Category Archives: Maintenance & Tips

A few friendly tips on reading nautical charts

Posted by on December 5, 2011 No comments

Boating navigation is more about attention to detail than anything else.  Sure, it requires a certain amount of understanding and a good deal of education on the hows and whats, but when it comes down to it, even the most knowledgeable chart reader can overlook the most minor of details.  For those of us not tuned to the chart reading channel, one look at a nautical chart could inspire that sinking feeling of confusion mixed in with discourage.  That is why, One Stop Motors wants to help with the basics to reading a nautical chart.  After this, you’ll be a regular conquistador, comfortably gliding the glistening waters of your local waterway.

The first thing one should do when looking over a nautical chart is to not panic.  It is daunting, the way the map is covered in grid lines and more numbers than a multiplication table.  The purpose of all these numbers is to show depth.  If the number is on land, then that is most likely the height of the land mass.  For water, it is the depth from the surface to the bottom.  This is the most important thing to know as the depth of the water might be too shallow for larger boats.  If you have one, you won’t be powering through a small, shallow channel because if you’re boat hits the bottom of the waterway, you are not going to like what happens next (think Titanic).  You will notice how waters closer to shore have smaller numbers and the further out the deeper it gets.

Most charts will have some sort of topographic scale for identifying depth or rather the drop offs in depth.  When a number goes from 50 to 80 all the sudden, you’ll see a line somewhere between where the bottom tappers down.  These lines are generally dotted or dashed and unlike the latitude or longitude lines that run strait, they will run in wavy stretches.  This will be how you can identify sandbars and serious depth differentials.  Again, if you’re bringing a big boat into the shore, you’ll need to know if you are about to hit a much shallower area and if that deepness is safe for your hull.

When it comes to detail, nautical charts work well in displaying any obstacles that may be in the way of your course.  For example, if you’re travelling through a channel or a river and a bridge is up ahead, a nautical chart will have the bridge displayed with it’s height and length.  Now you’ll know if it is feasible to cross under it or if you need to find a new course.  Generally, nautical charts help in identifying where you are on your present course.  If you see a small island just off the coast and match that with your chart, you’ll have a good idea of your own location.

Keeping your charts up to date will allow you to account for any sort of recent activity or additions.  Using a chart, however, has become somewhat of a dead art since the evolution of navigational technology.  Now, with a good navigational system, the leg work in planning a course is calculated for you.  Plug and play as they say.  Still, having a chart on-board is essential in the event of a navigation malfunction.  The last thing you want is to be stranded off coast with a dead navi system and no nautical chart.  However unlikely this is, it can happen.  Hence the lesson.

Tyler Baker; OSM Writer

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Maintenance & Tips : Automotive Aerodynamics for Dummies

Posted by on November 1, 2011 No comments
A car’s design is the culmination of a spread of implied factors, studied physics and mathematical equations.  Everything from the weight of the engine to the brightness of the headlights comes into play during the conceptual stages of car design.  Today more than ever, a car’s success relies on it’s design.  With the price of gas climbing and the pockets of consumers shallowing out, the desire for a more fuel efficient vehicle has become the prime infatuation for most car shoppers.  Understanding how something like aerodynamics plays into the efficiency of a car’s fuel economy can be helpful to a buyer.

Automotive aerodynamics is the study of the causes and changes of motion in cars.  Broken down to its base, it is the study of how effective a car is against wind and road conditions.  Formula One cars are extremely aerodynamic, this apparent in the smooth curvature of the car body and ability for wind to push through or around it.  An SUV or the ever brawny Hummer are examples of vehicles with poor aerodynamics.  They have a fat frontal area and are chiseled in a way that slams into wind instead of allowing wind to slide past.

Determining aerodynamics for a car is done using computerized models and wind tunnel tests.  What these tests evaluate is how wind bends or doesn’t bend around a car in motion.  The more it does, the better the aerodynamics and by extension, the better the fuel economy.  If a car or truck has to push against and fight wind, it will draw more power to go the same speed.  This is also why drafting in NASCAR is so necessary.  When cars are close enough bumpered up together, the lead car will break the wind and the cars behind it will slip into that open pocket of already flowing wind.  The faster the speed, the more drafting benefits the participants, because the wake of air created by and trailing the lead car is traveling at the same velocity.  Everything behind the lead uses less energy, which in-turn boosts the speed of the lead.

