Re: can ne 1 help?
Boomerboy,<br /><br />Don't know if this will help. I'm a novice at mechanical things but have had my share on things going wrong. My Merc 25 stayed idle for a while. I would get it to start but it would sputter and die once I put it in gear. The mechanic said the carburator had gummed up and he also had to replace the fuel line beneath the cowling. In short, you might want to check the fuel system...including the fuel tank (which I also had to replace because of gooey varnish...tells you how long I was down. <br /><br />As for power for the 12 ft jon boat...depends on how fast you want to go. I have had a 9.8 hp push a 160 lb Aluminum boat to plane with two on board and was quite comfortable...just could not outrun a thunderstorm, but it did fine. I would suspect similar performance from your 5 hp. <br /><br />Good luck.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />VKS
