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Stupid boater move #1

3K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  jfbasser 
#1 ·
Well I might as well fess up now before someone rats me out. When I got the boat last year it was November and I did not register it. Deciding to winterize it I got the manual, read up on the motor and consulted a local shop. The show was a great help and pointed me in the right direction. Well there I was changing the fluid in the lower unit, greasing every fitting and friction point I could find, ya know doing all the right things. Well I'd run the engine for a while after dumping some stabil in the tank. Everything was going along nicely. I blasted out the carbs with some boat version of gumout and was ready to fog. Of course whenever I was running the engine I attached the hose via that ear muff looking thing. Guess what I did next.
 
#3 ·
I suspect...

The Enforcement Fine Nazi Swat Team is on the way...

Placing the prop in gear will sometimes have an unexpected effect on the hose and muffs...The prop usually wins!:hehe:
 
#4 ·
While multi-tasking (that's keeping the kids out of trouble and any other single task for me) I turned the boat off, and turned off the hose so it wouldn't flood the driveway while I pushed the munchkin on the swing for a while. After the kids had a dad fix I went back to work on the boat. Earmuffs on the engine OK, start it up, Oh Chit - I realized I had forgotten to turn the water back on after running the engine for about 20 seconds.. I shut down the engine and consulted the boat shop, they said I may be ok but the water pump might be gonzo and replacing it wouldn't be a bad idea. ~$60 for the parts and about 8hrs of labor later I'm back in biz. I learned to be more careful and check everything twice and I got a much better understanding of the engine shift linkage and lower unit. I still can't believe where they put the water pump - Wow!

Brian, I did register the boat but not the trailer. Thanks for the heads up though.
 
#6 ·
Did

I did the same thing on another engine. I ran it for about a minute before realizing my error. After calming down and reassuring myself that all would be ok I called my dealer to wich they told me to bring it in and they would most likely replace the pump. I weighed the cost and decided I should at least take her out and see what if any damage was done. Its now been 3 years and no problems.
 
#7 ·
Did you try running the boat first

I was curious if you ran the boat to see if the water pump was working? It's pretty easy to see if it's working properly. It's not good to run it dry, and some engines are more finicky then otheres. But I've done similar thing myself. But luckily wasn't my fault and nothing happened. I've only had jet pumps. And had the attachment drilled in so I could run a hose to it (impossible to get big enough tank to run a jetpump lol). I hooked it up and was doing tune-up on boat. Well, kids were playing in side yard as I was running the boat to make sure the cleaner ran through the carbs. I ran upstairs really quick and came back downstairs to hear the sound of dry running. Come to find out kids had kinked hose and virtually no water was coming into engine. It ran for a good 20-30 seconds dry. I rehooked up engine and watched water flo. It worked great. Took it to lake, it was fine too. Water was coming out, so pump was working (watch the pressure, if it's coming out in spurts or not at all you have a problem). I have a friend who's an ex marine mechanic, and that's one of the "scare you into changing" parts. Mine was fine. But this way my old tank Evinrude. Couldn't do much wrong with that jet engine. LOL
 
#8 ·
Steelheader(s),

Your right guys. When I looked at the impeller it was OK but some of the O rings we just missing. Could have been the last replacement or that they just burnt up. It looked to me like there was not as much volume of water coming out of the engine when I ran it with water before changing the pump. I decided to err on the side of caution but it may have been good for another year or two.
 
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