86 Mercury 60 hp 3 cyl won't get over 3000 rpm

Sorry if this is long but I want to give you all the info so hopefully someone can help. I recently purchased a boat with an 86 Mercury 60 hp 3 cyl on it. A couple days ago I was out on the river and was headed back to the ramp. Motor was doing great at about 5000 rpm and in an instant dropped to 3000. I checked the primer bulb and it was flat so I pumped and realized there was a hole in the bulb. Being an outboard rookie I thought this was the problem. I put a new fuel line on the boat and went back out the next day. Same thing, boat starts fine and will run smooth but will not get over 3000 rpm. So I performed a compression check with these results:

cyl 1 118
cyl 2 119
cyl 3 112

from what I understand although these numbers are great they are consistent enough that it wouldn't indicate a problem. When I removed the plugs no. 1 seem quite fouled and a little gunked up. Can anyone tell me with this happening so suddenly should I start my diagnosis toward a fuel problem or firing problem? Or any ideas or experience that you may have.

Thanks

Re: 86 Mercury 60 hp 3 cyl won't get over 3000 rpm

Sorry, I know that the compression numbers aren't great but seem ok and pretty consistent.

Re: 86 Mercury 60 hp 3 cyl won't get over 3000 rpm

sounds like time to rebuild the carbs