What was wrong with them, you ask? You see, I was a full time outboard mechanic in an Evinrude dealership in those days. What I have experienced is what I know about the early 9.9/15hp motors. When they were introduced in 1974, sailboaters took an instant liking to them. The electric start and alternator were features they admired. Also, there was a kit to allow high thrust in reverse gear, making handling a large sailboat much easier, and top-mount controls for the choke and manual recoil starter.
There was one minor problem: The d*** things wouldn't run. They fouled plugs like crazy. For some unknown reason, the problem was especially bad on sailboats, however it also existed on "regular" boats. The factory came out with several kits to fix them. None really worked. I'd call the motor in and install the kit and send it back out...."fixed". And it would be back on Monday morning with fouled plugs. I'm sure some of those carburetors you are seeing on the -bay are the ones we changed out with factory replacements, which didn't fix the problem. Long story made short, it didn't take long for the lemon reputation to spread among the sailboat marketplace. It became so bad you couldn't give one to a sailboater. But it was good for Sea Gull sales.
The result in all this is I still have a bad taste in my mouth for the '74-'76 models. I don't know if the sailboaters ever got over it in later years, or not. I left the service shop in 1978.
