break-in period (or not)

[jetboatjay]

I had no idea about the break in period, and my dealer B&E Marine in Michigan City did not mention it. We took the boat out to Pine Lake for the test drive and we pushed it way past the RPM's you are all discussing above. It now has 20 hours on it, two oil changes (10 hour, and winterization) and seems to be fine. Would there be anything I should worry about or something I would see that suggests the motor may be damaged?

 

[Khalid]

How many hours did the dealer put on it before you picked it up? If it was broken in (95 minutes) I personally wouldn’t worry about it

 

[HangOutdoors]

I had no idea about the break in period, and my dealer B&E Marine in Michigan City did not mention it. We took the boat out to Pine Lake for the test drive and we pushed it way past the RPM's you are all discussing above. It now has 20 hours on it, two oil changes (10 hour, and winterization) and seems to be fine. Would there be anything I should worry about or something I would see that suggests the motor may be damaged?

Not sure there is anything you can do and worry about. Just keep taking care of it with proper maintenance.

 

[Elliott]

I had no idea about the break in period, and my dealer B&E Marine in Michigan City did not mention it. We took the boat out to Pine Lake for the test drive and we pushed it way past the RPM's you are all discussing above. It now has 20 hours on it, two oil changes (10 hour, and winterization) and seems to be fine. Would there be anything I should worry about or something I would see that suggests the motor may be damaged?

The chances that you be will be fine are in the high 90s% range; do not worry about it. People do not do what is recommended for various equipment (cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, tractors and etc.) all of the time (including throughout the equipment's life span), and the vast majority never have a problem - or they never use it enough or keep it long enough to have a problem. People's lack of use of their boats is far harder on a boat than improper break in.

 

[212s]

That is correct, even on the wave runners with the same engines, that is the break in period. On both of mine i followed the break in process to a T. Even after break in I don't just turn it on and run it full throttle either. I have my idle time at the dock like you and usually a long enough no-wake zone to bring it up to a good temp range. Key is bringing your engine up to temp in my opinion.

This is what I do too...idle at dock while parking, idle out and remove fenders and lines, then she's warmed up for cruising speeds. I don't go WOT till she's been cruising for at least 5 minutes.

 

[Klover]

@FLJetBoater ..... it is hard to actually damage an engine during break-in unless someone is a complete a$$ as in running the engine(s) flat out or gunning it up and down waves creating abusive on and off loading of the engine when brand new. That said, running beyond the recommended RPM bands for the first hour or so can significantly shorten the life of an engine. Non-supercharged 1.8L Yamaha jet engines should be broken-in thus: first five minutes at trolling speed, next 30 minutes <5000 RPM, next hour < 6000 RPM. While I was in the <5000RPM designation I would rum the RPMs gently up and down the on-plane speed of approximately 3500 RPM to <5000RPM. While in the <6000RPM designation I would run the RPMs gently up and down the RPM band from on-plane RPMs of approximately 3500 RPM to < 6000 RPM. As has been suggested I on this thread by others I would extend that usage to at least 10 hours and avoid "flat-out" running for the first 10 hours. If my dealer ran my new engines at flat-out RPM to synch the throttles I would kick his A$$ down the dock and throw his remains into the water - this should only be done after the 10 hour period. I have owned numerous twin engine boats and never had a dealer run the engines flat out during break-in. BTW there is a considerably different process for breaking-in supercharged Yamaha jet engines.

What is the process for super charged engines?

 

[jetboatjay]

How many hours did the dealer put on it before you picked it up? If it was broken in (95 minutes) I personally wouldn’t worry about it

literally zero hours. It was last year...the year of "off the boat hauler, on to a trailer, and connect to the hitch of a customer!" If I hesitated about the boat, one of the next 9 people in line was going to buy it. The boat did not see water until we did our test drive.

With that said, we did putz around the lake for about 10 minutes while the engine was running and the salesman explained the interior of the boat. Idle speeds only. We then amped it up, but I would say the throttle was never "all out" on the first day.

As @HangOutdoors so properly suggests, there is nothing I can do now other than continue the maintenance and take care of it. Hard not to worry though......

 

[Canuckjetboater]

What is the process for super charged engines?

@Klover ..... From the Yamaha Manual (2020): Launch boat and start engine. For the first 15 minutes operate engine at 2000RPM. For the next 90 minutes operate at speed below 5000 RPM......That would be my MINIMUM procedure. For the next 9+ hours I would gently operate the engine up and down the RPM band to about 6000RPM most of the time with the odd gentle run up to WOT then right back to 5000-6000RPM. After that I would change the oil and filter and consider the engine ready for normal use.