About 20 years ago, my son hauled home a small boat with a Merc. Mark
55 engine. As I recall, they were rated at 40 HP. It was an electic
start model, but the starter was missing some parts. He called the
local Merc dealer about restoring the engine and after the dealer
stopped laughing, we decided that the motor wasn't worth putting any
money into it. However, I recall going out on a friends boat , a 14
footer with the Mark 55 and it was a fast little boat and could pull 2
skiers with no problem. I think you'd be wise to take the advice of
another poster and just take the trailer and dump the rest.