'86 ProV150- Need tips on starting

I always add stabilizer when I fill the tank and always put the boat away with a full tank - like I dis last October. Didn't winterize the boat because the climate here in NC is typically mild during the winter and I often go fishing during the winter months. But things change and for reasons that don't matter now I have not ben able to use my boat till now. Rebuilt carbs during recoup from surgery last sprng and it ran fine the few times I used the boat last fall. Now I can't get it started.
Looking for tips that might help me get started before I remove the air box and start the analytical process seriously. I know starting fluid is not wise.

stale fuel,gummed up fuel lines,primer bulb,filters,fuel/water separator, A fuel/oil mix can be sprayed into carb instead of starter fluid. When all else fails troubleshooting 101. Compression test ,spark test,fuel diagnosis, Eliminate one at a time

Were/are you using ethanol-blended gas (what you buy at 99% of gas stations) or 100% real gas available at a few stations and often at marinas? What brand/type of fuel stabilizer do you use? If you say it was ethanol-blended fuel and you add the regular Red Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer (adding even more ethanol) I'd bet your carbs and fuel jets in them have gummed up and need pulled and cleaned.

Pulled and cleaned, re-pumped up with fuel via the fuel bulb I'd bet the engine will then fire but will run rough like it is over-choked until you burn through that stale ethanol-blended gas. If you smell the gas, and it doesn't smell like gasoline but more like diesel fuel, heating oil, varnish, paint thinner, Kerosine, etc. you have some real old & stale gas on your hands.

Thanks for the replies, guys. The comment about the blended fuel scares me. Didn't think the blended fuel would be a problem, and have used the "regular" Stabil. I'm going to drain the tank, refill with non-bended fuel (when i find it), and hope to get it started to burn out what's in the carbs. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and thanks again.

rikclark said:

Thanks for the replies, guys. The comment about the blended fuel scares me. Didn't think the blended fuel would be a problem, and have used the "regular" Stabil. I'm going to drain the tank, refill with non-bended fuel (when i find it), and hope to get it started to burn out what's in the carbs. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and thanks again.

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Welcome to probably learning the hard way as I did. Ethanol-blended fuel is an absolute nightmare when left sitting in the tank and the engine. I got so sick of wrenching my way into the depths of the engine cleaning clogged filters, sending out fuel injectors, etc when things would gum up I stopped using it 3 years ago. For the premium you pay for non-ethanol gas it is $ so well spent... The difference between enjoying your boat and wrenching on it the engine ever year with breakdown after breakdown. When you refil with 100% gas and pump/flush it through the system getting rid of all stale gas, maybe it will start. If it does add a double dose of SeaFoam fuel treatment (available at any auto parts store) to the fuel and maybe you can run it and see if it will clean out any rough-running situation over a tank full of gas. If not, time to pull and clean the carbs. Going forward, add the GREEN color Marine Sta-bil to the fuel at the proper dose ALL THE TIME (not just for storage). The standard red color sta-bil is primarily ethanol (so you're just adding more to the problem by using it) and cleaning agents. The Green color is just cleaning agents at about 3x the concentration of the red.

Don't worry about water in fuel if you have a fuel water seperator (Racor style or such) and you probably have a small filter under the engine cowling with a red ring in the bottom of the vessle it sits in that will rise up and inform you of trapped water in the the filter there as it also acts as a small fuel/water seperator.