Tuesday February17日 2026年

Making Oil and Pitch

Today was the perfect day to do maintenance on Mayuki.  I’ve been waiting for the rain to stop but after getting sunburnt all day, I wish it rained again.

I have 2 motors so everything is double the price.   My friend always told me that B.O.A.T means “bust out another thousand.”  yeah, here goes another thousand dollars.

One thing I’ve never done before was to change the oil with the boat in the water.  I didn’t even know it was possible until now.  I’m going to change everything else too so I don’t have to pull her out of the water.  I’m going to be the monkey mechanic swinging from the back of Mayuki.

Yamaha outboard motors are the best in the world.  BUT, if you don’t use it often, it starts to “make oil.”  that means gas starts to slowly leak into the oil and the oil level gets high.  It’s my fault for not using it so much.  I was wondering why my oil level was getting higher and higher.  So I pumped all the oil out, changed the filters, added new oil, and now the level is normal.

Each motor takes 4 quarts of oil and I pumped 5 quarts out.  That meant 1 quart of gas was mixed into the oil.  That’s not good at all.  But according to Yamaha, that’s normal if you let your boat sit for long periods of time or don’t use it at full throttle.  They say to put it in full throttle for 50 minutes periods.  If I did that, I’d be on Molokai within an hour.  Maybe I’ll try that next.

Now I’m working on finding the perfect propeller.  The “pitch” is very important so once I find that magic pitch, I’ll be going a lot faster!  Another day of maintenance and Mayuki will be in top shape again!

February 16, 2026 Hawaii Surf Report

Head snap.

Good morning 5am.
North shore shoulder high and windy.
Ala Moana knee high and high tide morning.
Diamond Head waist high and bumpy.
Trade winds at 25mph.
Sun, clouds, and showers.
Going to the sea.
Have a wonderful day!

Natural Beauty

The best view…