Hard starting at higher altitudes

[John Lapic]

I have a 71 Johnson 9.5 and live at 4000 ft. Last winter I changed plugs, points, condensors, and replaced one coil. At home, in a barrel, I had it starting, with choke on, with one pull of the starter rope. Most lakes near me are at 6000 ft. At that evelation, it takes 30 or more pulls to finally get it running. Once it warms up, re-starting it is a no brainer. Is there something I can do other than adjusting the slow speed needle to make it more rich for the higher altitudes? I have tried that but it doesn't seem to help. If I always used it at 6000 ft., I'd make all adjustments at that altitude, but I fish lakes anywhere from 4000 to 6000 ft.

 

[crxess]

Re: Hard starting at higher altitudes

Making it rich is backwards. Air pressure is lower(less air) lower manifold pressure.

You need to lean out the engine to compensate for low air pressure. Turning the low speed screw in will help at idle, but starting and running requires the high speed jet to be reduced.