I bought a boat at the end of March. It has a 78 Mercury BlackMax 175 HP motor on it with hot foot. I took the boat out a few times this spring, then baseball and softball season happened and its been sitting. I am have a really hard time getting this thing to start. I also had a hard time getting it to start when I took it out in the spring. It was taking 15-20 minutes to get it to start then. Once it starts it runs awesome and I never have problems starting it again. Is there a trick to getting these things started. I have pumped the ball up, I have choked it, I've tried getting on the throttle. I don't know what I did back in the spring to get it started, it was never the same. The guy I bought from didn't have it but a few weeks, so he isn't much help. I really want to go fishing, but I want to be able to get this thing started. Thanks for the help! Carbs, and everything was replaced on motor this winter before I got it.