Two weeks ago, I learned the hard way, how inaccurate the fuel gauges can be on most auxiliary sailboats. On my day off, I left Staten Island's Great Kills Harbor with 1/3 of a tank of diesel left, according to my fuel gauge, which should have meant anywhere from 5 to 8 gallons of fuel. As usual, I fired up the engine on the way back, then noticed that the gauge was reading empty. Less than 5 minutes later, Old Thumper went dead. We were stuck sailing back to the mooring against the wind and had to tack through a narrow channel. Lucky the tide was incoming. The moral of the story is never trust your fuel gauge. If you are wondering about the other things not to trust, they are a parachute or scuba gear bought at a flea market, or a business proposal coming anonymously from Nigeria.