Hey all
Wife and I decided we needed to buy a boat instead of borrowing my uncles boat. We ended up with a 2007 G3 suncatcher LX22 with a 2006 115 Yamaha 4 stroke. The boat and motor are in new condition. It has 30 hours on it and has been kept inside while in storage.

When I got it home I was putting new tires on it (I have had bad luck with tires older than 5 years old). I noticed a wheel had lots of grease on the back of it. I knew it had to be a blown bearing seal. Took the hubs off and found another that had some moisture inside it. I decided to spend the $75 on seals and marine grease and packed the bearings and replaced the seals. (I don't want to change a bearing on the side of the road, no fun, been there done that)

So I got to thinking about the motor, has it just sat for years? It starts and runs great, couldn't be happier. My dads Mercury has had impeller problems and he now changes it every couple years and takes the impeller out during the winter so it can "relax".

Should I replace my impeller to be safe? Does the Yamaha have the same type of impeller issues?

I plan on changing the oil and filter in the power head before I put her up for the winter also.

Any other maintenance I should consider?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for the help.

There isnt much worse on a boat than sitting. If it were me, I'd service the lower and replace the gaskets and impeller(s), possibly the water pump too. They dry out when not used for too long.

Yamaha makes great outboards.


however because it may have sat. i would go through it and look for any evidence of rodents in the motor.  Pay special attention to all electrical connections and harnesses.

At the end of the Season change your gear lube, and do and Oil/Lube job on it.  hell it wouldn't hurt to do it now, and then run the piss out of it and do it again.  that thing needs to be run.

Impeller change, yes. Lower unit lube, yes.  The Yamaha's impeller doesn't need to be changed every year (if you don't run it dry or in sand) but since it's been sitting and you don't know it's history, change it.
Removing the impeller each year for storage is unnecessary.

I looked at the motor and wiring, nothing showed any signs of rodents.

I would recommend adding a little bit of 2-stroke oil to the fuel just before you shut it down for the winter. Like run it 5 or 10 minutes with the 2-stroke fuel mix. This will keep the high pressure fuel pump from seizing up during storage. IIRC, on this model, you can also drain the "vapor separator tank" which is where the HP fuel pump lives.
If you get any freezing weather there, make sure to keep the outboard vertical (not tilted up) when stored. Water built up in the gearcase will freeze and split it wide open. Keeping it vertical allows it to drain properly.
Happy boating!

I would add a Yamaha 10micron fuel filter kit to it between the tank & engine as Yamaha recommends.

Run blue sta-bil and Yamaha Ring free every time you add gas and don't fill up the tank every time if you don't need to. Ethanol free gas is your friend as well.

Change the ALL the fuel filters, not just the ones you can see and clean out the VST if it has been sitting awhile. You may also want to send out the injectors for cleaning and be sure to replace their packing with new o-rings. Impeller is a must.