Do boats really fix themselves?

I got a 04 Tige 24v w/ the us marine 375hp 6L with closed cooling. I took it out a couple weeks ago we surfed and played around for 3 hrs or so and it seemed to be running fine. At the end of the session I was going about 20mph and went to get it up to 30mph and I had nothing. zero power. The boat would go in gear but I had no power. Went home and discovered thru WW that the knob on the PP had come loose. Got it tightened back up and we went out this last weekend. We started to go and I could only get the boat up the maybe 18mph max, you could tell there was something wrong so I check the PP knob(seemed good) and we fiddled with it for a while. There was a what sounded like the motor was missing and had a little popping when being labored. Since we couldn't get to wakeboard speeds we decided to fill the tanks and surf. We did that and start going It was starting to labor more and sound like it was starving for gas and miss firing/popping. So we shut her down, emptied the tanks, I let my kids swim for 15 min or so and we start back to the dock. We started going back and all of a sudden I had great throttle response, I got it going to 40mph and was very confused. Brought it back to a stop and started going again and everything was working fine. We boarded and surf without issue for the next 3-4hrs. So my question is as I pack for a week of camping/boating, is the boat fixed, what could of been the problem? Is there still an underlying problem? My buddies and I were thinkin I run some fuel or injector cleaner thru it? Any help would be appreciated.

Sounds like fuel delivery. Change at fuel filter and since the boat is 10 probably due for a new pump

Originally Posted by yodd_tost

I got a 04 Tige 24v w/ the us marine 375hp 6L with closed cooling. I took it out a couple weeks ago we surfed and played around for 3 hrs or so and it seemed to be running fine. At the end of the session I was going about 20mph and went to get it up to 30mph and I had nothing. zero power. The boat would go in gear but I had no power. Went home and discovered thru WW that the knob on the PP had come loose. Got it tightened back up and we went out this last weekend. We started to go and I could only get the boat up the maybe 18mph max, you could tell there was something wrong so I check the PP knob(seemed good) and we fiddled with it for a while. There was a what sounded like the motor was missing and had a little popping when being labored. Since we couldn't get to wakeboard speeds we decided to fill the tanks and surf. We did that and start going It was starting to labor more and sound like it was starving for gas and miss firing/popping. So we shut her down, emptied the tanks, I let my kids swim for 15 min or so and we start back to the dock. We started going back and all of a sudden I had great throttle response, I got it going to 40mph and was very confused. Brought it back to a stop and started going again and everything was working fine. We boarded and surf without issue for the next 3-4hrs. So my question is as I pack for a week of camping/boating, is the boat fixed, what could of been the problem? Is there still an underlying problem? My buddies and I were thinkin I run some fuel or injector cleaner thru it? Any help would be appreciated.

Sounds like you are having fuel delivery issues to me as well. The popping you are describing are "lean pops". Main culprits - fuel pump, water in gas, fuel/water separator/filter clogged?

To answer your question, the problem likely hasn't entirely worked its way out and could still be an issue. If you aren't going to do anything about it, at the very least get some Blue Stabil and run non-ethanol premium through it.

I know when I've had water in my gas, that after the boat sits for a few minutes, the gas can settle and often the boat will behave again...

I'll agree with what everyone else has said on bad gas etc. I've also had a connector on my fuel pump get hot after awhile and present the same problems. Would let the boat cool down and it would run great. Same as what delta said though I'd run some premium and stabil in it for giggles none the less

At minimum, the PCM fuel/water separater/filter has a bolt on the bottom. Unscrew it and drain into a container. Maybe you had old fuel/water in that cannister still even if you filled up the big tank.

If you change the fuel filter inside the cannister, if it hasn't been opened in a while, have fun! I had to remove mine, put in a vice, and use a giant pipe wrench. Use a pipe wrench if its tough. I was using channel locks and they don't create the same torque as a pipe wrench.

Also, if you were surfing port and running heavy (I have the same boat and engine), you might be getting water in the fuel vent. I ended up relocating mine forward near the cleat after fighting similar issues as you. My family mostly surfs goofy and I had power problems only after surfing regular. Moved fuel vent and never had any trouble since.

The other thing to check is the check valve on the vent line. Is it oriented vertically? If its at an angle towards the port side, when you surf that side, it could be closing the surge valve and you are not getting any air in your gas tank. Easy to check by opening your gas tank cap and see if power comes back when air gets in the tank.