last summer i bought a boat with a 1985 115hp merc. the sellers said the motor had just been rebuilt, new carbs, ran it for me on the hose, sounded great. bought the boat. got it home, put it in the lake, and realized there was no power, couldn't get it up on plane. so... long story short... i learned way way way more about rebuilding outboards than i ever wanted to. i can now brag that i've rebuilt the ignition, fuel, and electrical systems. it runs ok. not great. never again. yeah, right.