I'm an idiot. can anyone answer my question.

I got into boarding a couple years ago and bought my first boat at the end of last season. I took the boat out one last time in October and when I brought it in that time I got it on the trailer and was getting towed up the ramp when I realized I forgot to shut off the engine. I quickly turned the key. Did I damage my boat? Do I need to do anything in particular this year to make it work right? Could I have burnt up a pump or something? It was only on out of the water for 4-8 seconds probably. If anyone has any insight I'd appreciate it.

your fine.

You're okay. At best, you'll need to replace the impeller. It might cost you $30-40 for the impeller and another $50-100 if you have someone change it for you. Don't worry. You didn't damage the motor.

sweet. Thanks for the help guys.

D

I did the same thing first time out, It was very windy and after many attempts I finally got it on the trailer. I was so glad that I rushed to pull it out and left the engine on. Then I heard the loud beeping and realized my mistake. Hopped in and turned it off. That was two years ago and no noticiable damage. It was on about the same time as yours. Good Luck

I would also think you are fine but I would definitely change the oil as well.

Reasoning behind an oil change?

You're completely fine. Nothing to worry about.
And you don't need to change your oil because you ran it out of the water for 10 seconds. maybe if you overheated the engine from running it out of the water for 10 minutes and burned the oil thats another thing.

(Message edited by detonate69 on April 01, 2008)

With all due respect, I'm a much bigger idiot than you! I did this once and I didn't notice until we were wiping down the boat. Damn that engine is quiet! Mine was probably running for two minutes, but there was no damage whatsoever. Even the impeller survived unscathed.

I also left a ballast pump on until I remembered at 11:00 at night. I went out to the driveway and I could barely hear it since it was so quiet out. Again, no apparent damage.

This just in... David Williams is human.

I would at least check the impeller. It may need replacing anyway.

its fine don't worry

Evyerone acts lik the impeller is made of butter or soemthing...they can take some abuse. I've seen 6/7 year old impellers still moving enough water to cool motors, they are not in "like new" shape but still work fine.

Mmmmm... butter. Imperllers can usually withstand some small abuse. The key work being "usually." You never know when running for a second too long out of water will up and toast the thing. My last impeller was working fine until I forgot to hook up muffs one day. I turned it on for less than a 10 seconds before realizing but it was enough. On the other hand, I know a guy who actually starts his boat out of the water before launching every time he goes out and only goes through an impeller every two to three years. One day, he'll probably get unlucky.

To the original poster, if your impeller is easy to get to, take a look at it. If not, just watch your engine temp the next few times you go out. Don't bother changing the oil unless it's time to anyways. For that short a time, it's not going to make a difference.

dont be so hard on yourself. Two things everybody does at least once, forgets to put drain plug back in before launching, and leave motor running while pulling out.

The only thing you need to do is watch the temp gauge next time you start it up. If it's good after a few minutes then the impeller is fine.

One of my neighbors starts his inboard up after he pulls it out and revs it up for 10 to 15 seconds. Apparently, his dealer told him to do this to get all the water out of the engine. Personally, I wouldn't do this.

I start my boat after I pull it out of the water to flush the several gallons of water sitting inside of the engine out. Give it a quick rev. and it all comes shooting out in a mater of seconds. Never once had an impeller go bad in over a decade of doing this.

An impeller is lubricated by water, dont start it before you put it in the water but once its been wet its fine for a short amount of time out of the water.

Your Centurion should have a Mercruiser and the water pump is tougher to change than some others. I would throw a new imp and some tools in the boat and watch the temp guage. I doubt you will have a problem.

D Williams,

Off topic, but my 2 yr old hit the ballast pump switch in the boat, and it stayed on for a week. Didn't even run the battery down

on a side note, I/O impellers seem to wear out much faster then inboard ones.

id guess due to a higher rpm since its usually off the crankshaft rather then a pulley.

you can not burn your impellor after a few seconds,after all your boat was in water before and the pump and hoses are filled with water even when the boat did come out of the water the pump is selfpriming and sucking water from the hose and (if installed)water strainer.
conclusion your pump wasn,t running dry and not long enough to burn it.

99% it isn,t damaged,..for the last 1% keep an eye on the temp gauge next time your out.
Keep a spare impellor in the boat.

Andy I would have to disagree with you on that one. I have over 850 hours and just installed the third impeller. The first one lasted over 300 hours and toward the end was running on the hose when someone inadvertently turned off the water on me while I was cleaning the boat. The alarm went off and I freaked. After all was said and done I pulled the impeller to find it only had some light blueing on the fins. My merc mechanic said they have improved them 10 fold over what they used to be. Boat is an 01 with alpha 1 drive. These things are super heavy duty and the last one I pulled looked like it could last another 2 years easy. Now there are other parts on the I/O I wish were better designed like where the steering arm controls the outdrive...those with I/O's running in salt or brackish water take heed: that thing needs to be sprayed with anti-corrosion spray of some sort even though its hidden way back up in the transom (water from people boarding and dripping on the sun pad runs right back there).

"4-8 seconds"

Not even close to worrisome.

Every time you start the motor dry in the water you probably put more wear on the impeller. And, the boat would not have gotten hot in a few seconds. A few minutes would be worth worrying about.

"on a side note, I/O impellers seem to wear out much faster then inboard ones.

id guess due to a higher rpm since its usually off the crankshaft rather then a pulley."

In our old I/O we had for 20 years and not once did we ever change the impeller. It finally went out after 20 years as we replaced it just last year. Worked great up to this time with no other problems on a merc engine.

edit; it wasn't the actual impellar that failed but the seal. We replaced both since it was torn apart anyways.

(Message edited by waterfreak on April 10, 2008)

The Alpha One Gen I and the pre-Alphas did have a pretty small impeller compared to the Gen II. I don't doubt that one could last 20 years but it's far from typical even if well cared for. The Volvos and Cobras have/had impellers far more akin in size and location to an inboard or Bravo drive's impeller. They last just as long as an inboard's impeller would last.

And DAVID,
Dont forget the time you put your brand new BU ( gold/black one ) in the water and the Swim platform fell off on the ramp at SAN V!!!!!!!!

I like to change impeller, oils, all filters, plugs at beginning of each season needed or not. cheap insurance.

Damn, that's just harsh!

haha....funny stuff!

---off subject--- No Joke we saw 2 guys back their boat and trailer into the water unhook the trailer from the truck parked the truck got in and started to drive off and then about 30 people started yelling and screaming trying to get their attention I couldn't handle it I had to walk away I was laughing way too hard it sounded like the engine was going to explode trying to run with the trailer still attached

(Message edited by lovin_the_wake on April 10, 2008)