OK first of all I am a newbie, I know little to nothing about boat engines. I have recently inherited a boat from my father, it is a 17' 6" runabout with a 1150 mercury (1978). The boat sat for a number of years (in a garage) and after changing the plugs, checking the wiring and mixing up new gas the motor started on the first try. The first day on the lake the throttle didn't seem to open all the way, top speed was 27mph. And after about 20 min it starting cutting out. I adjusted the throttle cables and pulled off the dist. cap and found alot of corrosion inside the cap and some material that looked like sand. After cleaning the inside of the cap and rotor button, I went back to the lake and this time the boat ran at about 35mph, but still was cutting out, and had absolutly no power out of the hole. I am currently looking for a new dist. cap, and was wondering what else I should check.<br />Thanks
