help my as is hard to start

[backfoot100]

I personally think that vapor lock is a myth in these boats but I'm certainly no expert. I've never seen it myself and every hard starting issue I've ever heard of had a logical remedy that was nothing even close to vapor lock. Just my .02

Start it up, get it warmed up and remove the flame arrestor. Shut it down and look down the throat of the carb and see if there is any gas leaking into it. I'll bet there is. It's basically flooding itself out as soon as you shut it off. The fuel dumping into the carb will eventually stop as soon as the bowl is low enough on fuel or even empty. Then the raw fuel either evaporates off or washes down the cylinder walls and you can start it again (i.e. poking around and not really doing anything).
It's either a dirty needle/seat or a float that as become saturated and too heavy so it doesn't close the needle/seat or it's just adjusted too high. I'm guessing a carb rebuild is in order if you have no idea when the last time it was ever done.
By the way, if this is the issue, you should be able to hold the throttle wide open to help it start when hot but it may take quite a bit of cranking to do that.

[RonT]

Mechanical fuel pumps & carbs. rarely vaperlock if ever, next time out before you shut down open the hatch, remove the spark arrester, turn off the engine & see if fuel continues to dribble down the carb throat, this is a very common problem and will cause hard starts like you have described. If this is the case a simple fuel system tune up and carb re-build will take care of it.

[C0R3Y]

I was afraid it was carburetor related. Unfortunately I have never rebuilt one. I’m no slouch with a wrench, but I am far from a mechanic. Anyone know of a good “how to” video that would be similar/identical to our carburetors? I ordered an engine and trany manual, but I am not sure it will be here in time.

Big thanks to RonT and backfoot100 for the help so far!

-Corey

[backfoot100]

It's pretty easy to do. I can't help you on a website but you can get a book by Dave Emanuel called Super tuning and modifying Holley carbs. It has a step by step in there for rebuilding one.

[C0R3Y]

I just ordered ‘Super Tuning and Modifying Holly Carbs’ from Amazon. I also picked up the ‘Holly Haynes’ manual just in case. I’ll post back after this weekend and let you know how it goes. Can’t wait to dive into this project.

-Corey

[backfoot100]

Confirm the problem before you rebuild something that might not need it. Rebuilding a carb isn't rocket science but troubleshooting a problem to verify the carb needs rebuilding is the first step.