Mystic River cruise boat now runs on biodiesel
Jul. 3—MYSTIC — Captain Will Goetz of Mystic Coastal Guides enjoys taking people on river cruises to share the beauty of the Mystic River with them.
On board his 1978 Crooked Island Catboat, named "Flounder," last week, he pointed out sights such as Mystic Seaport Museum, downtown Mystic, Noank and Mason's Island, and an array of boats on the water.
Goetz recently made a change to help the environment that he hopes will inspire others in the boating community: Flounder was gliding through the waters powered by 100% biodiesel fuel.
Goetz said he converted the boat to biodiesel to cut greenhouse gas emissions and raise awareness about the effectiveness of biodiesel.
Goetz's work on policy studies on global warming in the 1990s for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy has made him conscious of the environment.
As a Mystic resident, he also is aware of the downtown areas prone to flooding, identified in an ongoing resiliency study of the downtown, with projections of 20 inches of sea level rise by 2050.
"It's coming to my doorstep," he said.
Goetz woke up one morning thinking about how the boating industry can reduce its carbon footprint by converting to biodiesel.
Goetz, who has done tuna fishing and cruising, knew that large power boats can emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide. A gallon of diesel emits about 22 pounds of carbon dioxide, and boats on some tuna fishing trips can burn hundreds of gallons of fuel.
Goetz said the 18-foot-long Flounder uses about a half gallon of fuel per cruise, but he wanted to take action to bring its carbon footprint down to nearly zero. Overall, he estimates he will eliminate about a quarter ton of carbon dioxide emissions per season from his boat.
He said he hopes to have a bigger impact by creating awareness that biodiesel is a viable fuel for boats with diesel engines and a way to cut carbon emissions.
To make the switch, Goetz found a biodiesel distributor, Sack Energy of West Hartford, which delivered the biodiesel from producer American GreenFuels of New Haven directly to him at Schooner Wharf.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection describes biodiesel as "an alternative fuel, produced from either virgin vegetable oils (such as soy, canola) or from waste greases or other renewable resources." It is most commonly used as 20% of a blend with regular diesel.
The use of biodiesel is catching on in other sectors. The Connecticut General Assembly in 2021 passed a law to mandate that home heating oil sold in Connecticut have some percentage of biodiesel, starting with at least 5% in 2022 and reaching 50% in 2035.
Goetz said that converting Flounder, which has a diesel engine, to 100% biodiesel simply entailed pouring the biodiesel into the fuel tank and changing the filters. He said biodiesel acts as a solvent and will clean out the tank, so it's important to pay attention to the boat's filters and be on top of maintenance.
He also said biodiesel costs him less: about $2.70 a gallon, versus the $3.90 he was paying for regular diesel fuel.
He is hoping to get local marinas interested in converting some part of what they are selling to biodiesel ― and boat owners interested in buying the fuel.
He hopes to create more awareness in Mystic about biodiesel.
In the face of climate change and rising sea levels, he said, it's important to do what one can to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He said using biofuel is a way to take some of the environmental burden off boating, an activity he loves.
"What's in your power to change, you got to do it," he said.
