Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Ever since I went from my old 70hp Force 2-stroke to the 70hp Suzuki 4-stroke, pulling the boat up on the trailer has been difficult (due to the add'l weight in the back). Usually my g/f pulls the boat up and I winch it tight. However, since mounting the new motor, it seems no matter how tight I winch it (within reason), the craft still settles an inch or so away from the stops. Anyway, the past few times out I have been experimenting w/ different ways to pull the boat up. Last night I tried increasing the throttle as she pulled the boat out that way there would be constant force against the stops which worked perfectly. However due to my excitement I forgot to turn the motor off. Instead I just slipped it into neutral. B/c the motor is so quiet I didn't realize it was still running for about 5 mins after we had pulled it out of the water.

So... my question to all the seasoned/experienced boaters is:

How much damage do you think I did to my new motor?
What should I do now?

All advice is appreciated.

I did the same thing with my Honda a few times and no real harm came to it. Just make sure the motor is pissing OK the next time you launch it to confirm the water pump is still OK. And just keep an eye on things foe a while and hopefully you'll survive your experience OK too.

PS learn to pull key from ignition when boat is loaded to avoid future occurrences.

Bamby, thank you for sharing your experience and helpful words of wisdom. I hope no damage was done. I will be sure to watch that the motor is pissing as it did before.

Being you came from water not likely any problem but if you have a water pressure gauge keep an eye on it

Should be ok I would think. I always turn key off, then to neutral. Or it may not start next time....been there done that.

I believe the most damaged you might have done is shorten the life of your raw water impeller. It's one thing to crank the motor completely dry another if your impeller has some moister on it. If everything checks out OK on your next trip I would just make sure you change out the raw water impeller at the first schedule change. It is usually recommended to change it every two year, but some push it to 3 or 4 years with no problem. Now that you know it may have some abused, don't push it.

Thank you all. Just came off the water after a midnight cruise & all seems to be fine. I'll keep your suggestions about the impeller in mind.