CNG salvation for gas boat owners?

[juiceclark]

Compressed natural gas (CNG) usage in our cars is coming. After several years of debate whether biofuels, hybrids, diesel cars, etc. would be best, our country is finally coming to the realization that natural gas is safe, very clean and we have it in abundance. As the "Picken's Plan" states, moving 20% or more of our cars and all oil run power plants to CNG will keep oil prices down enough to get us through the coming years until nuclear, wind and other sources can catch-up.
http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/

Ok...great. So, how can I make my twin 454s run on CNG as well as petrol? If you have natural gas at your home, you can just fill your vehicle there with a small compression machine. Who makes those? I have a gas line running near my home but not down my small cul-de-sac. Should I bother to call TECO and have them bring the line to my house? (would be good for my fireplace and pool heater I guess) What kind of fuel tanks (alum. reinforced with carbon fiber?) would I use for CNG?? Should I put out my cigar while filling those tanks? So many questions.
http://mustafa.heritagewebdesign.com/~judjud5/cart/index.php?main_page=page&id=10&chapter=0

The link below will take you to a pickup truck for sale on Ebay which can use gas or CNG. At $2 for the equivalent of a gallon of gas, the conversion would pay for itself rather quickly on my damned thirsty boat!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___Dual-Fuel-CNG-or-Gasoline-Compressed-Natural-Gas-NGV_W0QQitemZ230281260392QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230281260392&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C65%3A1%7C240%3A1308&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/investing-natural+gas-cng/678

[redtech]

cng is an option for boats but my questions are 1- wieght of cylinder for cng and 2- does cng fall in the same regulations as propane gas

[Ralf]

Consider - refuel time,range,BTU per #,where to get it................
not likely to happen

[FAST FRED]

"Compressed natural gas (CNG) usage in our cars is coming. After several years of debate whether biofuels, hybrids, diesel cars, etc. would be best, our country is finally coming to the realization that natural gas is safe, very clean and we have it in abundance."

Nope , CNG was tried for a couple of decades in busses in La La Land (CAlifornia) and was a huge mess.

The immense tanks required just to run a line and back to the depot to refuel were mounted on the roof , where their large size was less of a hassle.

It was also felt that there would be less chance of accident damage to them on top.

So many failed to get enough range to make a run that it was discontinued , a hard thing for a town (LA) to do since it was "free gov money".

If you could figure a way to tow tanks , there might be useable room in the boat .

Amazed you haven't figured out the pickens-con.

Some "oil men" drill for oil and get oil, some get gas.
Pickens has gas he is desperatily trying to market.

Since the gov will finance over 100% of wind farms with accelerated deductions and tax credits , the "wind" portion of the con is at your expense.

The simple reality of the energy industry is that alt energy MUST be backed up 90% by a different production source.Solar doesn't work at night and wind doesn't blow 24/7.

Power made by nuke or coal is usually "base load" as it is very slow to increase/decrease in output..

GE turbines burning CNG (or what ever is cheap) can be brought on line in a few min..

So Boone is happy to sucker the tax payers to purchase for him , a huge demand for his excess gas.

Nationally 10% alt power requires an added 9% of generation from standby sources to be ready to operate instantly .

That's a HUGE market for a product you have in vast excess , for a while.

FF