I agree about your fuel concern. Boat won't run on water :-) Dump the
gas from the carb by removing it and turning it upside down. Put in
back on. Dribble a little gas down the carb to get it started. Just
run it for a half minute or so and then remove and dump the fuel filter
to see how much water you picked up from the tank. Keep doing that and
pouring the fuel filter into a glass container until it stops picking
up water. If you are careful you can pour the gas off the top from the
galss container. I use a 2 quart glass measuring cup. Don't tell your
wife but wash it out real good :-) If you do this several times and
still keep getting water in the fuel filter then you might have too
much water in the tank and you're going to have to syphon it out. Best
way is to remove the sending unit as that will let you hold a hose
right at the bottom of the tank. With a flashlight you can sometimes
see the water/fuel layer in a fuel tank through the hole where the
sending unit goes.

Too much water in the bilge can result in water in the oil. Gas
engines do not really have a sealed oil system. There are lots of
places that are sort of a inperfect fit like where the oil dipstick
goes into the pan. If the bottom half of the engine sits in the water
for a while it will get water in the oil. Iffy gaskets and connections
to your fuel tank can cause the same problem when it is submerged. If
yuou find a lot of water in your fuel tank then you should replace the
sending unit gasket, any other gaskets, and check all the hose
connections well. You really want a good sealed fuel tank.

As always be extra careful messing around with gas. A few gallons can
turn into a real fireball in the right (or should I say wrong)
consditions.

AL wrote:
I could not tell if I was getting fuel in the carb, but I took the line
loose from the pump to the carb at the carb and got fuel to spew out
(into a coke bottle). After I did this, the engine hit a couple times
but then wouldn't hit again. I'm thinking the pump is primed but I may
have water in the fuel. By the way, I have only owned the boat for
about a month and it's my first i/o (had a pontoon with outboard) so
I'm a little on the slow side when it comes to i/o boating.