Scott Marine Surveyor Blog

Three-Bladed Versus Four-Bladed Props

Three blades versus four? Stainless versus aluminum?

Just some of the questions to consider when choosing a new prop.

You may have noticed four-bladed props on boats at a marina or boat show and thought, "I wonder what that would do for my boat?" I often recommend a four-bladed prop to boat owners who enjoy tubing, water-skiing, and family outings. Four-bladed propellers have many benefits, including giving the boat more torque at the low end and in the mid-range, which is ideal for water-skiing and tubing. They also get the boat to plane quicker. That extra blade is pushing more water, making the boat get up and go. You may trade off a bit of efficiency due to increased drag, but you'll also get better bite for low-speed maneuvering as well.

Stainless Steel Versus Aluminum

Customers always ask about the differences between stainless-steel and aluminum propellers. Aluminum is a softer metal, so aluminum props have less ability to endure the pressure and demands of higher-horsepower, higher-torque motors. They break more easily, but they're relatively inexpensive and cost-effectively repairable. A stainless-steel prop lends itself to having a more customizable shape. If you look at the number of different stainless-steel props that are available, you'll see that they come in many different shapes and sizes. So if your boat can't turn up to its rated rpm, or you're not happy with another aspect of its performance, look into a different prop.

New Year. New beginnings. New start. New chapter. New Resolutions. This is what the first few days of a new year represents,at least on the surface.

January often is a chance to reflect and make some changes and many of us write out goals and resolutions. I’ve preferred for many years now to choose a word rather than make resolutions because resolutions don’t seem to work for me.

I don’t know who started the trend but choosing a “one word” has caught on like fire and it has given purpose and direction for those of us who have abandoned the resolution making.

My one word has become not just a theme for the year but also a pilgrimage.

It challenges my comfort zone and challenges me at the same time. I’ve made the decision to go with it because it won’t go away and when I pray it pops up over and over.

The word is DARE!

I have many new ventures ahead and am not sure all what or how my one word will hold up, but I am trusting that this is the word that will sustain my spirit.

As I dare…

to live purposefully.

to grow spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically

to equip and empower others.

to share vision and not fear change

to live in humility and appreciate what I have

to judge less and give more

to forgive and be fair

to love well

and that I would trust to dare to so much more.

There are hundreds of good luck rituals woven among New Year celebrations, also practiced in the name of exercising a little control over fate.

The Dutch, for whom the circle is a symbol of success, eat donuts.

Greeks bake special Vassilopitta cake with a coin inside, bestowing good luck in the coming year on whoever finds it in his or her slice.

Fireworks on New Year's Eve started in China millennia ago as a way to chase off evil spirits.

The Japanese hold New Year’s Bonenkai, or "forget-the-year parties," to bid farewell to the problems and concerns of the past year and prepare for a better new one

. Disagreements and misunderstandings between people are supposed to be resolved, and grudges set aside. In a New Year’s ritual for many cultures, houses are scrubbed to sweep out the bad vibes and make room for better ones.

Resolutions to give us the pretense of control over the future.

Everywhere, New Year's is a moment to consider our weaknesses and how we might reduce the vulnerabilities they pose—and to do something about the scary powerlessness that comes from thinking about the unsettling unknown of what lies ahead.

As common as these shared behaviors are across both history and culture, it’s fascinating to realize that the special ways that people note this unique passage of one day into the next are probably all manifestations of the human animal’s fundamental imperative for survival.

So, how do you reassure yourself against the scariest thing the future holds, the only sure thing that lies ahead, the inescapable reality that you will someday die? Pass the donuts, the Vassilopitta and the grapes, light the fireworks, and raise a glass to toast: "To survival!"

It’s the day after Christmas.

Generally, this day is a flood of emotions that can vary from one person to the next, however, I think there is one word that most likely describes all of us: exhausted!

Maybe your home is like mine – with all the extra food, all the packaging from the gifts, the used wrapping paper, and more.

