Never got hot?

[Set2sea]

Well I ran the engine for the first time last night!! 
My boat is on the hard. I ran her for at least a 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour and she never seemed to get hot. I am guessing my temp gage is not working, she didn't budge. The engine block never got hot to the touch. I stuck my finging in the cooling res and felt like cold tea. Looking in the cooling res, I couldn't tell if it was circulating or just vibrating.
I ran her at idle. Shouldn't she get up to temperature after running like that. I want her to circulate cause I have flush in there. I have one friend that says the thermostat could be stuck open, not allowing her to get up to temp. Another friend says they very rarely stick open and no load on the engine not heat.
What do you guys think?

[Ron Hill]

Set2 : Even if the thermostat stuck open in 45 minutes of running, the temperature should have started to come up!  It may not get to 160 degrees operating temp, but the gage at least should start to register.  A thought

[Jeff Tancock]

Keep in mind that these engine don't like to idle a whole lot. If I run mine without load the temp gauge doesn't move much if at all but the engine stills gets warm to touch. To get the temp gauge to move I really have to ramp up the RPMs in gear.

[Ed Shankle]

It must have been circulating since it never got hot, right? So that's a good thing. Better than overheating! But to get more accurate, get an infrared temp gun. Many of us have. They are cheap (Depot or Lowes have them) and will give you piece of mind when the temp guage isn't giving you confidence.

Ed

[Stu Jackson]

I have a 180F thermostat on our engine.  I can run it at idle all day and the temp gauge won't move.  The engine needs a load on it to get up to temperature.