Seems like if you spend any time at all talking to guys that fish, nearly everyone knows someone who has blown their motor up. I am just a weekend fishing guy who thinks 60 is plenty fast on the water...but how exactly are all of these 40, 50 and 60k boats have the motors blow up on them. I am trying to buy a good used boat I have to ask EVERYONE if it is an original powerhead on the boat...too many people have had it rebuilt at one point or another, and most of them are just a year or two old. Just looking for some advice on what not to do in my new used boat.

A bigger wallet doesn't necessary signal a more powerful intellect. We've all known these guys who can screw up cereal, and some people do very silly things to their mechanical toys, or just refuse to take the time to treat them right. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

I have heard that leveling your engine on long idles helps. I had a friend who claims it is important so I always do it, but I always see the pro's trimmed all the way down so I don't know if it helps or not.

You can do everything right and still blow out a powerhead. I know. I care for my boat and still blew 2 powerheads in one year. Get the longest warranty you can get and hope for the best.

Practically ever marine engine over 200 hp power is going to blow a powerhead sometime in their lifespan, it is just the nature of the beast.
In my personal experience it really does not matter how hard or soft you drive it, I have blown many over the last 20 years and to be honest most blew at low rpm's.
Recently bought a new boat w/ a 250 Evinrude on it, I am and have been a die hard mercury fan so this was a big decision for me. About 15 hours into it, the lower unit came apart while a buddy & I were fishing, it actually came apart as we were shutting down from a very gentle 4500 rpm run...you just can never tell.
When having it replaced all the mechanics said the same thing, the history is if the factory ones goes out the replacements will last a lot longer, this tells me they knew of a problem and built the replacements to fix it.

The last mercury 250 2008 model, I had never lost a powerhead but did loose the electrical system on it twice which shuts you down just as fast, it also had two lower units replaced.

The one before that was a Mercury 225, 2006 model, in the first 10 or so hours I was prefishing for a big tournament at Lake Amistad, made a very long run up the river, probably 20 or 30 miles from any civilization, the lower unit blew apart, and I mean it had a huge hole in the side, I got lucky and nursed it back on pad and ran at about 3000 rpm the whole way back, as soon as I started to shut it down it came apart the rest of the way.
The one before that was a 250 Yamaha 2005 model, best engine I ever owned for the first 42 hours of use then it blew a powerhead, after that it blew 4 more powerheads over the next 3 months, one of them only making it 4 minutes of use, didnt even get it warmed up, they finally figured out the issue and supposedly fixed it, I promptly sold it to a guy who took it to Mexico, I heard a month later that it had blown again.

The one before that was a 2003 yamaha 200, it had 400 hours on it with never an issue, I sold it to a buddy, he put another 100 hours on it, I bought it back as a back up boat and probably put another 200 hours on it with never an issue, we sold it, the guy who bought it said it blew up the next week.

Apologize for the long story but you asked.

One piece of advice, dont be afraid of a motor that has previously had powerhead or lower unit issue's, usually once rebuilt they will last a long time, just make sure you have a couple years of warranty on it when you buy it.

Profound! That......that right THERE is totally ........... PROFOUND!!

Most engines do not like to be started up and go full throttle without being warmed up. I let my outboard warm up just like my truck, motorcycle etc. I believe that things work better once your oil temp and cylinder temps are in the operating range.

Thats just my .2 cents. Then like others have said, sometimes things just happen.

What you do is either 1) buy a 4 stroke, or 2) By a boat that either has a transferable warranty or an extended warranty.
Face it, there are two types of 2 strokes. Type 1: Those 2 Strokes that haven't blown up yet. Type 2: Those 2 strokes that have.
My 200 Optimax blew up without being under any kind of major stress. The computer was thoroughly reviewed by Merc, and luckily, I had an engine that had an extended warranty when originally bought. The rebuild cost me absolutely nothing, nada, zilch, in fact I didn't even see the bill.

On the other hand you can take care of your equipmemt and have it last. I bought new a 1973 Evinrude 50 HP in 1973, and it still runs fine with very little problems over the years.

My buddy blew his when some hydrilla clogged the water intake ports and he didn't shut it down fast enough.

I kinda agree with Smithaven...don't go over 50 hp and you seem to avoid a lot of problems. I've never had any probs with my 25 hp Johnson...I know, it don't get you there very quick, but if the fish are there, they'll wait for you...

THESE TYPE OF GUYS HAVE MORE MONEY THAN SENSE.

Break in is vitally important to 2 stroke motors. But even if you break them in right things can still go wrong. I had an 86 Yamaha that broke a piston in year 3 and then ran the another 13 without a problem. I had that motor 18 yrs and rebuilt it twice. It happens to the best maintained motors, you run them they may blow.
Have a mechanic check out the motor and see if there are any tell tale signs of current problems. It is like buying anything else used, you never know.

As long as there are vibrations of "MACHO MAN" echoing to muscle-shirt draped guys with a gleam in their eye........as long as there is a peripheral opponent in a starting gun "HOLE SHOT"..........as long as the vision of old comic book ads stir memories of some bully "kicking sand" in the face of the 120 pound weakling............................................there will be blown motors and rumors of blown motors in divers places!

BRING IT ON BAYYYY-BEEE! Let the Good Times ROLL!

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Abuse is not only cause. Compare it to your health. Can you predict that you are going to have a heart attack on a certain day? Nope...You also cannot tell what part internally will give out and cause engine failure. Routine maintenance sometimes isn't enough.