I did a really bonehead thing yesterday. I launched my boat by myself and then pulled onto the bank while I parked my trailer. I usually leave the jet running at slow idle while I park and I did the same yesterday. The problem is that the river had dropped quite a bit and the launch was much shallower than usual. I came back to the boat to see that it had sucked up a good bit of muddy water forming a nice brown cloud around the stern. I hoped for the best and headed out to fish.

I idled through a large group of kayakers for about 5 minutes with no problems and once passed I dropped the hammer. The engine revved high like it was sucking in a lot air, but I was in clean water with the motor down all the way. I lifted the motor, checked the intake and it was clear, dropped the motor and had the same result.

Once I got the boat back on the trailer, I was able to get a good look under her skirt. From what I could see, the impeller looked in very good shape with an even, tight clearance the whole way around the housing.

I'm planning on taking the impeller out today to get a better look at it, but I was hoping for some advice on what to look for once I get it out. I would gladly take it to a marina for professional service, but there are none near me that I would trust to know anything about jets.
I'd appreciate any opinions, thoughts, advice...

Mike