boat care | Outboard Motor Oil

Friendly Family Competition

My brothers and I grew up boating on the Chesapeake Bay. Though most of us live in urban areas now, we still go home for all the major holidays. Our dad still owns a small fleet of boats that he needs help winterizing each year.

To make it less of a chore, my brothers and I have made winterizing the boats into a competition. The first brother to finish winterizing their boat properly wins. Dad, of course, gets to be the judge. He is a particular stickler for making sure that we haven’t shortchanged any areas that need outboard oil.

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The Mistakes of “Gold Rush”

The Discovery Channel has some fairly interesting reality television programming, including the series “Gold Rush” (previously known as “Gold Rush: Alaska”). I was watching one of the early episodes from season two and was simply appalled by what I saw. The crew did not winterize their big equipment at the end of last season, meaning when they arrived back at their claim, much of their heavy machinery was heavily rusted.

Naturally, there was concern as to weather the machinery would start at all. By some miracle it did, but I would never advise letting any piece of machinery simply rust away during the winter months – especially not in a climate like that of Alaska! Take this as a warning to winterize all boats now before the worst of winter sets in. Don’t forget to stock up on outboard motor oil while you’re at it.

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Cavitation Part 1

Cavitation is a condition where gas bubbles form within a liquid flow because of liquid pressure falling below the fluid vapor pressure. Inertial cavitation, or transient cavitation, and non-inertial cavitation are the two most common forms. Either way, cavitation is not desirable. Good pump design helps minimize the impact of the condition.

Inertial cavitation occurs when bubbles within the fluid form and collapse in rapid succession. The sudden collapse creates a shock wave which happens frequently in pumps, propellers, control valves, and impellers. The shock waves cause damage to the mechanism and working parts. It’s important to conduct preventative maintenance, like replacing the water pump impeller every 1-2 years and using the right outboard motor oil.

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