Mickey

There is no "always on both batteries" lug on a manual switch. There are, however, two "always hot" terminals - one where each battery is connected. If you're going to put it on a switch, pick a battery and attach it to that bolt with a nicely crimped ring over the bolt behind a washer. I'd install a breaker appropriate to the pump as close as possible to the switch. One night in the water could sink it - be safe!

That's a bimini deck hinge and a bimini eye end (external). You can find them at your neighborhood marine store. Taylor Marine makes good quality stuff like this in composite (plastic) or metal (aluminum/stainless). Here's their catalog: http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/catalog/ Mickey

I owned a J-24 for 10 years with a lead acid battery in a battery box and never had a problem with a leak, even with the rail buried pointed upwind in a race. The sealed lead $100 batteries don't leak unless they're overcharged or discharge at a rate that causes pressure inside the battery. I'm sure that, in the weather that I have found myself in my powerboat, I have shaken my batteries very hard with no leaks. They're strapped down in a plastic tray with no apparent leakage. Power or sail, active motoring activity shakes batteries and puts them into unusual attitudes. Enjoy whatever you purchase. $100 buys a lot of beer or a few nice bottles of wine...

AGM is more than twice the price of a standard deep discharge battery. Make sure you need the power - do you discharge your standard battery during normal use? Otherwise, save your $$$ and buy a standard, good quality deep discharge battery. It will last nearly as long with proper maintenance. Look for them on sale at your local BassPro for $90 or so. Mickey

If you find out that it is all oil, let us know - we have an answer to the energy crisis!

Two minutes! Some folks have too much time on their hands...

Make sure you're measuring the oil with the engine in the same state each time - I'd suggest vertical for 30 minutes after shutdown - not tilted. I have F225s and have never seen this problem. Adulterated oil could be a lubrication issue - if, for example, you have a water jacket leak and seawater is raising the level or gasoline could cause a oil film breakdown on a friction surface, like, say, a main bearing. I'd do this: Drain the oil into a non-opaque container - if you can find something glass that will hold 6.x quarts, more the better. Replace the oil filter and cut the old one open (yes, it is a mess) and look in the pleats for anything that doesn't look like filter or oil. Dispose of the mess responsibly, please! Allow it to sit 24 hours. Look for separation at the bottom or at the top. Bottom, likely water, top, likely gas. Whether or not you see anything, mix it thoroughly and send a sample out for analysis. It may be the best $30 you'll spend. It is not normal for oil levels to go up, only down. Engines don't "make oil" and if your oil volume increases it is coming from somewhere. Note - I am not a Yamaha mechanic, there may be a better explanation, but as an owner with 400+ hours on a pair and 30+ years boating, this would be a serious concern to me. Mickey

If his dad wasn't famous, this wouldn't be newsworthy. Imagine living in the shadow, trying to live up to expectations when your father is the only person in history to have founded three different Fortune 500 companies. I've met this fellow - he was stone sober and a likable guy. I didn't know who he was and he introduced himself by first name. But, by nature, substance abusers are social people. I've done some stupid things, but have never been stupid enough to actually get caught at any of them. You've got to have some compassion for someone who has the spotlight on him all the time. This is a psychological and medical problem. Lock him up, maybe, but in a place that will actually put him through a good program. Mickey

My behavior has improved. A few episodes of "crap, somethings broken!" then looking back to see the ladder in the water works wonders to remind you to look next time. Please, no more signs. Maybe you can use the "transom door must be closed when operating engines sign" as a substitute. Hypnosis might help.

Hey, The government doesn't really build anything. They hire the least cost contractor that has the ability to perform. The Honeywell AGT1500 engine that powers the Abrams tank weighs about 5x as much as a comparable shaft horsepower aircraft engine. It weighs 2,500 pounds and develops 1,500 shp. It will also run on almost any combustible fuel - jet, kerosene, gasoline, diesel - found in the course of battle. It would probably run on a steady diet of fuel additive, in a pinch. In elementary school, sometime in the '60s, I read that by 1980, all of us would be riding around in vehicles with shaft turbine engines that would go 200mph. If we didn't realize that fuel was an exhaustable (ahem) resource, we'd probably all be doing that, getting 3mpg.

