Outboard Motor Oil | Outboard Motor Oil - Part 4

Giving Adive On The Best Outboard Motor Oil

SB1C985_sMy father looks to me for information about today’s latest trends and technology. He comes to me with questions about which phone service to subscribe to and which HDTV has the sharpest picture quality on the market. I like to give him advice when I can but every now and then he would ask me questions about things I know nothing about. This requires me to do some research on the subject because I don’t want to tell him the wrong thing and have him do it.

My father has stuck to one brand of outboard motor oil his entire life and the other week he asks me if what he was using was the best product out there. It’s hard to say what the best outboard motor oil is because there are other factors to consider when choosing your brand. Some manufacturers encourage owners to use the same brand of motor oil as their engines. Some engines are older than others and require something specific which would not be the best for newer engines. So I told my father to stick with what he’s using now because it hasn’t given him any problems as of yet.

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Forgetting Something

dockingI like to consider myself a responsible guy but others may view me as somewhat forgetful.  I don’t do it on purpose, it just happens sometimes.  When I go grocery shopping, I would forget at least three things on my list.  When I would buy popcorn at the movies, I would sometimes forget to buy a soda to go with it.  I’m working harder to be more conscious of what I have to do so I won’t be so forgetful.

Yesterday afternoon, my wife sent me to the store to pick up a couple of cans of tomato paste for her spaghetti sauce.  I got into my car and went straight to the store with the goal of purchasing only what she needed.  On my way to the canned goods aisle, I passed across the automotive section.  On a display, I saw that the Yamaha outboard oil filters are on sale.  I love bargains so I picked up three and made my way to the registers.  As I was about to pay, my phone rang and it was my wife reminding me to pick up the two cans of tomato paste that she needed.  I was somewhat embarrassed but thankful that my wife knows me as well as she does.

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Full Day

joupdogdadI enjoy running errands on my days off.  I feel like I am accomplishing a lot of little things that look good when crossed off of my “to do” list.  There are bigger tasks I need to do that would require more time, but I like to get the little things out of the way so I can focus all of my attention on that bigger task.

Today, I had to go to the bank to deposit some checks.  Then I decided to get some coffee before heading to the mall to return some pants.  I don’t like waiting on long lines at customer service to return items but it had to be done.  It only took twenty minutes of my time and the customer service representative was nice and polite.  Good customer service can go a long way for a company.  Finally I had to stop at the store to pick up some Mercury engine oil because I was running low.  I spent the rest of the day assembling furniture that my wife bought.

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The Pelican

percy-the-pelican-kirsten-givingI was doing some maintenance on my boat the other day when I came upon a curious pelican.  I usually see these things floating around in the water, looking for fish to snatch up, but I’ve never had one come onto my boat.  Maybe it smelled some fish I caught earlier in the day or maybe it was just curious about the floating machines we use to navigate through the water.

I know pelicans aren’t usually aggressive unless they feel like they’re being attacked but I saw that this particular pelican was looking to start some trouble.  It began rummaging through my deck; knocking over buckets and sifting through some bags I had laid out.  It got a hold of some outboard motor oil and spilled an entire gallon of it all over the deck.  I’m usually not violent towards animals but I had to do something before this pelican made even more of a mess.  I trapped it in a fishing net and threw it overboard.  At least next time I know not to leave stuff out on my deck.

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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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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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Keeping Customers Pleased

customer-serviceI work for a boating store and whenever summer rolls around is the time that I start having to order products for my store like none other. The summertime is when people want to start getting out there, and a lot of my customers don’t plan too far ahead. Luckily, for them I’m able to plan ahead so that they don’t need to.

By ordering a large amount of bulk outboard motor oil for my store in the springtime, I can ensure that I’ll have everything that I need for my store once summer hits and we start getting a massive influx of customers. Every summer, this is what I make sure to do, and I’ve never run into a situation where I don’t have what my customers need! This in itself ensures they’ll be coming back every summer.

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The Basics of Boating

I was at a boating goods store with a couple of buddies of mine. We all have our own boats and we’re pretty experienced boaters if I do say so myself and one of my friends just got his so we were telling him, as a newcomer to the world of boating, what kinds of things he was going to need as a boater.

While we were at the store, each of us kept finding things that we needed for our own boats (my friends and I being in a boating store is dangerous; it’s like my wife being in a shoe store). I remembered that my boat needed some maintenance done on it so I decided to get some Mercury oil.

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Best of the Best

I can’t stand when people settle for less than the best! It’s always been a pet peeve of mine when people go for the cheaper, off-brand items that are clearly of lower quality than brand-name high quality products. I feel this way about everything; toaster pastries, toilet paper, and especially anything that I use on my car or my boat.

Seeking out the best outboard motor oil for your boat is something that I believe is genuinely important. People shouldn’t be settling for less than the best if they want something that lasts and is of excellent quality. If you’re not getting the best products, you might have a boat or car or something else that doesn’t work when you need it to, and when it comes to your car or your boat, this could become a matter of life and death.

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Out Early from the Concert

I went to a concert recently and I had a lot of fun there. It was an electronic concert, which was something that was new to me, and I think the doors opened around seven-thirty PM and I showed up around eight. I didn’t know most of the opening acts at all but the venue was large enough for my friends and I to have some drinks and chat while we waited for the headliner.

The headliner showed and was on for probably an hour and it was pretty awesome. By the time we left, it was only about ten-thirty PM, maybe on the cusp on eleven. I got home early enough to do an oil change on my boat with the Mercury outboard oil that I had, so that I’d be able to go out boating the next day like I had wanted to.

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Breaking In An Engine

Breaking in a new two cycle motor before you really take it out for a spin is very important and it’s something many people forget about. Some say that the first ten hours that you treat your motor will reflect how the boat runs for the entire time you have it. What’s important at first is to use some extra lubrication.

If you have a non oil injected engine, you should run two pints of two cycle outboard oil to every six gallons of gas. With an oil injected engine, you should instead run one pint to every six gallons. You should also make sure to limit your RPMs and make sure that you don’t get too close to max RPM within the first ten hours or so of running your boat.

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