2 Cycle Oil | Outboard Motor Oil - Part 10

Dad’s Birthday Present to Himself

I was trying to figure out what to get my dad for his birthday. I knew he was already planning on purchasing his own massive birthday present – since my mom finally approved it financially – and it seemed to me like there wasn’t going to be much else he would want. He was buying himself a boat.

I figured that he’d probably need some things to maintain his new toy. Knowing my dad, he’d be way too focused in picking out the actual boat than thinking about all the accessories and things he’d need to maintain it. I bought him a bottle or two of 2 cycle oil because I knew he’d need it for the new boat he had treated himself to.

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A Boat for a Decade

I purchased my boat in 2001 after my kids first left for college; I figured that once the kids were out of the house, it was finally time for me to get something for my own relaxation and a boat was exactly the way to do it. I’ve taken that boat to pretty much every lake in Washington.

Using Yamalube 2 cycle oil on my boat has kept it in tip-top shape for over a decade; I’ve had no problems with it – other than the expected maintenance from having a boat for more than ten years – whatsoever! I plan on continuing to use it for as long as I live in an area that supports boating.

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Bad Driver

It is unbelievable how many cars my friend has wrecked. He doesn’t drink and drive or anything like that, but he constantly overshoots what he can do on the road and winds up doing something really stupid to annihilate his car. It doesn’t help him that he has done this so frequently that he can’t purchase nice cars, so he’s trying to operate really poorly-made, cheap used cars as if they were brand-new sports cars.

Most recently, it was revealed to me that the court fumbled up and lost his records completely, which is how he’s managed to not get his license revoked completely. He told me the other day he was looking into getting a new car. I handed him a bottle of two cycle outboard oil and told him, “You’re better off buying a boat.”

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Using Two-Stroke Oil

Two-stroke oil is a special kind of oil used for crankcase compression two-stroke engines. A four-cycle engine has a closed crankcase, but two-stroke engines in comparison, use the crankcase as part of the induction tract. Because of this, gasoline must be mixed in with the two-stroke oil for lubrication.

When the two-stroke oil – also known as two cycle oil – is burned with the other fuel, there is often blue smoke because the oil is dyed blue so that it can be more easily recognized when mixed in with the gasoline. There is also often a specific odor that is produced by this type of oil.

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Wives and Boats

My wife and I went through a little bit of a rough patch when I bought my boat. She thought that it was a waste of money and when the boat started to have problems, she seemed convinced that she was right. The problem was that I had bought a used boat and it hadn’t been inspected or maintained as well as advertised. This was something that could be fixed.

Eventually, I got the boat running. I think one of the issues my wife had was that I was taking my buddies out on the boat to drink and fish, rather than spending a day on the boat with her. So for the holidays, I took her out on the boat for the first time and she had a great time. She got me a bottle of Yamalube 2M, just to remind me she loves me.

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Shark Fishing in Nova Scotia

I’ve got a friend who recently moved out to Nova Scotia for a job. I didn’t even know where Nova Scotia was, other than it being in Canada. It’s actually all the way on the east of Canada, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Considering it’s right out there on the ocean, it’s a pretty interesting place to go fishing, which was what we decided to do when I flew out and visited him.

He took me out to Blue Shark Fishing Charters, which is a professional sport fishing charter service. They took us out the fish for sharks! It was catch and release, but it was still really interesting fishing for sharks out on the open ocean, which is something I’d certainly never done before. I bought the guys a bottle of Yamaha 2M oil for their boat to thank them for such a great time.

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Charter Fishing Trip

For my buddy’s bachelor party we decided to forgo the stereotypical drunken routine in favor of a guys’ weekend getaway. Eight of us pitched in and we rented out a beach house for three days and two nights. The house had great views and was close to the marina.

All of us love boating and fishing, so one afternoon we chartered a private boat for fishing. As the fishing outing was winding down, I found myself chatting with the first mate about the best outboard motor oil. He and I were in agreement that Yamaha has a decent line of oils.

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Heat Wave

We experienced an extreme heat wave the week of the July 4th holiday. The heat index got over 105 degrees ten days in a row. Extreme temperature combined with the poor air quality that comes with living in a metropolitan area made going outside a hazard.

Normally I’d go to the lake to escape the heat, but it was too hot to be messing with any sort of smoke and gas fumes. This past weekend we had a series of thunderstorms that broke the heat wave. Now we have our normal 75 to 80 degree weather that is far more bearable. I’ll be heading to the lake just as soon as I replace the 2 cycle oil in my outboard engine.

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WaveRunner Safety

R&B star Usher has learned all too well the dangers of improper personal watercraft use. The singer’s stepson is now brain dead due to an unfortunate accident. Unfortunately, the 11-year-old is far from the only person to have been killed while using a personal watercraft. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that 16 people have been killed this year and 44 people were killed last year in personal watercraft related accidents.

Americans own approximately 1.3 million personal watercrafts, the best known being the Kawasaki Jet Ski and the Yamaha Motor Company’s WaveRunner.  I personally own a WaveRunner and I believe that they are far safer because you sit on them as opposed to the Jet Skis that you have to stand on. Either way, proper maintenance, like replacing Yamalube 2W oil, obeying the rules of the road, and always wearing a life vest when on a PWC is imperative.

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Heavy Weight Oil

“Popular Mechanics” is a publication I often peruse online and in print. I recently came across an article that asked the question, “Is there really any benefit or downside to using heavier-weight oils in summer months and lighter-weight oils in winter?” This is an old wives tale, so to speak, that refers to car maintenance.

Before recent improvements to motor oil, there was only one viscosity. Oil would thin out in the summer heat, so it was necessary to use heavier weighted oils. Nowadays we have multi-viscosity oils, so there isn’t a need to use weighted oils with the changing seasons. The same technology is used in outboard motor oil, like my preference, Yamalube 2 cycle oil.

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Proper Boat Storage

I’ve often written on this blog about the importance of winterizing your motor boats. It occurred to me last night that I have written enough about proper storage the rest of the year. Even during the busy boating season, you can’t just leave your boat out.

At the end of every run you should clean your boat. Wipe down the seats, handles, and coverings so that the salt water doesn’t damage them. Putting a tarp over the boat so rainwater doesn’t get in is a good practice to keep, too. When you’re done securing your boat, make sure that your Yamaha 2S oil is secured as well.

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Oil and Gas Mixture for Small Engines

In small engines, such as those found on a weed whacker, gasoline is mixed with two cycle oil at a particular ratio. Typically the ratio is 40 parts gasoline to one part oil or 50 parts gasoline to one part oil. The ratio depends on the thickness of the fuel.

Inside the engine, the two-cycle oil lubricates the engine while fuel pumps through. Two cycle engines are ideal in weed whackers and other small appliances because they do not require very many chambers. The concept is similar on a larger outboard motor that requires two cycle outboard oil.

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