Yamaha 1.8 SVHO Break-in

[Smiley]

So, we followed the break in procedure this weekend and then finally got to run around the lake at a good cruise and have some fun. I did have an odd feeling on our first run though... Right as I launched I idled out a bit and had a lot of vibration. I puttered around then slid up by the dock and picked up my wife as we kept the rpms under 2k, still rough vibrations and I didn’t really know what to think. Just about 6-7 min into running the was a bump and everything smoothed out. Boat has ran like a top ever since.

It’s a long shot, but do these boats come with a piece of plastic covering the water intake or something from the factory? It really seems like we sucked something up on our first run that finally got chewed up and spit out. Or is this a normal experience for break-in?

 

[HangOutdoors]

Sounds like you sucked something up or weeds or something, anything. That is how it feels when that happens. End of the summer on grassy lakes I run into that occasionally. So going forward when you feel that, do the reverse maneuver, just search the threads here for it, a couple times and if that doesn't resolve it, stop and pull your clean out plug. If you don't find anything then proceed with caution till you can look at it further.

 

[Smiley]

So, the boat seems to be running good but I get some cavitation out of the hole and in hard turns. It may be normal but from searching it seems like I should check the sealant around the jet intake. Question is, do I take it over to my dealer and have them look at it, or just do it myself in the driveway?

 

[212s]

So, we followed the break in procedure this weekend and then finally got to run around the lake at a good cruise and have some fun. I did have an odd feeling on our first run though... Right as I launched I idled out a bit and had a lot of vibration. I puttered around then slid up by the dock and picked up my wife as we kept the rpms under 2k, still rough vibrations and I didn’t really know what to think. Just about 6-7 min into running the was a bump and everything smoothed out. Boat has ran like a top ever since.

It’s a long shot, but do these boats come with a piece of plastic covering the water intake or something from the factory? It really seems like we sucked something up on our first run that finally got chewed up and spit out. Or is this a normal experience for break-in?

If there's weeds floating around the docks, it's a good chance you sucked some up and it cleared on its own. I've had this happen when the wind is from the south and it pushes clumps of weeds into the launch ramp area. I little throttle will usually chew it up, if not then pulling the plugs and cutting the weed from around the impeller shaft is needed. I keep a razor blade knife with a lanyard on the boat for this reason...a quick slice and the weeds fall off.

 

[212s]

So, the boat seems to be running good but I get some cavitation out of the hole and in hard turns. It may be normal but from searching it seems like I should check the sealant around the jet intake. Question is, do I take it over to my dealer and have them look at it, or just do it myself in the driveway?

It's normal to get a little cavitation when you first punch it and suck up some air, and hard turns can produce some if your bouncing over wake and suck a bit of air. If you have cavitation all the time, then you can crawl under and check the intake tunnel yourself. If you see a poor sealant job, you can apply some yourself to smooth out the intake.

 

[Smiley]

It's normal to get a little cavitation when you first punch it and suck up some air, and hard turns can produce some if your bouncing over wake and suck a bit of air. If you have cavitation all the time, then you can crawl under and check the intake tunnel yourself. If you see a poor sealant job, you can apply some yourself to smooth out the intake.

I did a little intake inspection this morning. It looked pretty good, but I think there may be room for a little improvement. I cleaned it up a bit since there were some globs here and there. But otherwise, I think it looks okay.