It doesn’t take a physics genius to understand the underline fact about aerodynamics in automobiles.  More aerodynamic means less energy, means more miles per gallon.  This of course means less money at the pump.  As simple as it sounds, aerodynamics is far more complex when you step into it.  For a car shopper, however, all you need to know is aerodynamics is good.  Now you know and like the great philosophers of the 1980′s cartoon, G.I. Joe, often hypothesized, knowing is half the battle.

Tyler Baker; OSM Writer

Visit us at www.OneStopMotors.com!

Maintenance & Tips : Nautical Terminology 101

Posted by on October 27, 2011 No comments

So you want to be a shrimp boat captain like Forest Gump, but you don’t know the first thing about life at sea?  A small technicality like that shouldn’t stop you from following your dream.  While others may question the practicality of your ambition, OSM would never dare trample on the pursuits of the heart.  That said, we’ve compiled a list of the most common and crucial nautical terms to set you sailing after your dream the right way.

The first thing any sea-faring citizen will tell you is how to identify the different areas of a boat deck.  Where the whole rest of the world recognizes direction as front, back, left, right, sailors and boat enthusiasts have gone to great lengths to customize the art of boating.   Left is no longer left on a boat; it’s port.  The right side is called starboard, the front is the bow and stern is the back of a boat.  If you hear words like “hull” or “gunwale” these are specific parts of a boat.  The body of the boat is called the hull while the upper edge of a boat’s side (surrounding lip) is the gunwale.  The cross section of the stern or rather the step that leads into the boat is called a transom.  Ever notice those metal tees that screw in all around the gunwale and usually have a rope knotted around them?  Those are cleats.

The width of the boat is called the beam while the length is still the same.  The bilge or the lowest point of the inside hull is located at the center of the bottom of the boat.  The lateral area under the hull is the keel of a boat.  Think of it more like the belly of the boating beast.  If you measure from the bottom of the keel to the waterline that also has a term; draft.  Draft represents the minimum depth in which a boat can float.  That space from the waterline up to the top of the gunwale is called the freeboard.  There are many more slang words for the sea, but lets shift over to some important terms that may save your life one day.

If you are planning to go on a week long excursion to find the best shrimping spot in the ocean, you will need a healthy stock of equipment and supplies.  One of the main things you will need is a float plan.  A float plan is a detailed itinerary of your expected journey.  It highlights where you plan to  travel, where you will make port and what your vessel looks like among other things.  You give a float plan to a trusted associate who is going to remain on shore, so if the worst happens and you disappear, the float plan will allow authorities to follow after you like a treasure map.

Maritime lingo doesn’t stop there, as there is a dictionary of terms that describe everything installed and instilled within a boat.  At least from here, you have a general understanding of what a boater is talking about when they say, “Check the cleats on the starboard side”.  The rest of the language will come as you count hours on-board a boat and you learn the ins and outs of boating.  This guide should hold you over until that day.

Tyler Baker; OSM Writer

Visit us at OneStopMotors.com!

Maintenance & Tips : Why you should wash your car

Posted by on October 26, 2011 No comments

One of the biggest misconceptions about owning an automotive is that washing your car is a personal preference.  At a glance, it is absolutely up to the individual when, how and even if they ever want to clean the outside of their car, however failure to keep up with the dirty and grime that grinds into the surface can lead to one serious car casualty; rust.  Driving is a dirty game and roads are filled with contaminants that kick up from treading tires and cling to the surface of your car.  Washing these contaminants off will preserve the integrity of the paint on your car and prevent your car from the rusting touch of father time.

Aside from galvanized and stainless steel, most all metals rust.  The process of rusting is called oxidization and happens due to the evolution of time and oxygen on the surface of iron based metals and alloys.  Other metals go through a similar corrosion, but it is not considered rust.  Unlucky for cars, they are made from a combined iron alloy and thus are susceptible to the rusting process.  Eventually, all things iron will disintegrate under the weight of the rusting process.  For car owners, rust is a curse.  To the seller, rust is an instant discount on their asking price because it tells a buyer that the vehicle has already begun to decompose and therefore may not have been properly cared for.

