If you are worried about cracking a lower unit,
1. check your lower unit gear oil, if it is milky you got a problem. Couple places it could be getting water which will require fixing. If its clear oil, you are good there.
2. After pulling out of the lake, let the motor drain, then trim all the way up. Trim back down. Sometimes this will drain residual water out of the engine cooling jacket ports.
3. Before leaving the ramp, crank the motor up out of the water for a second or two. Not long!!!!!! All you are trying to do is spin the remaining water out of the impeller blades and break any vacuum that might keep a pocket of water from draining.
A boat mechanic told me to do this operation on my motor back in the 80's and it has served me well.
An added tip when you put up for the year was to put the flusher on the hose, start motor and spray half a can of silicone spray (use the straw) in the water intake with the motor running. Shut off and let drain normally. Story was it would lubricate and protect the impeller blades over the winter and keep them from drying out or sticking to the pump walls. Not sure if this really helps or not as I never remembered to do it.
