Hi I'm am new to this forum. I have been around boating my entire life and I'm very mechanically inclined. I recently picked up a 1973 hurricane fun Decker ( my first boat). It has a 188HP mercruiser (ford 302) with a 888 stern drive. I am completely new as to how this motor even operates. I placed muffs on the inlet ports for stern drive turned on hose and started engine, and engine runs fine for sitting for two years. my question is about the cooling. where are the exit ports for the water? does the water fill up the compartment blow the engine where the oil pan sets and the bilge pump pumps it out? or should the water be pulled in by the stern drive and pushed out by the engine somewhere? haven't gotten bilge pump working out so water that is pushed into stern drive with hose drains out the drain plug a hole. am I on the right track or do I have a leak in my cooling system. any explanation or links would be greatly appreciated, like I said im complete noob have no idea. Thanks
