by Gabrielle DeSantis

Proper boat maintenance requires time, patience, and money. As with a car, owners must check the oil. They also need to monitor the battery and electric systems, assess the steering movement, and examine the hull and propeller for damage. Plus, they should mitigate the risk of damage caused by aquatic species.

One particularly destructive species, the zebra mussel, can cause extensive hull and motor damage if boat owners don’t take proper precautions and perform the appropriate maintenance.

What are zebra mussels?

Zebra mussels are a freshwater species of mollusk that originated in Russia and Ukraine. They’re so named because their shells often feature dark zigzags. These shelled creatures can range in size from a quarter-inch to as large as two inches. Zebra mussels can live up to five years, and females can produce as many as a million eggs a year. That means a small infestation can grow rapidly. Since the 1980s, zebra mussels have been found in states such as Texas, California, and Colorado, the Great Lakes region, and other parts of Europe.

Zebra mussels are filter-feeding organisms. They feed by opening their shells and taking in water, from which they filter out nutrients. Through this process, the mollusks can also remove pollution from the water, which can increase water clarity and sunlight. As a result, submerged aquatic plants often grow faster, increasing the food supply for bottom feeders. However, the overgrowth of these plants can cause water-quality issues.

The zebra mussel counts dozens of bird and fish species as its natural enemies, although most don’t reside in North America. Two notable predators are crayfish and smallmouth bass, which consume significant numbers of zebra mussels daily.

How do zebra mussels damage boats?

Zebra mussels attach themselves to layers or substrates, including aluminum, fiberglass, steel, and wood. Their microscopic larva — veligers — prefer hard substrates, such as a boat’s surface). Often, they find their way into a boat engine’s passages and attach themselves where they may remain as they grow.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, growing zebra mussel colonies can be found on a boat’s anchor, hull, trailers, chains, and other equipment. They can also be found in an engine’s cooling system, internal passages, hoses, and other passageways, where they can compromise a boat’s mechanical functions. Because of the mollusks’ initial microscopic size, boat owners often are unaware of the unwanted passengers until they overheat a motor or compromise water pumping capabilities.

Before taking a boat into a new body of freshwater, boat owners should check to see whether water authorities have determined a high concentration of zebra mussels. If so, the best strategy to prevent related damage is avoidance. However, there are ways to protect a boat from these pesky bivalves.

How you can protect your boat from these destructive creatures

To make the most of boat ownership and avoid expensive repairs, boat owners should always start with visual inspections because adult zebra mussels are visible to the naked eye. Owners should also clean their boats with fresh water, ensuring they thoroughly cleanse all open passages and crevices in which adult and juvenile mussels might reside. These mollusks can survive outside of water only for about a week, so letting a boat dry for that period can rid it of any remaining intruders.

Boat owners can also run their bats at slow speeds to kill colonies, as the rising temperatures in the engine cooling system prove intolerable to zebra mussels. Motor flushers (or motor muffs) can also be helpful because they flush away foreign particles, including mussels, from engine components. And applying anti-fouling paints to the hull and engine cooling system can prevent mussels from latching on.

Finally, store the boat on a lift when not in use. A moored boat should have its motor raised so that zebra mussels can’t find their way into the intake grate. Further, all water should be discharged after an outing because the water might contain mussels or veligers. And any aquatic plants or debris should be removed from all components for the same reason. 

RELATED: 5 Things You Need for Your Dock to Make Your Boat Last

The post This Invasive Mollusk Could Destroy Your Boat’s Engine appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

By now, some cars have at least one advanced car safety feature that uses some form of vehicle autonomy. Most common are Level 2 autonomy features, such as Tesla’s Autopilot and Hyundai’s Highway Driving Assist. Although cars cannot completely drive themselves yet, they can take over for humans in certain situations.

However, the lack of regulation regarding these driving monitoring features has prompted some government officials to question their safety. Politicians have penned several bills to force the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to test these features. In fact, the SAFE Act of 2020 addresses the most severe autonomy safety concerns, Automotive News reports.

What is the SAFE Act of 2020?

The SAFE (Stay Aware for Everyone) Act of 2020 would force the NHTSA to perform extensive research about Level 2 autonomous features. The SAFE Act insists there should be no evidence of distracted driving when drivers are using these features. Additionally, there should be no cause to believe that the driver has become dependent on these features.

Obviously, the biggest concern surrounding vehicle autonomy software is that it can cause distracted driving. Drivers are already inclined to look away from the road thanks to smartphones, flashy infotainment controls, and rowdy passengers. Drivers who are already easily distracted might become too reliant on vehicle automation.

Some drivers hear the word “autopilot” and mistakenly believe the vehicle can drive itself. Though the software requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel, it can’t force the driver to pay attention. This is evident in the dozens of crashes that have occurred with self-driving software engaged.

Drivers are apparently so trusting of the software that they don’t try to intervene during collisions. They might believe these features are thoroughly tested, as the NHTSA conducts crash tests. This is definitely not the case, despite pressure from the National Transportation Safety Board.

“In 2020, the NTSB recommended the use of driver monitoring systems in vehicles with Automation Level 2 technology as a means of promoting driver engagement,” Automotive News reports, “but such systems are not presently mandated in a uniform way.”

If the SAFE Act is approved, all automakers in the United States would be expected to comply with the bill after two years.

More bills are on the way to regulate how car companies monitor your driving

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey called attention to other new automotive safety bills in a recent press release. The PARTS (Promoting Auto Recalls Toward Safety) Act calls for faster recall reporting. The Department of Transportation would directly notify drivers of any recalls related to their vehicles. It would also assign automakers a scoring report detailing the number of vehicles fixed and any issues afterward.

Crumpling seat backs during collisions has also caused several fatalities. The Modernizing Seat Back Safety Act would force the NHTSA to update its seat bolstering standards for today’s cars. 

Yet another bill, the Early Warning Reporting Systems Improvement Act, would demand more transparency from automakers about vehicle defects. They would have to report accidents and fatalities related to these defects to the NHTSA. Then the NHTSA would relay this information to the public.

But is vehicle autonomy regulation really necessary?

Research and development regarding vehicle autonomy have rapidly increased over recent years. In fact, Honda has promised to deliver the first car equipped with Level 3 autonomy in the near future. And Tesla said it will make the first Level 5 autonomous car, though the EV maker has yet to show much evidence.

Still, it’s only a matter of time before at least a few fully self-driving cars hit the road. But if no one enforces safety regulations to ensure these vehicles are safe, it could be a disaster.

RELATED: Toyota and Lexus Are Finally Catching up to Tesla in Level 2

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