January, 2013 | Outboard Motor Oil - Part 2

Living In The Past

2874522609_20beb189a4_zI like to debate with my friend about proper boat maintenance techniques and practices.  My friend was brought up to appreciate the virtues of doing things the old way because they are proven and true.  His father was a military man and also a creature of habit.  He would do things one way and if that one way worked, he stuck with it.  That lesson was instilled in my friend and to this day, he refuses to change.

Last Christmas I got him a gallon of Evinrude outboard oil for his outboard engine and he still refuses to use it to this day.  I explained to him about fully synthetic oil and how it differs from conventional oil and he still wouldn’t budge.  He’s funny that way.  All the clocks in his house are still analog clocks because he finds electronic clocks unreliable.  I call him an old man even though he’s still in his thirties.  I tell him to embrace the future every day but he can’t let go of the past.  Next year I should get him something he desperately needs: a HD television and see if he would use it.

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Cutting Costs

budget-axe-300x177Owning a boat is very rewarding but it’s also very expensive.  Maintenance, dock fees, and insurance are enough to turn a lot of people away from boat ownership.  The feeling I get of being able to go out onto the water whenever I want is enough to counteract the stress and financial strain of owning my own boat.  I’ve been around boats ever since I was a child and there’s nothing I love more than feeling the wind in my hair and the sea spray in my face when I’m out on the water.

I try to take advantage of any sales on boating products and accessories that come my way.  Every little bit helps.  I like to buy used parts from other owners or scrap yards and do all of the work myself.  I also like to buy bulk Mercury Optimax oil because it’s cheaper than just buying it individually.  My boat was given to me by my father and he took very good care of it.  I just do my best to maintain it as well as he did.  He taught me everything I know about boats and I hope to be able to teach my son too someday.

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Online Shopping

226811-online-shoppingMy wife recently sent me an email with some links to some online deals she found on a kind of necklace she wanted.  I’m the first to admit that I know very little about jewelry.  I don’t know how many carats a good diamond should be but what I do know is that it is expensive.  I was shocked to see how low the price was she showed me.

This got me motivated to shop for a better deal online for things I usually buy.  I found a coupon for a gallon of mercury premium plus and I was ecstatic.  I spent the entire afternoon looking for other discounts online and vowed never to pay full price for anything again.

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Always Be Prepared

obs-speedalcoholslideA lot of my friends consider me paranoid because I usually always plan for the worst-case scenario whenever we go somewhere.  It was a habit I acquired during my time as a troop scout when I was younger.  Bringing an extra pair of anything seemed like a good idea to me at the time and I guess it stuck with me all the way to adulthood.

On our fishing trips, I usually pack an emergency kit consisting of extra ice, water, fuel and outboard oil.  Most of the time, we never end up using any of these but I always think ahead just in case.  I always end up getting teased by the other guys, but I feel better knowing we’re prepared for just about anything.

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After Holiday Errands

hatteras_cole_boatI found myself with nothing much to do after the holidays.  I have some time off so I decided to help my wife run some errands.  A quick trip to the post office turned into an hour-long struggle to keep my patience.  It definitely killed some time and I had nowhere else to be so I gutted through it.

I found a gift card I got for Christmas in my wallet when I finally paid for my package to be delivered.  That was enough to lift my spirits and alleviate the frustration I felt while waiting on line at the post office.  I decided to make a quick stop to the store and pick up some Ringfree Plus and a replacement blade for my engine.

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Cleaning up the Garage

88df21bb6bbb4b31fccc2a11a49c544d_zps22252821I like to start off every new year by cleaning out my garage for all the unnecessary junk that has accumulated to make room for more junk that I plan on buying.  It’s amazing to find out how much stuff I forgot I had.  I have shelves of unopened paint cans that the wife bought for the bedroom that she never got around to painting.

Every once and a while, I find something useful that I can use which is always a pleasant surprise.  I found some new wiper blades that I never installed on the truck.  I also found a full gallon of Evinrude XD50 oil that I left covered under a tarp.  That just saved me a trip to the store.

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Breaking in a New Engine

brads392hemiproject140I just recently purchased a new Evinrude engine for my boat.  The old one was acting up on me and I wanted to replace it before it totally went out on me at the most inopportune time.  I got it for a decent enough price.

The one thing about replacing an engine is finding the proper mix of oil to fuel.  I’m just doing some trial and error on how much Evinrude Johnson 2 Stroke Outboard Oil to use with my fuel.  Hopefully I’ll find the right balance.

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Brand Preference

BrandThere are a lot of different motor oils available for boats. Before you even start looking, you should make sure you know what to be looking for, based on the type of engine that your boat has. For instance, a 2 stroke engine requires special 2 stroke oil, so if that’s what you have, you should make sure that that’s what you’re going after.

Once you’ve figured out exactly what kind of oil you need, you can get into the specifics of brand choices and things like that. There are many different brands of motor oil that you can choose from. You could take a look at Yamaha or Mercury oil, but personally, I prefer Optimax oil.

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Words of ‘Wisdom’

Words-of-Wisdom-1024x718My mother always had strange words of advice to impart on me, that I’ve never really hear from any source other than her. Somehow, however, many of these words of ‘wisdom’ have stuck with me into my adulthood. I’ve noticed, on a number of occasions, her bizarre words of advice resulting in some of my own decisions.

For instance, one of her ideas was that no one should make a purchase on an empty stomach. So recently I made sure to have my fill of food before I went out to purchase a few bottles of Yamalube 2M for my boat. These weird little quirks of hers have stuck with me, but they haven’t ever caused me any hardships, so maybe there’s something to all of her strange little superstitions.

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Oiled Up

imagesJust like a car, it’s important to make sure that you keep your boat stocked up with the motor oil that it requires. In order to make sure that your engine lasts a long time and doesn’t end up failing on you and requiring some costly replacements, you should be sure to check your oil and add the oil you need whenever possible.

With a bottle of Mercury 2 stroke oil, I can make sure that my boat’s running in perfect condition. I always try to keep stocked up, especially if I’m planning on taking my boat out on any long trips. This way, I’ll be prepared as soon as I get home to check the oil and see if my boat needs more of it.

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Dragged Out Shopping

628x471I hate it when my girlfriend drags me along to go shopping with her. I’m not someone at all who cares about things like clothes and fashion, but she’s of course, very much into it, and I typically wind up sitting next to the dressing room in a bunch of different stores, telling her that everything she’s wearing looks good, because I don’t care and just want to get out of there.

The most recent time we went out and did this, I decided that it was only fair if we went to some stores that I wanted to go to afterwards. One of the stores we went to was a boating store and I decided to explain all of the intricacies of boating and taking care of one’s boat to my girlfriend. Then I picked up a couple of bottles of Evinrude XD 100 oil.

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