Editorials
The Editorial section of the PLIA web site that provides commentary, opinions, insights, stories and events from a group of guest columnists who have a connection to the lake. Choose a columnist from the menu on the left. [The views and opinions of columnists are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the PLIA or its members.]
| August 2006 - George Beaumont |
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| Written by George Beaumont | |
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Hi all - and welcome to my August ‘View’. I’d like to start with a bit of follow up about our Bass Tourney in June. I’ve had some great pictures flowing in and have added a couple to our web site (www.mrtp.net). Especially pic’s of the winners. I also looked through a bunch of other good pictures when this one struck me as one of the best. This fellow is a great customer, friendly, loves kayaking and fishing and simply exhibits the traits kayakers and fisherman share. He’s well rigged, and has a nice fish – but look closely at the bow of his kayak. Fishing from a kayak is fishing from ‘tight quarters’ but (and ya’ gotta love it) he has room to pick up someone else’s trash. I had the picture in a very large format and there’s no doubt these are old cans and bottles found along the way. I love my job. People like this simply make my day.
On another note - there’s been a lot of talk at the ‘Post’ about the newly introduced gasoline - bye, bye MTBE and hello Ethanol - at 10%. They say it’s good for air quality and harms our aquifer less. I always wondered if it was MTBE or ‘leaks/spillage’ (of gas) with MTBE that hurt things - but I’m not qualified to take a stand on that. Anyway the scuttlebutt seems to revolve around the water absorbing ‘qualities’ (said with tongue in cheek) of ethanol (or alcohol). Seems that this stuff might have some issues. Firstly it seems that Ethanol is hydroscopic - that is it absorbs water - and apparently it does this very readily. Secondly it seems that some types of rubber are not very compatible with this or any other type of alcohols. Well then what’s all the scuttlebutt at the ‘Post’ about? In a word - Boats (and actually in two words - boat motors). This new fuel does not store well - it absorbs moisture (which lowers octane) which means your motor doesn’t run very well. The longer it sits, the worse it gets. Also, alcohol doesn’t get along with rubber fuel lines - I’ve been told that - if your fuel line is black "you can expect trouble", and "if your fuel line is gray - it’s alcohol resistant". About storage - the only positive note I’ve heard is to keep your tank tightly closed - if possible. The jury seems to be out as to whether water separating filters or fuel stabilizers help. Well, that’s the end of the august update - if anyone has any feedback about my interpretation of the gasoline issues please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . I’d especially like to know more about winter boat storage. George at Mountain Road Trading Post |
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