Steve's Marine Service Blog

A massive asteroid, the largest in a decade, will pass close to the Earth on April 19. There is no danger to Earth, but it is a reminder that asteroids pose a significant risk to human civilization

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Asteroid 2014 JO25 will pass by the Earth on April 19, at the comfortable distance of five times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. That's over four million miles beyond the Moon.

What makes this asteroid notable is its size and the fact it is coming closer than any other asteroid of similar size for the next 

What if this humble rock were to strike Earth?

Asteroid 2014 JO25 is sixty times larger than the meteor that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013. That asteroid sent over 1,000 people to the hospital, despite blowing up high in the atmosphere.

Should the asteroid hit Earth, it would impact the ground. The shockwave and impact would destroy even a large city. The dust and soot cast into the air by the cratering and subsequent fires would blanket the Earth, cooling the surface temperature and disrupting weather patterns.

Famine in the wake of such a disaster isn't just likely, it's inevitable. The economic shock would also disrupt the world causing financial disaster for billions of people.

By the time the world recovered, possibly years later, millions to billions of lives could be lost in the disaster.

NASA and other world agencies are working to deal with this problem before it happens. Telescopes around the world monitor the sky, looking for asteroids that cross Earth's orbit and potentially threaten us. Scientists think they've discovered most, but not all, of these threats. There's also a chance that a comet or asteroid from farther away could fall towards Earth.

The likelihood of such an event is extremely small, but it is also inevitable, given enough time. And when it does happen, it could destroy the planet. Therefore, a robust program to deal with any threats is prudent.

Should such a threat develop, engineers think they can redirect the asteroid out of harm's way, if given enough time. If there is no time, then humans may have to figure out a way to survive the impact and the difficult years that will surely follow.

WHAT’S IN A LOGO?

There are many logo’s we see every day, but do you know what they mean or where they were derived from? Here’s a quick look at five famous logos.

RCA's famous logo of an adorable dog named Nipper with his head in a phonograph can be traced back to the late 1890s. RCA's first corporate logo was taken from a painting titled "His Master's Voice" by Francis Barraud.

The story of Domino's is a tale right of a mainstream politician's book of campaign speeches. Tom Monaghan, who grew up in an orphanage, secured $900 to buy a tiny pizza place called DomiNick's in Michigan in 1960. Five years later, he bought two more locations. The previous owner refused Monaghan the right to use his name for the new restaurants, so a delivery driver suggested the name Domino's and the rest is pizza history. The three dots on the domino on the pizza chain's logo represent the three original Domino's locations.

The cluster of stars in the Subaru logo aren't just there to look sparkly: they're actually a group of stars in the Taurus constellation called Pleiades. In Japanese, this constellation is called Subaru, which means "unite."

Lacoste has cemented itself as the shirt worn with the collar up by every preppy dude who was kind of a jerk in an '80s movie, but before the infamous crocodile was a status symbol, it was simply a cute representation of a tennis player's nickname. In the 1920s, René Lacoste was a tennis super star who ditched his bulky attire for a cotton, short-sleeved shirt primarily worn by British polo players. His nickname in America was The Alligator, but because even back in the 1920s nobody knew the differences between alligators and crocodiles, when he returned to his native France, they called him The Crocodile.

At the dawn of the new millennium, Amazon unveiled the logo that they continue to use today. It may look like a smile, as in, "I'm happy I don't have to leave my house ever again to buy whatever I need!," but the curved line under the Amazon logo is actually an arrow that starts at the "a" and points to "z," meaning they sell everything from A-to-Z.

The Easter Bunny & the Tale of the Eggs

From the name to the bunny, it's all German. The name Easter was first appropriated by the Christian calendar. First it was the pagan festival Ostara, celebrated on the vernal equinox, around March 21 in the Northern hemisphere. Ostara was named for the pagan goddess of spring, Eostre. According to legend, she once saved a bird whose wings had frozen during the winter by turning it into a rabbit. Because the rabbit had once been a bird, it could lay eggs. And so it became the Easter Bunny.

The bunny as a symbol for Easter is first mentioned in writings in 16th century Germany. The first edible Easter bunnies, made of pastry and sugar, were also produced in Germany in the early 1800s. Around that time, children made nests of grass and settled them in their parents' spring gardens for the Easter Bunny to fill during the night with brightly decorated eggs.

Pennsylvania Dutch settlers brought the Easter bunny to America in the 1700s. Their children, who used their hats or bonnets to make their nests, believed that if they were well behaved, the "Oschter Haws" (literally Easter Hare) would fill their upturned headgear with colored eggs.

The Easter egg hunt remains as much a tradition in German towns and cities as it is on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C. Children race to find the Bunny's colorful eggs across the world every year.

Passover is a festival of freedom.

It commemorates the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt, and their transition from slavery to freedom. The main ritual of Passover is the seder, which occurs on the first two night (in Israel just the first night) of the holiday — a festive meal that involves the re-telling of the Exodus through stories and song and the consumption of ritual foods, including matzah and maror (bitter herbs)

What foods are eaten on Passover?

Matzah, or unleavened bread, is the main food of Passover. You can purchase it in numerous stores, or you it can be home made. But the holiday has many traditional, popular foods, from haroset (a mixture of fruit, nuts, wine, and cinnamon) to matzah ball soup — and the absence of leavening calls upon a cook to employ all of his/her culinary creativity.

The first Passover is on the evening of Monday, April 10, and the second Passover seder takes place on the evening of Tuesday, April 11.