The paint on your car is coated with a polymer that will first and foremost protect the paint, but acts as a guard against oxygen on the base surface of your car’s body.  As you drive, you accumulate dust and dirt particles that wear down this polymer layer.  Even when your car is parked in your driveway it is exposed to such things as tree sap, bird droppings and rain water.  Most people don’t realize that rain water is made from a combination of dirt particles and evaporated water.  It carries an acidic characteristic that can embed itself into the paint.  While it may not be significantly noticeable, it is slowly but surely eating away at that protective polymer.  The acidic level in bird droppings is much higher and if it is not washed off, it could end up taking the paint off that particular spot entirely.

All of this is wiped away when you wash your vehicle with automotive specific soap.  Other soaps like dish soap are a bad choice for washing your vehicle.  They clean everything off a given surface.  While this is fine for porcelain plates, if dish soap is used frequently to wash the exterior of a car, it will erase the polymer coating entirely.  Another thing to consider is the brushes and towels you use to scrub and dry the surface.  Soft, car specific brushes should be used to wash a car and high quality microfiber towels or shammy clothes to dry it.  Regular towels and brushes will scratch the paint subtly.  A good way to prevent and protect your paint is to gently wax after you wash.  It adds a layer of wax to the outside that may not leave a polished sheen, but will prevent road contaminants from clinging to your car.

You can see there is much more at stake then a coat of dust when it comes to the exterior of your vehicle.  They say the window of the soul is the face and the same can be said about a car and it’s owner.  Those who have little regard or care for their car will show in the form of rust, dust, dirt and grime.  Conversely, those anal-retentive, obsessive operators will have a polish on their ride that makes the sun squint.  The proof, as it seems, is in the paint.

Tyler Baker; OSM Writer

Maintenance & Tips : Why change your oil?

Posted by on October 26, 2011 No comments

Have you ever heard the term, “your car is a well oiled machine?”  If you’re a red and blue blooded American, the odds are you have.  What you may not have realized is that this statement is more of a warning than a common phrase.  Your vehicle is a well oiled machine, but if this oil is not drained and transplanted on a regular basis, you’re vehicle and your wallet will suffer.

Any auto owner understands that a vehicle needs new motor oil introduced into the engine periodically in order for it to run properly, but most are unaware of the why and how of this process.  First, let’s discuss why you need to change your oil.  Motor oil acts as a lubricant to the ever turning process of an engine.  It seeps between pistons as they cycle and press against the working cogs the churns them and reduce the friction caused from the constant metal on metal connection.  This creates a great deal of friction, which becomes heat, which can wear down the working pieces of your engine.  Oil removes most of the energy and heat created by the friction, thus preserving the amount of wear your engine will receive.

Not changing your oil will not kill your engine…at first.  Professional mechanics and motor oil companies suggest that you change conventional oil in engines every three thousand miles or three to six months.  This is a generality that encompasses any style of driving (driving many or few miles a year).  For synthetic oil, which is a higher quality than standard oil, it is suggested every 10,000 to 15,000 miles or every six to eight months.  The reason you change oil is because over time and multiple recycling of the oil in your engine, the oil becomes dirty and less effective.  It’s not going to ruin the engine if you keep the oil in there an extra thousand miles, but the friction the oil is designed to prevent will increase as dirt accumulates in the oil and the oil additives to prevent rust and clean your engine wear off.  Not changing your oil for a long stretch past the recommended maintenance time will eventually cause your engine to seize up and breakdown.

When you decide it is time to change your oil, you have two choices.  One, take it to a mechanic to have it changed or do it yourself (see: How to Change Oil).  Either choice is fine and either choice will lead to another choice.  Synthetic or regular oil.  Synthetic should be used in vehicles that are driven a lot or are newer.  It is manufactured in a way that makes it lighter, sleeker and more effective than standard oil.  It also helps keep your engine cleaner than regular and will increase your fuel efficiency.  If you’re driving a newer vehicle, switching to synthetic is a good way to keep that engine running pristine and clean and ultimately keep your engine as new as possible.  If you’re worried about mixing regular with synthetic, don’t be.  Synthetic has come a long way over the last few decades and now interacts with regular oil much better than in the past.  It’s not recommended, as it will hinder the job of synthetic, but any new oil is better than old, dirty oil.

Tyler Baker; OSM Writer