---

Hello fellow Whalers. I am going to get straight to the point here.

I have a 1989 Outrage 18, which up until a couple weeks ago was running great. But the last couple weeks, on every trip, I've found it very hard to start. It's powered with a 1989 Johnson 120 VRO. What I've been doing is, every time i drain my water separator, I pump the primer ball, and after repeated attempts to fire her up, she starts.

I notice that when I drain the separator, there's a small amount of water, but there is quite a bit of this suspended white gooey looking stuff that, after a while, settles to the bottom. It doesn't feel gritty to the touch or anything, but very gooey looking.

Just this past weekend, I did the same routine, and after the boat running in the no wake zone for about 30 minutes, and after 5 minutes at WOT, the motor cut out, and the pump ball went soft.

Unfortunately, all I'm able to put in is ethanol laden fuel, so no other choices there.

Any ideas on this to start would be greatly appreciated.