I have been reading where people are running their engine briefly out of the water and I would like to remind them that the water is also the lubricant for the impeller. If you are at idle (for simplicity 600 rpm) then the pump will rotate at 10 rev/sec. Indmar has something to say also. My mechanic back in 2002 when I last saw him mentioned the same thing and stated the failure can occur within "seconds" which tells me not to do it.



http://www.indmar.com/About/ContactIndmar/faq.html

"NEVER run your engine without it being in the water or without water supplied to the engine. The impeller will be damaged within a very short time and the engine may be damaged if it is allowed to run for long without cooling water."