I recently bought this boat which is in great all around shape. However, it stranded me when it failed to restart after running for about 10 minutes. It acted exactly like the battery was dead. After buying a new battery and not solving the problem, I found that the starter gear was sticking in the flywheel and not allowing the starter to "spin up" before engaging the engine. I ordered a new starter and while waiting for it to be delivered, I decided to take a look at the flywheel's teeth. They were virtually like new until I discovered a section of about 10 teeth that were missing about a third of the width of the teeth. My starter is the old Prestolite which has an external solenoid. I'm hoping that I will be able to continue using the flywheel for a while, (maybe change it this winter). Has anyone any experience with such damage? I kind of think that with the new start engaging properly that even if it lands on the bad section, enough of the strength of the remaining teeth will allow my engine to still start. Any one care to offer a forecast?
