Run motor dry/out of water!!!!

[robert graham]

Boss-lady and I are at Cedar Key this week and I'm at the ramp this morning just watching....a guy can't get his motor running(still on the trailer)...no problem, a shot of ether and she cranks right up and he proceeds to just sit there revving the motor for a couple of minutes!!!....I mean what can you say or do!!!!...just walk away scratching my head!!!....poor water pump impeller!!!:

[99yam40]

a friendly person would have at least mentioned to him that running motor without water will destroy the water pump.

Just ****ing your chain Robert,
but someone needs to tell him

[boscoe99]

I guess that it all depends. Was the guy ignorant and in need of a bit of education or did he know all of the risks and decide to do what he did anyway? And if he was ignorant, was he the type of person who would accept outside advice or would he have been hostile towards the person trying to offer a bit of help? Some folks gladly suck up knowledge from wherever it may come from whereas other folks take offense. Hard to know which folk is which.

Now one of my pet peeves (of many) is folks that go the launch ramp, back the boat into the water, and then are unable to get it started. Unable for any one of a thousand reasons. Maybe the motor was last used many many years ago.

I don't want to be that person. So, despite the advice of my Mercury owner's manual, I pull started my Mercury carbureted two stroke 25 HP motor every time before I would get to the launch area. Motor on the trailer and not in the water. Usually would take just one pull but on a cold day if the motor had not been used in a while it could take two or three pulls. As soon as it started I shut it off. I did that for over thirty years with God only knows how many dry starts. Never had a problem. If I did, I would have fixed it.

Now would I recommend to someone else to do what I chose to do? Nope.

What would I have done if someone came over and told me to stop doing what I was doing?

[robert graham]

I seriously thought about saying something to the guy but I hate to be a busy-body and get over in other folks business....but there really should be at least a bare minimum of knowledge before folks go out boating....like just glance through the outboard operators manual....maybe????

[Jason2tpa]

My pops and I have a tradition on holidays. If the weather isn't good enough to go fishing, we'll grab our lawn chairs and head to the nearest ramp. With a cooler full of choice beverages and sandwiches, we'll post up in a good spot for viewing the sometimes gut-busting, often scary and shocking moments guaranteed to entertain.

[99yam40]

last winter when I took my C40 apart and changed the crank and seals there was enough oil running down the drive shaft when I took it apart to keep the impeller well lubed. There was no way it would hurt that impeller to run without water.
but it is all fixed up now so I try hard to pay attention and not start the motor until it is in the water and the T&T lets the lower unit down into the water.

I have been known to fire the motor up out on the flats without dropping it back down after push poling across shallow water.
I did loose fins off of one impeller(less than a year old) a few years ago that I guess was caused by doing this

[99yam40]

I helped a couple of older guys(I am 64), load a boat back on their trailer after one drove the boat onto the trailer and the other took off before they hooked up to the wench cable/strap.
Dropped completely on the pavement.
wenched it up on while he backed up slowly until the boat was off the pavement , then backed into the water to get it all the way back on and latched down
Other younger guys just sat in their trucks and watched.
I was loaded up and driving off when I saw it happen so I stopped and helped.
seems those waiting for that side of the ramp to get cleared would have got out and helped some.

[pstephens46]

Ahh yes. Boat ramp follies.

I like the guy who decides to pull halfway up ramp after recovery
and FLUSH his motor with 5 people in water idling in position (with strong current, narrow creek) waiting to get out.

That state owned hose quickly disappeared and I have no idea what happened to it.

[Jason2tpa]

I helped a couple of older guys(I am 64), load a boat back on their trailer after one drove the boat onto the trailer and the other took off before they hooked up to the wench cable/strap.
Dropped completely on the pavement.
wenched it up on while he backed up slowly until the boat was off the pavement , then backed into the water to get it all the way back on and latched down
Other younger guys just sat in their trucks and watched.
I was loaded up and driving off when I saw it happen so I stopped and helped.
seems those waiting for that side of the ramp to get cleared would have got out and helped some.

Ah yes, seen that one. Many new trailers now a days have rollers instead of bunks. With a bunk trailer, like I have, it would take a significant incline for the boat to slide off if it wasn't winched. However, these roller trailers, oh boy. I've seen a number of boats just roll right off because the boat wasn't secured before pulling trailer out of water.

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Across and down the canal from me are "snowbirds" (come down for winter only).

Last year, he cranked up one of his two Yammies (225's maybe, 2 strokes), no water(been sitting all summer-6 months).

After he turned it off, I hollered across the canal running W/O water is destroying his water pump. He used water after that.

This year, one of the LU's was removed apparently for maintenance. I didn't ask....

[TownsendsFJR1300]

BEST ONE, when I was still working at the PD.

There's an idle zone near the local boat ramp.

Guy backs up his car (rear wheel drive) and with his set up,
the rear wheels need to be at the waters edge..

As he's un-loading, a boat comes by, apparently with some wake.

Wake floats the fuel tank to the car, LIFTING the rear wheels OFF
the ramp. NO TRACTION

Car and trailer roll backwards into the river (completely under water)....

The tow driver got damp that day as I worked the "wreck"

[boscoe99]

I seriously thought about saying something to the guy but I hate to be a busy-body and get over in other folks business....but there really should be at least a bare minimum of knowledge before folks go out boating....like just glance through the outboard operators manual....maybe????

If automobile operators don't need to know what in the hell they are doing then why should boat operators?

I walk my dog daily. Part of retired life. The dog and I like it. It is almost unbelievable to me the number of people that are (1) speeding and (2) talking/texting on cell phones while they speed by. Now the speeding maybe I can understand what with cars nowadays being so quiet inside (that or the radio is blaring) such that they don't realize their speeds, but there is no excuse for talking/texting. They seem to go into a trance while using the phone.

But then I did have to admire the guy that was riding a motor cycle with one hand on the handle bar while texting with his free hand.