When there's  a fire on board it gets bad quickly. Burn Tests reveal that in each fire, you'd have three or four minutes — to make a VHF radio mayday call, locate and use extinguishers, don life jackets, and prepare to abandon ship — before likely being forced overboard.

DSC

Having a working VHF with digital selective calling is critical. DSC messages provide coordinates, so anyone aboard can summon help and give rescuers your location by pressing the radio's red distress button. A waterproof handheld VHF with DSC is a smart idea as well, because in the event of a fire, an installed VHF will probably lose its power source quickly or be inaccessible.

Fire Drill

Do your guests know how to use the radio? The location of the fire extinguishers? Do they wear or keep life jackets close by? Do they know how to shut off the electrical system quickly? A five-minute guest briefing improves fire safety.

Water Drill

Beyond flotation and waterproof handheld VHFs, personal locator beacons, flares, and other signaling tools provide a lifeline from the water.

Fire Extinguishers

How many do you carry? Are they accessible in seconds? Are they rated ABC for all fires? Having several ABC tri-class extinguishers that go beyond the minimum U.S. Coast Guard requirements could save you and your boat.

Built-In Support

An engine-compartment fire-suppression system or, at minimum, an installed engine fire port into which you can discharge fire extinguishers can both contribute to the quick extinguishing of a fire, or at least buy you time in your fight against an engine-room fire.

PASS

Follow these four steps when using a fire extinguishers: Pull the safety pin. Aim the extinguisher at the base of the fire. Squeeze the handle. Sweep the hose from side to side while discharging.

Life Jackets

Many boaters bury them among the gear, then waste precious time locating them in an emergency. Regulations say that if jackets are not worn on board, they must be readily accessible.

Exit Route

Can you get out of the boat if the exit is blocked by fire? Carpet, headliner, cushions, curtains, and other flammables ignite when introduced to an open flame.

The Power Of Prevention

Are your electrical and fuel systems maintained to American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC.org) standards? Electrical faults are the No. 1 cause of boat fires. What's the condition of your fuel lines? If they're 10 years old or emit a gas smell from a rag rubbed down their length, replace them.

Refueling

How many minutes should you wait to start the engine after filling up at the fuel dock? Answer: At least four, with the blower on and windows and doors/hatches open for the entire time. End the four-minute period with a sniff test. 

Solar Battery Maintenance

BASED ON AN ARTICLE By Don Casey

A lot of underwater corrosion problems stem from leaving a boat plugged into shore power. There are solutions, but if you plug in at the dock just to keep your battery charged, the simplest thing is to unplug and charge your battery with solar power. Unplugging an unattended boat has safety benefits as well.

For a boat on a trailer, solar charging means that when life keeps you off the water for several weekends running, your next outing won't be spoiled by a dead battery. Solar charging works equally well on a mooring or even in a storage rack as long as you can expose the panel to direct sunlight.

The size solar panel you need depends on the size of the battery bank you are maintaining. In sunny climates, about 3.5 watts of solar power will maintain a 100-amp-hour battery. If you live where it is overcast half the time, you may need twice the wattage, i.e. 7 watts per 100 amp-hours of battery capacity. Extra charging capacity is simply wasted, so don't buy a bigger panel than you need. A regulator is not required as long as you don't exceed around 15 watts of solar power for every 100 amp-hours of battery capacity, but you must include a fuse in the positive side of the circuit installed as close to the battery as possible.

Ketcham’s Creek on Narrasketuk River is the waterfront home of Steve’s Marine.

Steve’s Marine is centrally located on water location in scenic Amityville, Long Island, New York. 

We are convenient to get to by both land and water.

Our 10,000 square foot complex accommodates over 100 boats on land for winter storage and 40 slips for dockage in the summer.

Everything you need for boating is located here at Steve’s Marine including:

• A Factory Trained Service department with Mechanics employed full time
• A nearby Park Fishing Station (Bait, Fuel, Ice, Food and Beverages, and Tackle Store with all you fishing needs)
• A stocked Parts Department with integrated warehouse to supply you with any parts you need for repair, or just toys to enhance your boating experience.
• Walking distance to shopping, restaurants, and public transportation.

Dockage

Steve ‘s Marine slips are all floating finger docks to keep your boat protected and to allow easy access on and off your boat. All of the slips have access to water and electric and the larger slips have 30-amp service.

The floating docks are maintained every winter to keep them safe and reliable for you and your family. Our facilities also offer a picnic areas and bathrooms.

Our location is a few quick minutes from the Great South Bay. Easily get to the state channel, Captree, Fire Island, Jones Beach, and Long Island’s nightlife.

Join the friendly atmosphere and  see what Steve’s Marine has to offer.

Avoid Spills

So you have the right fuel, you know how much you need, and you put the nozzle in the correct deck fill. Now you can sit back and relax, right? Not quite. Most gas docks don't have the convenient hands-free clip on the nozzle allowing you to pump mindlessly, and for good reason: They often don't click off in time. The venturi mechanism in a roadside gas pump works in closed fuel systems, as in a car. When fuel enters the tank, air is forced out at its opening as it's displaced by the fuel.

In boats, you have a vented fuel system. The vent allows air to escape so the automatic shutoff doesn't work as you'd expect. Take your time and pay attention, and while you're at it, keep a fuel-absorbent absorbent cloth with you to hold around the deck fill and vent in case any fuel burps out. Ask for one if you don't have one.

Follow basic fueling safety practices while fueling. Be sure all smoking materials are extinguished, and ask that all passengers move onto the dock. This is a good time to use the shoreside restrooms one last time or pick up some more bait from the marina store. With gasoline engines, be sure to run the blower for five minutes before starting the engine. 

— Published: BoatUS December 2016