I recently bought a boat with gas in it that is at least 1 year old. The boat misses now and then, sometimes bad and can be hard to start at times.

Could it be the gas? I replaced the plugs....

It could be... but it could be that you may need a carb rebuild to fix the problems the old gas caused.

Any idea if the fuel was stabilized prior to putting it away?

I'd drain the tank & carbs, mix up some new gas and add some sea foam to it (at the rate suggested on the can) and cross your fingers.

marine_man

Yeah, take that old gas out before it DOES cause you to need a carb rebuild.

Just put it in your vehicle a little at a time.

Before you do a carb rebuild, try running some SeaFoam through it. This stuff works wonders for $7.

What kind of motor and year are we talking. It won't matter much in an old motor. Heck, I just ran two year old gas through my 1965 5.5hp Seahorse. It started on the first pull and ran like a champ. Of course, I dumped some fresh gas in with the old stuff.

Those old motors can burn anything...so I hear...and believe

It kinda sounds like a Merc.. Mine runs like that with new gas. Go out for a ride and burn that gas out, put some fresh stuff in. Then if you still have the problem, get it looked at. I also have ran old gas and it is no different than the new gas. I have figured out the quirks of this motor and can run it with almost no problems. Still a little hard to start though.