Crank but no Start problem

[chrisrub]

I need all the brains on this board to figure this one out.

I've got an '85 OMC Sea Drive on my v20 that has been running like a champ. I put a lot of money into maintenance and other things this year, and she's been running good. The other day I went out to start her up and she would crank and crank but not start. I checked for fuel getting to the carbs, I checked for spark on all 4 cylinders and everything seemed good. I couldn't understand why it wouldn't start. So I squirted a little fuel in one of the cylinders and she immediately fired over and kept running after a few tries. Once started though, she was coughing and sputtering and puffing. It eventually cleared itself out and I resolved to thinking somehow it just got extremely flooded and I wouldn't run into the problem again. She ran most of the day just perfectly, but when I took a break for lunch at a nearby beach and let it sit for about 1 hour it wouldn't start again. Same issue, crank no start. I was able to get it back started by squirting some fuel in the cylinder again and got home just fine.

Everytime I check the plugs, they are soaking wet. This situation repeats itself every time the boat sits for an extended period. I'm kind of thinking the worst.. that there may be some water getting in from somewhere that fouls everything up. What are your thoughts? I appreciate any input!