NG 6REC IDEAS Boat Maintenance Charts A Course To Fuel Savings (NAPSA)—To millions of Amer- icans, their boat is the perfect weekend or vacation getaway, whetherit involves fishing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, touring or just going for a swim. However, rising fuel prices are prompting many boat owners to find ways to keep fuel consumption manageable. The best way may be to keep your outboard operating at peak performance by paying attention to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule. Some of today’s outboards are so dependable that it’s easy to inadvertently overlook scheduled maintenance. However, failing to maintain any outboard can increase the cost of operation. Oneof the first things to suffer is fuel consumption. Allowed to go to extremes, failure to maintain your engine will lead to costly repairs. Two components that can directly affect fuel consumption are also among the easiest to service. Modern fuel injectors require a supply of clean fuel so they can precisely atomize the mixture of gasoline and air, while spark plugs ignite the mixture in a controlled manner so the maximum amount of poweris produced from each piston stroke. Just one fouled injector resulting from a dirty fuel filter or a spark plug that is no longer producing a properly shaped spark so it fails to ignite the entire charge will result in incomplete combustion, wasted fuel and increased operatingcosts. All it takes to prevent this from happening is to replace the fuel filter and spark plugs at recommended intervals with replacement parts that meet the original equipmentspecifications. When a boat is not properly maintained, one of the first things to suffer is fuel efficiency. Outboards are cooled by pulling water from their operating environment through an impellerdriven pump. The impeller should be checked at recommendedintervals and replaced as needed to prevent increased operating tem- peratures, which can rob the engine of optimum performance and cost you lost miles per gallon. Changing lower unit and crank- case lubricants at specified intervals will help your engine deliver the highest mileage. Maintenance is important not just for the health of your outboard, but also for getting the most boating pleasure out of every gallon of fuel, and a well-maintained engine runs cleaner, an important consideration for the environment. For more information, visit yamaha-motor.com and down- load a free copy of “Maintenance Matters.” And always be sure to operate your boat safely and efficiently.
