Motor Oil | Outboard Motor Oil - Part 2

From Boats to Spacecraft

I wonder if someday we’ll be able to have personal spacecraft the way that we have personal boats. I’m sure that centuries ago, nobody thought that people would have personal motorized boats like the ones that are so commonplace now, even if perhaps people back then had their own sailboats or canoes or whatever. I’m not saying this is something that will happen in my lifetime, but I’m talking centuries from now. Will people go out and buy their own spaceships?

What I wonder is if the same companies that make boats will transition over to making spacecraft someday, or if it will be car companies, or perhaps new companies entirely. And I wonder if the companies that make the maintenance supplies for boats and whatnot will be the same ones making the oil and other things for your spaceship. That’d give Mercury oil a whole other meaning.

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A Boat Fixer-Upper

My friend recently purchased a fixer-upper boat. I worried about this because I feel like it’s a little dangerous to be using a boat that you know needs to be fixed up, considering using a boat typically involves being out in the middle of open water and a boat breaking down on you out there would be bad, to say the least. Nobody wants to get stuck in the middle of nowhere, especially if you have to swim to safety.

But he’s been working on it non-stop. He’s got more of a mechanical brain than I do, so perhaps he understands how a fixer-upper truly can be fixed better than me. He took it out for the first time a couple weeks ago. He put some outboard motor oil in his boat and it’s been working fine.

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Biggest Fish Contest

I was fishing with a close buddy of mine and we decided to make a gentleman’s wager in regards to who could catch the biggest fish. Neither of us had ever really caught a whopper before, but we figured it was something that could allow us to test, perhaps, which of us was the better fisherman. Or at the very least, it’d just be a fun, interesting way to spice up our fishing trip.

We were fishing for hours and honestly, we weren’t getting very many bites until the very end of the night, surprisingly enough. We each caught a single fish by the end of it all. He won the bet and I had to give him a bottle of Mercury engine oil for his boat.

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Benefits of Outboard Motor Mount

Today I’ll be writing about the many benefits of using an outboard motor mount. Though motor mounts are not necessary, I find that they provide several benefits in the areas of acceleration, handling, and onboard space. That’s perhaps why some boat companies are incorporating mounts into the hull design of outboard motor boats.

In terms of acceleration, a motor mount moves the motor and propeller away from the hull’s current, thus the propeller can move calm water, which in turn provides greater acceleration and fuel efficiency. An outboard motor mount moves back the boat’s center of gravity, which also provides for faster movement through the water. Finally, the mount frees up space in the hull that would ordinarily be infringed upon. When you’re done looking over bulk outboard motor oil, I highly suggest you pick up an outboard motor mount.

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Kick Off Party

In two weeks time, my family and I will be having a small spring kick off party. Yes, I realize that spring will already have been around for about a month, but in my experience, you can still get snow in March. Thus, I want to wait until I’m sure that the snowy season has passed us by.

A few family friends will be joining us at a nearby lake for a day of boating and barbecuing. I’m not a big party planner, so my only responsibility will be to get the boat ready by replacing the outboard oil. I’m sure I’ll be suckered into grilling, too, but for now I’m keeping my mouth shut so I don’t get dragged into any more party preparations.

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TCW-3 Amalie Oil

When it comes to maintaining my two-stroke outboard motor, I swear by oil TCW-3 Amalie. For a while I was attached to the Chevron brand. When I could no longer buy Chevron TCW-3 I tried out some other brands.

What I found out is that TCW-3 Amalie oil is pretty consistent across brands. Though I have some brands I favor more than others, all that I have tried have performed well. If you’re looking to try out new two-stroke oil, then I would recommend a TCW-3 Amalie because regardless of brand and price, it will get the job done.

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Lightboat Swiftsure

Built in 1904, Swiftsure is one of the oldest lightships in the United States. It is also the only lightship to have its original steam engines. Its journey began in Camden, New Jersey and continued to the tip of South America and back up to the Blunts Reef, California. It was part of a successful rescue mission of 150 passengers whose ship had run aground in a dense fog.

The boat has had other names (it started out as simply Lightship #83) over the years. Its current name refers to the Swiftsure Bank near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca whish separates WA from Vancouver Island. The Swiftsure is a National Historic Landmark and is currently moored at – you guessed it- Lake Union in Seattle. Yes, my Mercury engine oil purchasing buddies will be hearing about this vessel, too.

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Hazel Creek

If you’re willing to expend a bit of your bulk outboard motor oil, then you can ride across Lake Fontana to Hazel Creek. At one point, the area surrounding the creek was home to Cherokee and pioneer Appalachian communities which turned into logging towns. The area was not heavily populated, which made it easier to force out the locals in order to incorporate the land into the Great Smoky Mountains National park.

Today, Hazel Creek is now a back country campsite and historical area. Historical sites within the Hazel Creek area are: Calhoun house, Hall Cabin, Ritter Mill site, Adams-Westfeldt Mine site, Proctor Cemetery, and Bone Valley Cemetery. The Proctor Cemetery is of particular note because it is the site where the cabin of Moses and Patience Proctor, the first white settlers, stood.

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Practical Gift Giving

Have you ever opened a present and said, “Oh, no, you shouldn’t have!” and inside your head thought, “No, really, you shouldn’t have.” I’ve never understood why people give knick-knacks, tchokes, and other random items that will likely never be used. Those items may have been given with love, but they end up wasting space. I much prefer giving and receiving practical gifts.

For example, instead of giving each other subpar $10 gifts this season, by buddies and I decided to go in on bulk motor oil. We all enjoy fishing fall through summer, so this gift will definitely be used. I’ll take this kind of gift over another reindeer tie any day.

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Building a Dock

, NJ has been my family’s summer vacation destination for decades. My grandparents went there so much that they ended up buying a beach home. As the family grew, they sold the first beach house and bought a larger home so all the children and grandchildren could stay together under one roof. The second home happened to be a bay front property, which made it easier to take boats out.

To accommodate the boats, a dock needed to be built. Technically, the water and small island in front of the home belonged to our neighbor, so we had to get permission to build the dock on the neighbor’s property. Fortunately, the neighbor did not mind, so long as he could occasionally use the dock for his own boat. The neighbor even recommended Evinrude outboard oil to us to make sure our boats always ran smoothly.

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What Makes an Oil High Quality?

There are many different engine lubricants available on the market. This can make it hard to determine the good from the bad. Quality oils will have certain characteristics no matter the brand. For instance, quality oil will be made from polymers that are resistant to breakage under extreme circumstances. These additives protect an expensive engine from corrosion, rust, and sand particles.

Quality oil should be thick and viscous. The oil needs to cling to engine parts when running, but also flow to the lowest parts of the engine to coat rings and bearings. Personally, I go for Yamaha oil as I know that whether I need two stroke or four stroke oil, their brand delivers quality.

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Selecting Two Cycle Oil

Two stroke engines, in contrast to four stroke engines, do not have a crankcase. Instead, a two stroke engine needs the proper mixture of oil and gas to function. The two stroke oil is crucial to keeping the engine lubricated so it doesn’t lock up.

It is important when conducting maintenance on a two stroke engine that the correct oil and oil ratio is used. Consult with the owner’s manual to figure out which two cycle oil the engine needs. If you have lost the owners’ manual, then search online or contact an oil wholesaler for their recommendation. You don’t want to ruin your engine with wrong or insufficient oil!

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