Just Learned this

[tsubaki]

I am not the correct person to advise you but my situation is similar.

At any given time I use 9 different outboards ranging from a 1969 model and all the way up to a 2005 model.

Some have the butterfly choke type, some have the primer pulse type. I have to look and see which type the motor has and operate accordingly.

Don't feel bad, my fathers employer had him go out to his house to see what was wrong with his outboard since he could not get it running.
On several different occasions (without the owner present) he went down to the dock, cranked up the engine, took the boat for a ride and returned to the dock with no problems.

The short story was the owner did not know the primer was in the key switch operation.
My father told him "you should have known it was just you and not the boat since your 15 year old daughter uses it all the time, why didn't you ask her to show you how to operate your boat".

[THEFERMANATOR]

Your probably seeing the fuel/oil mox that leaks out the front of the carbs into the airbox. Theres supposed to be gaskets on the airbox to seal it up, and a tube to allow the engine to suck the blown out fuel/oil mix back into the engine when it is running, but over the years this stuff gets neglected and ignored, and the mix drips out.

[wellcraftv20step]

Tsubaki. That's pretty funny because now that I think about it my son in law has never mentioned a single word about it being difficult to start!!!
Ferm,thanks I'll look into that gasket... By the way I can't believe what a fan I have become of the outboards as apossed to the I/o's I've had my entire life... I've been seriously searching for a 23/24 footer with a deep wide walk around to replace my 20.5 Pursuit hull which is a flush deck walk around and as much as I am a fan of the full transome I find my self shying away from the I/o's now!!!

[jamesbalog]

dont feel bad i had the same issue, my old man was the one telling me to push the choke rapidly and i just didnt know any better until i was shown the correct way.

I also had the same gas oi dripping problem on my 88 johnson... mine also loved her fuel. Sure you didnt get my old engine and put an evinrude cowl on it lol!