1976 Mercury Stator Problems

I have a 1976 Mercury 1150 thunderbolt I purchased a few months ago. It has ran fine up to this point. Was having recent issues with it dying at idle speed but fine at higher RPM's. Parked it in boat slip one night and the next morning it wouldn't start. It turns over and spitter sputters, but will not start, and does this till the battery is dead. Compression, fuel, and spark are good, except it will not run. Then I found that the stator wire coating has dry rotted to the point that both wires are touching and would be shorting out. Clearly the stator needs replaced, but would that wire short keep the motor from running?