Yesterday evening I took my boat out and ran it about 1 hour straight
at full throttle, stopped at a restaurant for dinner for an hour, and
then ran it for 20 minutes straight until it suddenly started slowing
down on its own accord. I assumed I was somehow running out of gas from
the way the speed tapered down but that was not the case. For the rest
of the ride home, if i floored the engine, it would pull up like it was
trying to go full speed and plane out, but taper back down quickly. The
flywheel felt very hot when I touched it. Any ideas what could cause
this? Did the engine just overheat and this was its way of telling me
to slow down? (water was 86 degrees, air was like 84 probably). It's
done this before occasionally, and then run perfectly the next time I
took her out.

In addition, the engine sometimes slips in and out of gear. Often when
the throttle is in neutral, the 'clutch' lever (for lack of knowing the
right term) doesnt go all the way back and the prop will spin if the
engine is on. If the engine is off, the prop is locked in place and
wont spin freely. I get around this problem by often lifting the hood,
pushing the lever all the way back to get the boat into neutral. Is
this possibly stealing horsepower from my motor?

Sorry for the lack of technical terms, this boats a bit of a learning
experience for me.