Primer bulb issue

[chrisrub]

The last few times I used the boat, the primer bulb was nearly impossible to squeeze when first trying to start the boat. There was no fuel in the bulb so I know it wasn't already primed.

I have it set up as: Tank > Primer Bulb > Water Separator > Inline Filter on Engine > Fuel Pump

I removed the fuel hose from the water separator and the primer bulb operated flawlessly, easily pumping fuel into a gas can. I'm pretty sure that eliminates an issue pulling fuel from the tank.

It also took many attempts to get the boat running, but once running I had no problems going at idle or WOT for the rest of the day.

Anyone have a similar problem or have any suggestions?