Performance loss

"I own a 26 foot tolley craft

"I own a 26 foot tolley craft with a 454 mercruiser thunderbolt IV. On my last trip I was heading back to port when my engine began to incrementally loss power. If I tried to throttle up she would cut out, if I kept it where it was at she would continue to run but continue to lose power, if I disengaged the tranny she would throttle up as if there were no issues. Finally if I shut down and sit for a bit, I could restatrt and I would have normal performance for a while then she would begin to slowly loss power. I have no issue with starting, she allways start as expected. I suspect fuel delivery issues however I am not all that aquinted with the ignition system.

Any ideas"

i would suspect water in the f

i would suspect water in the fuel. Empty the contents of the carb float bowl and fuel filter and check for water. If you have good fuel i would suspect worn secondary ignition parts starting with points/cond./cap/rotor/coil.

"You might have MY problem at

"You might have MY problem at the moment: A bad fuel pump. On mine, the vacuum side check valve is screwed up. The boat'll plane off just fine, then start surging and backfiring. Sound familiar!

Jeff

PS: THose Tolleys are great boats. Nearly bought 30 footer."