Put my boat back in the water last weekend. When I put the boat in the garage for the winter it was working perfectly fine. During the winter months (I live in Vancouver, Canada), I did the usual maintenance (change gear oil, motor oil, lubricate parts,clean, etc.). The boat started just fine and initially appears to be running fine. It ran well at 3500 RPM (my usual cruising speed) but after 20 minutes when I approached my cabin and started slowing down, it started to behave a bit weird, sputtering a little and eventually just died (and smelling gassy). It did that a few times until I managed to reach my cabin's dock. Each time, it restarted just fine. Going back to marina at the end of the weekend, same thing: ran perfectly fine at regular throttle (over 3,000 rpm) but hiccuped and stalled a few times when throttling down approaching the marina.
At first I thought bad gas (although I put gas stabilizer in the gas tank as I always do during the storage months) but given that it is running so smoothly at cruising speed I tend to think it is probably not the culprit.
Some friends mentioned spark plugs: they were replaced 2 summers ago and because it starts so well, I also doubt this is the problem (but may replace them next week just to eliminate this possibility).
Forgot to mention... PSI gauge is fine (right in the middle) at cruising speed but drops to unusually low when or just before the stalling problem occurs.
I am far from being an advanced mechanic but I am thinking possible carburetor issue? Agree? Disagree? If so, what should I do about it? Your comments and suggestions will be most appreciated! Andre
At first I thought bad gas (although I put gas stabilizer in the gas tank as I always do during the storage months) but given that it is running so smoothly at cruising speed I tend to think it is probably not the culprit.
Some friends mentioned spark plugs: they were replaced 2 summers ago and because it starts so well, I also doubt this is the problem (but may replace them next week just to eliminate this possibility).
Forgot to mention... PSI gauge is fine (right in the middle) at cruising speed but drops to unusually low when or just before the stalling problem occurs.
I am far from being an advanced mechanic but I am thinking possible carburetor issue? Agree? Disagree? If so, what should I do about it? Your comments and suggestions will be most appreciated! Andre