Starting Motor Out Of Water?

[omg_the_funky_shit@hotmail.com]

hey guys i often see ppl at the boat ramp starting there motors up for a bit before they put into the water..i thought u shouldt start ur motor up at all if water wasnt thru it..was wondering if it will cause damage to the motor or not ?

[cut_loose]

i think it would get to your waterpump after a while, I wouldnt do it, I cant see the point at starting the motor at a angle then dropping it in, Seems silly.

Edited May 27, 2010 by cut_loose

[omg_the_funky_shit@hotmail.com]

yeh they stop before they put in water..think they just checking it before they launch...but in saying that i did see them later on in the day and had broken down bout 10km from boat ramp....

[cut_loose]

Shows they dont care about there motor mate, It bites back

[Blood Knot]

Just my two bobs worth

Its probably not required if you have confidence in your outboard / battery. It may damage your rubber water pump impeller if you continually do this without any water to lubricate / cool the impeller whilst it is rotating in its housing ie: running it dry.

Cheers Blood Knot

[cameldownunder]

Just my two bobs worth

Its probably not required if you have confidence in your outboard / battery. It may damage your rubber water pump impeller if you continually do this without any water to lubricate / cool the impeller whilst it is rotating in its housing ie: running it dry.

Cheers Blood Knot

First time I went to the water and was afraid the engine would not start, I started the engine while the boat was on the trailer. Two blokes, who were marine mechanics, told me to quickly turn it off, for exact the reasons you mentioned: Damaging the rubber impeller.

[dmad_dood]

Not to mention running your motor without cooling witch is not ideal

[Jewhunter]

A car won't work in water & a boat won't work on land.

Simple! Each has a specific purpose.

Cheers,

Grant.

[Geoff-]

Yep don't ever start a boat motor without it being in the water or having earmuffs on. The impellers damage easily with no lubricant (water).

Also, if I start my car engine and then stop it after a few seconds, when it starts again it often misses on one cylinder for a few seconds. It's a fuel injected jap motor too, yeah I'm running colder plugs but still, never have problems if i start first time and go but start/stop/start when cold it doesn't like. Why would you do it in a boat?

Best thing if you're not sure about the motor is to back it into the water, start it, let it idle for a minute and then launch. Starting it out of the water only saves time if it doesn't kick over.

[omg_the_funky_shit@hotmail.com]

i always kick mine over with the ear muffs on the day before while im packing up the boat works for me.....

[Yarraone]

It may be a bit to much , But as I live in the central west and do all my fishing in salt near Sydney.. i spend about a week packing and getting the boat ready in my free time after work..

My checklist goes like this.....

1. Check all lights and batteries

2. Check alll saftey gear is working and in date and on board

3. Wheel hubs and bearings have been serviced and greased

4. If i havent used all my feul last time, I replace with new feul and flush the tank

5. Remoove prop and grease

6. Last of all, Put the ear muffs on and run motor for about20 to 30 min in intervals (about 5 min) at various speeds..

After doing all this I am feeling pretty good that I can do the 300km trip and put the boat in the water with no problems..However , This does not mean you have a trouble free day?? Things do happen .. But , I believe that if you do all you can before the chances are very low that you will have problems..

[Mercer007]

quick question, Is it ok to run your motor in gear out of the water?

Cheers

[Yarraone]

quick question, Is it ok to run your motor in gear out of the water?

Cheers

This is a great question...I do when I have the ear muffs on and after i have greased up the prop.. just to make sure there are no fuuny sounds or anything else.. But if anyone knows if this will harm it ? i would also like to know..

[fishmaniac]

This is a great question...I do when I have the ear muffs on and after i have greased up the prop.. just to make sure there are no fuuny sounds or anything else.. But if anyone knows if this will harm it ? i would also like to know..

As established by others starting the engine out of the water is not good for your rubber impeller and so should not be done. With regard to kicking your engine into gear while running it with the muffs on, it should not cause a problem if you are not silly about it. The only danger is if you decide to rev your engine.

In neutral, your engine limits how high you can rev it (as you have all probably already noticed). When you are in gear you can open your throttle all the way. Without the resistance of the water the engine will rev too high and this can damage your engine cylinders etc. If you put a smaller prop on the engine it will cause it to rev higher. Running it in gear out of water is comparable to running your engine with no propellor, ie, no resistance.

Personally I think it is rather pointless. The only point in flushing your motor is to clear out your water pump which does not require the engine to be in gear. A spinning prop out of water is a hazard!!! If you want to clean the propeller just rinse it with the hose and spin it around with your hand in my opinion!

