Bogged down badly...need a fuel/water separator?

[tonyjh63]

So, there were four of us on my boat ('99 Bryant 182 Limited, with Merc 4.3, Alpha 1, Gen 2, 4-blade 19 in prop) cruising along around 3000 rpm when I decided to open it up some more, just to see what she'd do. When I did, the engine bogged down big time, finally slowing down to idle, then died. I waited a minute, cranked it back up, kept my eye on all the gauges (I checked the gauges when it first happened, to make sure I had oil pressure and wasn't overheating). Going by the gauges, everything seemed fine (oil pressure was varied from 40 at idle to 60 at 3000 rpm, if I recall correctly).
After cranking back up, we docked at a restaurant for about an hour an half, got back in the boat and drove it a couple of miles back to dock. I kept it around 2800-3000 rpm, and it seemed to run just fine.
Any ideas what might have happened to cause my engine to bog down like that? Someone has suggested I need to install a fuel/water separator kit...? Any recommended kits out there?
Also, can anyone ballpark what my top speed "should" be? Like stated above, it's a Bryant 182 (18', 2"), 4.3 Merc (190hp, I believe), 4-blade, 19 in pitch prop, 2.0 drive ratio (that's what the sticker reads, but haven't verified this). The boat weighs 2500 lbs. No, I have not yet been able to do a WOT test to check what the boat will actually do. A mechanic has checked and verified my tach, and my speedo is a GPS unit. I'd just like to know what I should be expecting when I am able to try it out.
As always, thanks for any info/advice!
Tony

 

[Scott Danforth]

all boats should have a fuel/water separator. iboats sells them. they get installed between the tank and pump

sounds like your accelerator pump circuit has issues. pull the carb, go thru it.

 

[Maclin]

Being a '99 Model with 4.3 I am pretty sure it already has one, when was the last time it was changed may be the question. There is also a filter in the carb at the fuel inlet, probably time for a carb refresh too.

 

[ajgraz]

Your problem could be a kinked fuel line, or blockage in the fuel line due to delamination of the inner liner, a loose clamp or fitting somewhere in the fuel line, or any number of other things...but as has been said, a fuel/water separator is a super-wise investment. During install would be a good time to inspect your fuel lines!

 

[tonyjh63]

Thanks for the replies everyone!