[SEMIJim]

I looked at the brochure, but the lettering is blurry. It looks like it says 10 gallons, but that seems small for an 18' boat with a 4.3L V6 engine. Doing a search on "tank" in the subject shows other 18' Mariah boats with 30 ga. tanks.

How do you guys mix things like Sta-Bil with your fuel? It's best to put the additive in, then the fuel, so the additive gets mixed well during the fill. But if you don't know how much fuel you're going to put in...

Are the fuel gauges at all linear?

Thanks,
Jim

[WetWilly]

Originally Posted by SEMIJim

I looked at the brochure, but the lettering is blurry. It looks like it says 10 gallons, but that seems small for an 18' boat with a 4.3L V6 engine. Doing a search on "tank" in the subject shows other 18' Mariah boats with 30 ga. tanks.

Per the '94 brochure, your tank is 30gal.

Originally Posted by SEMIJim

How do you guys mix things like Sta-Bil with your fuel? It's best to put the additive in, then the fuel, so the additive gets mixed well during the fill.

On our last run of the season, I pour it in just before heading back to the dock so the Sta-Bil is thoroughly mixed and circulated through the pump and carb as they recommend. if you add it on dry land, put the muffs on the outdrive and run the motor for a few minutes to circulated the Sta-Bil through your entire fuel system.

Originally Posted by SEMIJim

But if you don't know how much fuel you're going to put in...
Are the fuel gauges at all linear?

According to Gold Eagle, makers of Sta-Bil, quote "over-treatment is safe and will not harm engine". So if your not sure how much gas is left in your tank, make your best guess from the fuel gauge (to get the best possible reading, make sure the keel is as level to the ground as possible) and add a little more Sta-Bil to compensate, I sometime over-treat by a 1/4 of a tank to be safe so don't worry, you'll be fine!. I believe the regular Sta-Bil is 1oz to every 2.5 gal of gas and the Marine Sta-Bil is 1oz to every 10gal of gas.

As for how accurate or linear are the fuel gauges, I believe ours is close but not exact, especially on the water because she sits a little bow up at rest, but that's OK because I follow the 1/3 rule (1/3 out, 1/3 back, 1/3 reserve) and I've yet to run out of gas in 26 years.

WetWilly