Owning one of these engines I can tell you first hand: dirty carb or
clogged fuel line will stall you out in the middle of nowhere. Also
beware - the bellows on the outdrive will go after a few years - that'll
leave you worse than stranded.

Larry Weiss
"...Ever After!"
"a little after..."

wrote:

What might be the first thing to break or shut down on the little 3.0
Mercruiser engine that would leave you stranded in the middle of a
lake? Considering it's kept well maintained and run in the 3200-3500
rpm range. Excluding fuel and battery.
Thanks,
HJJ