Putt putt...

 Ahhh, the Yamaha 15 HP two-stroke.  Very popular for its reliability.  Except when it ain't.  I had had some issues with the idle on the dinghy outboard for some time, but was loath to tackle a carb repair because, well, there's no good place to work on it.  I half considered taking it off the dinghy and mounting it onshore, but then I wouldn't have access to the store of tools on the boat.

Well, it finally quit altogether.  Wouldn't start at all.  And this was the day after I had come in from Cousteau having intended to use it to get further out onto the reef.  The winds did me a favor there.  I would have been rowing back to the boat.

Now my hand is forced.  All the cards are on the table.  Just waiting for the turn and the river.  But wait!  There is something called 'YouTube' and it happens to have the definitive how-to video of carb overhaul on the Yamaha.  (It also has the idiot who says "This is my first attempt at taking the carb off my outboard" then proceed to talk about his motor stand and how he modified it.  JFC, Sparky, you don't make YouTube DIY videos of your *first time*!  I actually watched a bit of it - trust me, he's an idiot.)

So carefully following the *right* YouTube video, and even more carefully handling tools and parts and such standing on a rocking boat with the outboard on a bracket over the water, (did I mention the intermittent rain showers and wind gusts?) I manage to get the carb off the motor and the cowling back on to protect it from the elements.

I laid a garbage bag on the cabin table and an oil pad over that.  Using an egg crate to hold parts, I took the carb apart.  Now the outside was just full of sticky shellac.  The inside, however, looked pretty clean.  (Of course, I don't have carb or brake cleaner).  The idle jet was, as expected, dirty.  I don't have compressed air, either.  I know you're not supposed to start jamming stuff down the jet to clear it, but what choice did I have?  First with thin wire.  No luck.  Can't find monofilament to poke with.  But I did find a length of comm wire with individual insulated strands that were just the right size.  So I'm poking and bending the wire, getting frustrated, and along comes Ian on his dinghy.  I asked him if he had any carb cleaner and he was kind enough to go back and get it for me. 

Ah, so now I have the idle jet in a glass jar soaking in carb cleaner.  This should do the trick. right?  Not so fast.  Kept pulling it out and blowing through it, looking down the tube - there is still something in there that won't come out.  And it vaguely looks like a Mercedes hood ornament.  (I'm not making this up.)  So more poking and prodding, soaking, etc.

Finally with my bad eyes I got an in-focus look down the tube.  Yamaha in their infinite wisdom put a restrictor plate in the middle of the idle jet.  The plate has three symmetrical holes drilled in it - hence the 'Mercedes' look.  Now there may have been some gunk on the plate that obscured the round holes originally, so maybe I can be forgiven for not finding a magnifying glass and checking more closely, but I have never heard of such a restrictor in the idle jet.  And - more importantly - the YouTube video had a sighting down the idle jet and there was no such restriction.

Put it all back together and the motor runs like a top.  I'm exhausted just from telling this tale, as I'm sure you are from reading it.