was I had filtered it thru one of West
Marine's fuel strainers the Practical Sailor had raved about. Comparible to
the Baja at a fraction of the cost.
Needless to say I return it to WM and bought a Baja.

--

Jay A. Howell
Registered Representative
Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC
4950 Westgrove Drive, Suite 130
Dallas, TX 75248
(817) 265-3513 personal office
(817) 265-2813 fax
"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:03:02 -0700, Gordon wrote:

My neighbor, who is a bit of an entrepreneur, had dirty fuel problems
in a cruising sailboat. When he tried to find a service to polish his
fuel, there wasn't one.
So his idea is to start such a service. Finding a serviceable old
bowpicker or such with deck space for barrels, hoses, spill gear, etc
and traveling marina to marina with pre publicity to service all those
pleasure boats that feel they may have a need.
So, is this feasible? Enough customers for a reasonable income? What
would customers be willing to pay? Bill by minimum charge and then by
the gallon or poundage on top of that?

If you feel this is spam don't bother answering. Just plonk me! It's
not spam, it's just looking for help to maybe set up a service you may
someday want.


There's such a service in Bellingham, WA, and I see them working somewhere
in the marina almost every day. But Bellingham has a large enough harbor
-- 1500-2000 boats and plenty of big ones -- to keep such a service in
business.

They have their equipment on carts, which they wheel down the docks. They
may have a boat too.

We've used their services when someone put water in a fuel tank. I think
they also checked the tank's condition with a video camera after removing
the fuel (ours were perfect).

I don't know what they charged, but I could probably find out.

Matt O.