I am fairly mechanicly inclined, yet I have no experience with marine engines. This is my first boat and I am experiencing some minor problems. The engine starts and runs fine when it is cold or when there is no load on it, when I get it out in the water it stalls/bogs down when it reaches the mid throttle range and if I don't back off it dies. When I pull the throttle back and push it forward quickly, then it takes off fine, however it is impossible to pull a skiier out of the water this way. From 0-full throttle it bogs down and dies and then it acts as if it has run out of gas. I prime the carbs and it starts back up, if I let it idle, after a minute or two it dies again. When it is going full throttle it runs error free and sounds absolutely great. I have cleaned the fuel tanks, checked the fuel hoses, properly measured the fuel ratio (50:1) and pulled the spark plugs and everything seems fine. Could my fuel pump diaphram be bad? Do all the 3 carbs need to be rebuilt? Could it be an elctrical short or timing? The carbs do leak if the engine is tilted forward, this does seem like it would be normal though. I bought the boat from a coworker who had the boat in the shop (the previous year)to ensure everything worked properly and everything is fine until the engine is at half throttle (this is where my problem area is). I enjoy the boat, yet I am frustrated by the mechanical issues when we get it on the water, not to mention not being able to pull a skiier. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone could please reccomend a good repair manual for rebuilding the carbs and ensuring proper carb linkage synchronization.
