Puget Sound Boating-How to Live Lightly on the Water

I love boating. Nothing is better than cruising on a clear sunny day with our kayaks on top of the boat heading up to enjoy the island waters. According to the Washington Department of Ecology, 450,000 boats are joining us in Washington waters. It seems that we all love the Puget Sound. As an environmentally concerned person I do want to make sure I am not loving it to death! Hopefully, all 450,000 of us are pumping out our sewage at pump out stations that are easily accessed.My concerns are about less straightforward matters: fueling, gray water, bilge water and cleaning and painting boats. Luckily, this trip, on one of my forays into town in my ongoing search for the best cinnamon roll ever, I ran across a free packet put together by Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. The packet contained an absorbent pad, plastic gloves, and a variety of printed information including Keep our waters clean! a booklet published by Washington State Parks. This is what I learned:

Fueling
Even small overboard spills are illegal and can harm fish and marine life. Always use an absorbent pad to catch drips while fueling. At some of the docks that we visit, the dock attendant automatically hands one to you. We use a no spill fuel recovery system, which is a bottle that slips over the fuel vents and stays there with suction cups. Any overflow of gas goes into the bottle. Docks usually have a gas can for the collected gas. I am usually alarmed by the one or two teaspoons collected in the bottle. That amount could have to do with our filling technique. The booklet says to fuel cautiously, don't top off your tank, fill up the tank to only 90% full and test if the tank is nearly full by feeling for air flow from the vent. If there is a spill, soak it up with an absorbent pad, don't wash it into the water. If the spill occurs in the water, don't apply detergent to the oil or gas. The detergent will just break it up and make it harder to clean up. The only proven way to clean up oil is by absorbing it.

Gray water discharge
This I don't get. If I was camping in a motor home or camper - my gray water would be caught in a tank along with the black water water from the toilet. Not so on a boat. The gray water goes directly into the Sound! This means that dish water, shower water even water from brushing my teeth goes over the side. Biodegradable non-toxic soaps are a must! Minimizing the gray water discharge is just as important. I use the wash room at the marina when possible.

Bilge water
I wasn't even aware that our 29 foot boat had a bilge pump until our raw water pump went crazy therefore kicking our automatic bilge pump into action, spewing salt water out of the engine compartment. Fortunately our boat is new and pretty clean, but I can imagine that oil, transmission and other nasty fluids could accumulate there and be blown out into the Sound. I learned that an absorbent bilge pad, looking a lot like a giant tampon, should be placed in the bilge area and replaced at least once a year. Don't use bilge cleaning compounds; they simply spread the oil out.

Boat cleaning
Everyone likes a clean boat. Clean gently. Use only phosphate-free, biodegradable and non-toxic cleaners. Although much less harmful, these cleaners can still cause damage to marine life so consider washing the boat with plain water and a sponge. I also learned that if you have "soft bottom paint", you should never clean the bottom while the boat is still in the water.

Which brings me to bottom paint
Boats, especially if they are kept in the water need antifouling paint in order to limit the growth of algae and other sea life on the bottom of the boat.These paints often contain copper.Bottom paint seems to be in two categories: hard and soft. Bottom paints are made to erode in order to expose organisms to the biocides that they contain. The soft bottom paint is most soluble. The biocides in hard bottom paint are suspended in a harder type of resin and are less soluble.
Long story short - all boats need to be taken out of the water to be cleaned and painted! New, safer for the environment paints are available. Paint containing copper will be illegal by 2014.

Boats in the water like cars on the road will pollute. I now feel a little more educated about our boat and what I can do to live a little lighter on the water. More tips at Washington State Parks.