I know this is going to be very vague and could be caused by a lot of things but I would like to hear some most likely guesses and suggestions. I have a 1965 Mariner Runabout with a 1965 90hp Evinrude. I've only had it on the water 3 times. The first time was only for a few minutes as I wanted to see if it would start and run ok. I did this just to make sure the engine was actually going to work. I then tuned it up, put in a new water pump, and replaced the gear oil. The 2nd time it ran good. We were out running around in it for about 20 or 30 minutes. This last time, we were out for about 45 minutes mostly just idling around the lake looking at the houses. It ran good but then just quit out on the middle of the lake. It was my luck too that I didn't have an oar with me so we had to wait for the wind to blow us toward shore. It ended up blowing us right to the boat ramp or at least pretty close to it. Anyway, the motor was just idling along and sounded fine and then the rpms just started dropping and it died. I tried to give it a little throttle before it died but I was too late. It acted like it ran out of gas but we still had plenty. It would not start back even after sitting for 30 or 45 minutes while we were floating on the lake toward the boat ramp. The next day I tried it and it fired right up. So, what would be the most likely cause of that? Was I idling too long and it got hot? Any ideas would be appreciated. Again, I know it could be a million things but in your expert opinion, what is most likely the cause?
