I had a fuel problem pop up on this trip, I think it was of my own doing. When we put this boat together the motor/drive has a water separator/filter mounted on the block and hard plumbed to the fuel pump and carb. the boat came with a Racor with a drainable bowl. From my research some people run dual filters and thats what I did. I had no issues with that arrangement in 580 hours. When I put in the new LB I converted to a electric fuel pump and retained the dual filters.
Last trip we put on 20+ hours with no issues, this trip we put in another 15 or 20 when I experienced a loss of power at fast cruise (4200 rpm). The motor never quit but would not accelerate. We had been running for about 20 minutes at that RPM. I happened to be looking at the chartplotter when this happened and the first thing I noticed was very high MPG reading and then zero flow on the fuel gauge. Indicating loss of fuel. We were not out and have never had fuel issues on this boat and stored with locking fuel cap.
I put a new filter on when we put the boat in the water in 2018, I had drained the bowl every now and then and would sometimes get a drop or two of water. This year I put on a new filter and when I removed the bowl there were a few aluminum chips and other particle's, very minor, tank was built new in 2018.
In any case we got moving again and 20 minutes later same thing, loss of power no flow. Made it back to port, filled the tank and headed back out to Unakwik, a 50 mile run and no issues, all at cruise speed but slightly slower, 3400-3800.
We hung out shrimped/fished for a few days w/no issues. then headed to Naked Island ~ 25 miles and it happened again, soon enough we got going, drifted, anchored, fished and headed back, 20 minutes in same thing this time we are DITW and no restart.
I had drained bowl and blew back through fuel line to tank from Racor when in the Harbor. I am now running on the kicker, the Admiral is driving. I remove the Lowrance fuel flow sensor w/no luck, I bypass the OP switch and hot wire the fuel pump. The motor finally starts and I think I have identified the problem.
We hang out overnight, start out the next morning with FP hot wired, pull pots, head out and it will not accelerate past 2K. We go about 10 miles in this manner and after about 15 miles I slowly accelerate to 3200 and was able to maintain that back to port ~ 35 miles. I am stumped, flummoxed as it were.... Its got to be a fuel problem, right? More to come.