sherwindu wrote:

Don,

I am sure getting lot's of practice removing and reinstalling the carb. What finally
worked for me is when I took it in to a really competent mechanic. He located a jet
I wasn't even aware of, the mid-range jet, which was hiding under a plastic cap. After
cleaning that, I was able to put the engine in gear without it dying out. I then ran the
engine in gear at slow speeds for about a quarter hour and it smoothened out
and seems to be ok now.

This link may be helpful for you. It sure was for
me, and they're also a good source if you need parts.

http://www.boats.net/yamaha/partsyst...5dc715ee20c05c

(Yes, it is a really long URL, and YES they do
have diagrams for the other year models also.
Mine just happens to be a 1996 model)

I too can now pull the carb in about 15 minutes. What worries me is
that I'm working over water and can easily drop something overboard.

Been there, done that. I learned to work slowly
and be veeerrry careful. ;-)

I put a 'catcher' under the engine, just in case, but you know about
Murphy's Law about if anything can go wrong, it will.

See, you defeated Murphy by placing the catcher.
Of course, the water is not the only place you can
drop something. Try fishing a little part such as
one of those tiny clips out of the downhousing

Now that you know how small those jets are it
kinda makes you want to make sure that sucker has
a clean fuel filter in it and a clean gas can
attached to it doesn't it ;-)

Don W.