I personally would Never Start an engine without coolant of some kind, Period. It does not take too many seconds to heat a cylinder and remove tension from rings. Cylinders, Pistons, Rings, all need to be lubricated and cooled properly. Temp Does shorten engine life drastically. Not to mention the sea pump commonly has a plastic housing, with the rubber impeller. That will get hot instantly and start to melt the plastic, tear the impeller. Just my .02 I share this info weekly with my customers.

Good info, here's a few of the above suggestions answered. (sorry if it sounds negative)

Dont want to carry a battery home after every use or carry a booster pack, that's why I went with the dual batteries.
Boat is stored under cover so a solar panel/charger might help, something to look into.
I'll check for the Mercathode wiring.
The marina staff launch and retrieve (Marina policy) so backing her in and out on the ramp is messy.

I'm having her moved to a spot right next to a tap so I'll probably go with a quick flush the day before I want to take her out. Might look into a flush kit, a lot easier than the ear muffs. It's salt water use and flushed every time so a flush kit wouldn't go to waste.

Cheers,
RR

We always fire the engines in the shop before we go boating. They both run for about 5 sec. We have never had any issues with impellers. Last thing you want is to tow to the launch ramp and find out you have an issue.

I would look into adding a sea strainer they usually hold enough water in them to fire it and run it for tat short of period.And could save your impeller if you ever suck up some trash

I would not do this.

When you back her down a steep ramp and start her up, chances are the impeller is dry anyway when it first starts to spin - unless you float the boat off so it's sitting lower than the waterline.

Correct?

Same here with no issues although I do change the water pump every year. If the batteries seem fresh enough I won't even wait for it to fire. It pukes a good deal of water out of the pipes on that split second burp so it's good to know that it's not dry for that moment of movement.

Hey RAK, Surprised nobody else stated the obvious but here goes.................. USE IT MORE OFTEN ! )

I just watched a guy do it yesterday and let it run for like 10 seconds. Personally, not something I would ever do. Only takes like 20 seconds to burn up the impeller. Like others have said, Keep in on a trickle charge at home and if it's dead at the ramp, pull back up and deal with it then. I happen to have a spare battery that I keep on a trickle charge at home. I throw it in the truck every time I head to the lake just in case. Either that or I also have a jumper box that I keep in my truck.

Have done it for years with no issues on mine. Always start, run for a second or 2, then shut off.