[gummybusta]

personlay when i had a leger boat i always kicked the motor over while on dry land when getting the boat ready of lurnching to make sure she worked (seen too many drifting out from the ramp trying to start a motor that will not start only to need a tow back to the ramp)

have asked my marine mach at the time and now another marin mech i use now and both said no dramas with doing it as long as it was say for only a 2sec go to make sure

in that time the rubber has not got the time to heat up to start to detorate

that showed too as none of my impellas have shown any bad signs of wear

as i said 2sec no dramas but yeh i have seen those blokes too that run the motors for a few minutes dry

by the way yes you can run the motor in gear whist on the muffs and most moden motors now have rev limiters so you can not over rev it but you can run into the problem that you do not get enoght water into the water pump whist reving the motor on the muffs so you can do damage doing that

best thing is to run the motor on the muffs at idel in gear or out of gear

Edited May 31, 2010 by gummybusta

[cameldownunder]

In neutral, your engine limits how high you can rev it (as you have all probably already noticed). When you are in gear you can open your throttle all the way. Without the resistance of the water the engine will rev too high and this can damage your engine cylinders etc.

This is personally the most valuable information I've read in a while, it might be obvious to others, but it really clicked. Thanks a lot. (not that I ever did it)

[Trapper Tom]

Hey Guys

At the end of the day reackon yarraone has got it right.

I always do my safety checklist before I go out. It is a must for any and every boaty.

That includes startng the engine etc etc.

Then there is no need or question about starting your engine in or out of the water.

You go, arrive at ramp, launch, and it works.

Just "tailor" (eh eh) your checklist to your individual boats needs and quirks.

Cheers

Trapper Tom

[finin]

This must be one of the most common things i see at the ramp or people starting their engines and running them at 3/4 to full rev, absolutely dieing to see one go one day. I must agree it only damages impellers to run them dry, and also distorts other parts due to no cooling. As was said "boats on water, cars on land not vice versa!"

When we used the IRB at the beach the engine would always be run. Boat on trailer engine on, and a whiz bin underneath with enough water to just cover the water inlets. Engine would then be started and test run for 5min out of water. Boat would then be taken onto the beach ready for rescues. The last thing u need is an engine that wont start when someone is drowning in front of you.

Always have and always will run the engine first at home before we go out to see if there is a problem. Nothing worse than going to the ramp everythings packed, your ready to go and your engine lets you down! Only once has this failed us when we did all pre checks got to the ramp launched the boat and did a starter motor happens

[Geoff-]

personlay when i had a leger boat i always kicked the motor over while on dry land when getting the boat ready of lurnching to make sure she worked (seen too many drifting out from the ramp trying to start a motor that will not start only to need a tow back to the ramp)

this is only a problem if your boating partner is foolish (like my old man) and gives the boat a shove to push it clear of the trailer before the motor is started. have some patience, undo the winch strap get in the boat start the motor, then push it clear of the trailer. no tow required. EVER.

[gummybusta]

yep but how many times do we see the boats drifting away

agree with the checklists but

only ever left the bungs out of the boat once and that was when someone else had taken the boat tie downs off to help me and threw me out of whack

strange how we get into our little routines and once disturbed things go wrong

[pjbink]

yep but how many times do we see the boats drifting away

agree with the checklists but

only ever left the bungs out of the boat once and that was when someone else had taken the boat tie downs off to help me and threw me out of whack

strange how we get into our little routines and once disturbed things go wrong

I had a similar problem with my boat being a Polycraft (not so much now). Ie I'd be getting ready to launch and hear: "is that boat made of plastic?", "how do they go?"

I don't bother starting by boat at home and definitely not at the boat ramp. If you have that little faith in the motor it raises some questions I think. It's worth checking the steering is free and turning the starter over to test the batteries are charged though.

[cameldownunder]

only ever left the bungs out of the boat once and that was when someone else had taken the boat tie downs off to help me and threw me out of whack

The BUNGS !! The Bungs !!

:tease: :tease: :tease:

It happened so many times, i can now do it from the boat, with closed eyes

[Hamuwaja]

Because of my early morning starts, i always run the motor for a good 20 minutes the night before i take her out. I also drive on and off my trailer however, so put her in the water when i get there, then i start her up, the missus unclips the front and i reverse off.

I feel if you use your boat weekly you should have minimal problems sarting her up, and if you dont, at least give her a kick over weekly or fortnightly to run the old fuel through.