Engine Recall?

Take our annual quiz to see just how closely you’ve been paying attention to this column.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve covered a lot of ground in this space, everything from the surface-piercing Arneson Drive to helping you decide how many outboards should power your next boat. Hopefully most of the columns were relevant and interesting to you, and you picked up some information in each one.

It’s time once again to test your Power & Propulsion recall by taking our annual quiz. Here are 10 questions derived from this past year’s columns. You’ll find the correct answers at the end.

1. The best way to stop a vibrating object such as a water pump from transmitting vibration to other objects is by:

A. Isolating the vibrating object in a soundproof enclosure
B. Moving the vibrating object to another compartment
C. Isolating the vibrating object by mounting it on a flexible material such as rubber hose
D. Removing the object from your boat

2. The reason the Arneson Drive is more efficient than other drive systems is:

A. It can use larger propellers
B. It creates less hydrodynamic drag
C. It’s made of aluminum and therefore weighs less
D. Its propellers are farther apart

3. Which of the following is not a valid reason to consider an outboard for your next boat:

A. Outboards weigh less per unit of horsepower produced
B. The outboard’s combustion process is more efficient than that of other engines
C. Because they’re mounted abaft the transom, less of the sound that outboards produce is transmitted into the boat
D. Outboards are easier to work on and replace

4. The relationship between horsepower and speed is:

A. Impossible to quantify
B. Complicated
C. Direct: A given amount of horsepower will produce a given increase in speed
D. Geometric: The faster you go, the more horsepower is required to produce a given increase in speed

5. Which of the following advanced technologies commonly found in automobiles is also found in Volvo Penta’s new gasoline engines?

A. Turbocharging
B. Fuel cells
C. Direct injection
D. The Fish Carburetor

6. If you do only one thing to make sure your seacocks remain in good working order, it should be:

A. Open and close each of them a few times throughout the year
B. Spray their exterior with WD-40
C. Replace bronze ones with composite ones
D. Strike them repeatedly with a large object to dislodge corrosion

7. Which of the following should you not consider in deciding how many outboards to have on your next boat?

A. Cost
B. Mechanical complexity
C. Propulsive efficiency
D. Warranty

8. Mercury introduced new gasoline inboard and stern drive engines this year. What makes them unique?

A. Mercury manufactures all of them from scratch
B. Each engine is available in your choice of three colors
C. They’re the only gasoline engines that meet Tier 3 standards
D. All the engines can run on either gasoline or vegetable oil

9. On a typical diesel engine spec sheet, the propeller curve:

A. Is the same as the power curve
B. Tells you how fast a specific propeller will drive your boat
C. Is meaningless
D. Is a theoretical construct designed to approximate how an engine will perform when connected to a propeller instead of a dynamometer

10. Which of the following is not a good reason to replace your engine room’s fluorescent lights with LEDs?

A. LEDs are cheaper
B. LEDs use less electricity and produce less heat
C. LEDs are brighter
D. LEDs last as much as four times as long as fluorescents

Answers: 1. C, 2. B, 3. B, 4. D, 5. C, 6. A, 7. D, 8. A, 9. D, 10. A

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.