I have a friend in California who is a PhD chemist for a major oil company. He says that Techron is a patented formula that is recognized as the best in the industry and that Chevron has a major field testing effort to randomly test field outlets to make sure their products are genuine. He cited BP as one a purchaser of Techron and that it ends up in some formulation in some or all of BP's fuel. I can see where emulsifiers would help with alcohol seperation and perhaps with the resulting water absobtion. I know from my rudimentary (major university) chemistry classes that alcohol absorbs water and can see where that would be a problem. Many years ago, I burned some Marvel Mystery Oil in a gas chromatograph and the phosphorous line was off the charts. I like it because it smells great. Something that smells that good can't be bad for your engine. A few years back, it was all the rage to put PTFE (Teflon) in your crankcase. I guess that craze has died out. As with many technical products, fuel additives seem to be about 90% marketing and 10% substance. Maybe I'll go get a couple of chemical drums and mix up some of Mickey's Magical Motor Lotion. With a full page ad in one of the boating magazines and a contract with West Marine, it's a sure thing! Watch for the mushroom cloud! Mickey

We live Not So Far Away from you, north of the boat ramp on 13th Street. Many of our neighbors are gone, as will I be soon. It's the Muggy Season... 90+ degrees F and 90+ humidity most days. Time to go on a vacation somewhere cooler, somewhere with no humidity. I'm going to Northern California. My 78 year old mother has never been, so she's meeting me to attend her younger brother's 70th birthday party, as a surprise. A couple of days with Mom and Uncle, and it's off to our tour of wine country and north. Lazy is the watchword this time of year in South Florida. The ocean is lazy, flat and hot unless there's a tropical wave or worse. I'm lazy, too, don't even want to think about getting the dive gear together to find a couple of lobsters... just sitting around, reading reelboating, frittering the time away inside, in the air conditioned space of the house. Stay cool. Mickey

Great response. This corresponds to what I've read over the years. Here's a great article on gasoline formulation: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq/ From someone who actually makes a living from fuel additives, posted at http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Miscellaneous/FuelAdditives.htm:

May I ask... Is there a specific technical reason you're using Startron? What is the goal of this treatment? Is it something you use a lot or is this a One Time Thing? What other products have you tried or considered? I'm not a market researcher, just curious as to how these products get adopted. As was posted earlier, most of these products have been renounced as "snake oil" particularly in the aviation and performance car communities. But this seems like an enzyme activated biocide. Do you have critters living in your fuel? Mickey

No, we're not going to spill Texaco products all over a plastic sheet and have a party, but I'd really like to know if ANYONE has ANY scientific, empirically derived data about any of the fuel additives, like, for example: Yamalube Ring Free StaBil Sea Foam (?) Marvel Mystery Oil Techron Valvetec They all seem to be some sort of solvent from the look and smell. Does anyone know: Basic chemical premise of value? For example, "raises combustion chamber temperature by providing more volatile combustion products" or "detergent package so aggressive and caustic that the EPA won't let us put it in at the pump", "smells like Grandpa's haircut" or "vegan mineral oil product - you can drink it and it's Kosher for Passover" (Warning - do not drink any of these substances. ^ That is an attempt at humor.) You get the idea. Ingredients: Maybe ether, urea, alcohol, etc. Be specific if you know! Guess if you don't! Evaluations: (A million mechanics worked on a million motors, half of them used Marvel Mystery Oil and one of them wrote the Star Spangled Banner!) You know, quantitative stuff. What's in gasoline by brand? We know that all gasoline has additives. What you may not know is that, in some cases, many brands of gasoline are made in exactly the same refinery and an "additive package" of detergents, stabilizers, and yes, ethanol, are added later. What's in YOUR gas? Why do people prefer one brand over another? Why is it necessary for us all to become "gas tank chemists" when there are very smart petroleum engineers doing all this work for us? What do you have to say? (Waiting for the first story like "my mechanic said that he'd never seen a cleaner engine than when he took mine apart." That doesn't count if your engine was BROKEN! A clean broken engine is still broken!)