Roger is correct.  Although more expensive, alcohol-free gas is the only way to go in marine engines.  It's also helpful to use it in lawn/garden equipment as well.
Don Simons,  Ithaca, NY
    On Friday, May 14, 2021, 07:05:11 AM EDT, ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:  
 
 Tom,

Congratulations on getting the boat launched!  Mike is right about having to clean out carburetor.  There are lots of tiny pieces/parts to drop, so don’t do it on the water.

There are 3 things you can do to stop this sort of thing in the future:

1. Only use “Rec Gas”.  Today’s gasoline/alcohol blends are notorious for poor stability in storage.  Rec Gas has no alcohol in it and is much more shelf stable.

2. Every time you are finished with your motor for the day, disconnect the fuel hose from the engine with it running.  Let it run until the engine stalls from lack of fuel.  A carburetor that’s empty can’t get gunked up with bad fuel.

3.  Any time you are not going to use the boat for a long period of time, like over the winter, take the fuel tank home and use up the gas.  I usually burn the old gas in my snow blower over the winter.  Use fresh Rec Gas in the spring.

With these 3 precautions, it’s been many years since I had any issues with bad fuel or my outboard reliability.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 13, 2021, at 4:29 PM, Tom Van Heule <tom.vanheule at intrinsicprograms.com> wrote:
> 
> ?Thanks Mike!
> 
> Yeah it did good on the hose during prep for 15 min.  It did good on the
> main passage around the marina then died.  Your most likely correct it got
> clogged.
> 
> The best part was that I immediately thought of Stan, who probably wouldn't
> have been caught dead with a motor on his boat. At least years ago....
> Just wiggled that massive rudder and finished it in. LoL .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On Thu, May 13, 2021, 3:19 PM Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Tom,
>> 
>> Congratulations on launching. She looks great!
>> 
>> Outboards that don't like to idle generally have clogged idle jets. You
>> will need to clean and rebuild the carb, not recommended on the water. I
>> purchased a spare carb on ebay so that I can easily swap them.
>> 
>> Even if you run the engine dry in the fall, they tend to gum up over the
>> winter.
>> 
>> Mike
>> s/v Wind Lass ('91)
>> Nissequogue River, NY
>> I’d rather be sailing :~)
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of Tom
>> Van Heule
>> Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 4:06 PM
>> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] We launched today! Lake Michigan motor stuff.
>> 
>> First time in a slip, first time driving a boat around a marina.
>> 
>> It was all going nice and smoothly.  We picked a great day 70 degrees
>> 5-10kts.
>> As I turned down my dock isle the outboard decided it doesn't like running
>> slow... Maybe it's flooded, maybe last year's gas isn't good?
>> 
>> Hopefully it works this weekend.
>> 
>> What do you all do to prevent your 8hp from running to rich?  Seems like ,
>> when you don't have any currents to fight, 8hp is a bit much? It really
>> strengthens the want for an electric.  Much more granular throttle
>> control...
>> 
>> Anyways! See you soon,
>> Tom and Lea
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