alright, my first virgin boat owner question.  Went to put gas in the boat on Sunday for the first time.  Shoved the nozzle in and started pumpin' away.  About 10 seconds later, the side of my new nicely waxed shiny boat and my feet had 87 octane all over them.  what did i do wrong and what should i do NEXT time??  Thanks folks!! :'( ;D

Stuck or broken fuel gauge?

Unfortunately that is the case with a new boat that has no gas in it.  Unfortunately it's not like a car where they give you the boat with a full tank of gas.  >

I had the same issue with the Ranger in filling it up the first time.  If anyone has any pointers on how to fill er up without spilling all the gas out, I'm all ears as well!

With my boat you have to put the fuel in real slow. From the fill cap to the tank there is not much of a drop and several bends. This is unlike my van with few if any turns and a fair amount of drop. I also can't put the nozzle very far into the fuel opening without fuel backing up.

yeah, i ended up filling it up real slow.  I'll just keep working with it until i can figure out a way for it to work.  thanks!

bassin man, i dont have a stuck or broken fuel gauge.  im curious though, how would this cause the gas to shoot out of the fill hole?

The most common problem with filling any boat is fuel sitting in the vent line in a low spot restricting it's ability to vent the tank as the new gas feeds in.  What usually happens is either the new gas overflows as you're pumping or gas begins coming out of the fuel tank vent fixture.  If you have access to the fuel tank vent line you can either attempt to raise the line so gas can't accumulate in low spots or simply raise the line and drain the fuel sitting in the line back into the tank before you start filling up.  If you can't do either, you're going to have to slow down your fueling speed.  Either way, I never set the pump to full blast, the typical boat has way too many bends and kinks in the fuel line too fill a tank the same way you'd fill a vehicle up.  This ain't a pitstop at the Indy 500 we're talking about here.

yeah, cart said it all.  Go slow, especially if it's hot and your tank is nearly empty.  I have the same issues with my boat.  It will spew like a geyser if I try to fill it like I do my car.    :'(

--J

I allways turn the key on or push the start button once. And watch the fuel gauge when it gets close to full slow the flow down and top it off.

Fuel it slower than you would with a car and listen. When you here the gurgle shut the nozzle off.

This happens with my Regal and my Nitro. The fuel tank inlets and the configuration just isn't like the ones on cars and trucks.

You just can't stuff the nozzle in and walk away.

thanks for the tips guys.

it aint the indy 500 cart, but it is my first boat and that was my first official time taking it out.  So...its close!!

I called Ranger Boats today to ask about this specific issue.   What I was told was to make sure that the vent line was clear.   Seems that has been an issue in the past?

thanks for the info redline.  im pretty sure my vent line is clear.  I just think its a matter of fueling slowly to let the gas slowly push out the air that is in the tank.  i'll let you know if i find out anymore info.

I have found that the key to my boat is two fold: one as mentioned earlier go slow and two don't stop until it is full or you get as many gallons in as you want.

Once I start fueling if I stop for whatever reason and try to start again it won't take the fuel nearly as fast as when I first started.  I practically have to dribble it in if I restart.

Good luck.