And then heavens hope there may even be a pile of returns.

But, the day after Christmas doesn’t have to bring you stress – it actually can be a peaceful day if you allow it.

Take a deep breath

If there is one thing I know as an exhausted, sleep deprived, overloaded, overfull, and stressed out post holiday parent it is the need to start with a deep breath.

Most likely, you probably have not had a deep breath since last week sometime.

Look past the things you can’t get to right now. Look past the box of stuff waiting for your attention.

RELAX

'Twas the Night Before Christmas
(or A Visit from St. Nicholas)
by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
gave the lustre of midday to objects below,
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came,
and he whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer!
Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid!
On, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch!
To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away!
Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky
so up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

The tradition seems to have spread far and wide, but did you ever ask yourself where it actually started and what the reason for it was?

We searched around and found some interesting explanations.   Based from an article in Chocolate Girl

Cookies have been part of festive holiday rituals long before Christmas to mark significant occasions. The history of Christmas cookies can be traced back to recipes from Medieval Europe. During that time many new ingredients were introduced to the west such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruits. These ingredients were highly prized and families could only afford to incorporate them into baked goods during the most important holidays and that led to extensive baking during Christmas. By the 16th century Christmas cookies had become popular across Europe and families baked up cookies in various sizes and shapes related to Christmas. They were then shared with friends, family and neighbors. Gingerbread is the most famous Christmas cookie in Germany and it has evolved over the years into a cake like pastry. Its origin dates back to the crusades when soldiers brought spices back to Europe. Eventually it became associated with Christmas when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert included it with a variety of other German Christmas traditions.

In the 17th century German and Dutch settlers introduced cookie cutters and decorative molds to the USA. The availability of these utensils facilitated the increase in recipes in popular cookbooks. The cookie baking tradition has come a long way, but certain things never change. Our modern Christmas cookies still contain the traditional spices. It is the most wonderful time of the year and we are ready to bake the next batch.

There's no definitive history behind Christmas caroling. Where they originated, who wrote them and how they evolved is unclear. Caroling is an oral tradition, passed down from generation to generation.

Carols commemorating the nativity, or birth of Jesus Christ, were purportedly first written in Latin in the 4th and 5th centuries, but they didn't become associated with Christmas until the 13th century. Saint Francis of Assisi, the Roman Catholic saint of animals and the environment, is often credited with incorporating upbeat Latin hymns into Christmas services. The energetic, joyful carols were sung in sharp contrast to the somber Christmas music of the day. The concept of Christmas carols, and spreading them to the community to celebrate Christ's birth, is thought to have spread across Europe.

Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around 22nd December. The word Carol actually means dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.

Early Christians took over the pagan solstice celebrations for Christmas and gave people Christian songs to sing instead of pagan ones. In 129, a Roman Bishop said that a song called "Angel's Hymn" should be sung at a Christmas service in Rome. Another famous early Christmas Hymn was written in 760, by Comas of Jerusalem, for the Greek Orthodox Church. Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write 'Christmas carols'. However, not many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a language that the normal people couldn't understand. By the time of the Middles Ages (the 1200s), most people had lost interest in celebrating Christmas altogether.

This was changed by St. Francis of Assisi when, in 1223, he started his Nativity Plays in Italy. The people in the plays sang songs or 'canticles' that told the story during the plays. Sometimes, the choruses of these new carols were in Latin; but normally they were all in a language that the people watching the play could understand and join in! The new carols spread to France, Spain, Germany and other European countries.

The earliest carol, like this, was written in 1410. Sadly only a very small fragment of it still exists. The carol was about Mary and Jesus meeting different people in Bethlehem. Most Carols from this time and the Elizabethan period are untrue stories, very loosely based on the Christmas story, about the holy family and were seen as entertaining rather than religious songs. They were usually sung in homes rather than in churches! Traveling singers or Minstrels started singing these carols and the words were changed for the local people wherever they were traveling.