Rolled the dice

All,

Seems like the most likely possibilities are minimal cooling water flow, or bad sender or gauge. I'd check connections at sender and gauge. What gives me pause about that is that at one point it did drop to 180, meaning it is functioning to some extent. Again, I'd like to see adequate water flowing out the pipes first to eliminate raw water pump issues. Then pull the stat if you want to prove that out. Then look into sender and gauge.

What did your temperature peak at?

Since you put a new thermostat in, what temperature was it?

And for the silly question, did it get put in "pointy side up" ?

No thermostat for short term testing won't be a problem

Update - Got the boat fired up Thursday night. As some of you thought it was not getting enough fuel. Ramp is only a few minutes from my house so I dropped the boat in the water and ran it for a bit. Temp peaked after a few minutes running and then came down to around 180 for a few minutes then went back up. I shut the boat down and let is sit for about 15 minutes and then fired it up again. Temp peaked again after a minute or so on the water and this time did not come back down at all so I shut it down and called it quits for the night.   Some questions.........any negatives to pulling the T stat and running the boat so see if the temp issue changes? I know the impeller was changed correctly so what would be next steps in temp diagnosis.......... is there a way to verify the temp gauge is correct? Temp issue aside, the boat ran well, no vibrations at any speeds (I did not push the limits only ran it up to about 25 mph), boat turned smoothly, boat slipped into reverse / forward well so nothing else major discovered.......so far. Boat idles way to fast so I need to address that. Appreciate any suggestions on next steps from the group.
Boat troubleshooting aside..........I hope everyone had a great 4th weekend!   

Michael............I was a newbie way back when........can't believe how many years I have been on this forum, reading post from all these guys and soaking in the fun and memories it has provided me.
I have a high degree of confidence I will get the boat running and any bugs worked out with all the input / support I will have from the group. Although I too poke and prod a few of the members more than others (you know who you are) I really respect them all and value their inputs as well as their forum presence. I was saying over the weekend if only so and so were here from CCFAN this boat would be running in no time at all.
And...........your red button input is noted.

burban65 wrote: Thanks for the feedback Ken! I think I need to put more gas down the carb as I was pretty lenient the first time. I did not even get a slight pop of any kind.

I would recommend caution....only 1-2 tablespoons of raw fuel down the carb throat. You don’t want a hydraulic lock condition.

JQ

Pete..........Noted on your input and Ken's hint. Will update the group when I revisit later this week.

David - no wet plugs
Peter - embarrassed to say but will admit I can't answer the question as to direction the engine was cranking

When you checked the plugs for spark, were any of them wet with fuel?

When you go to try it, don't pour gas down the carb first, in fact if your accelerator pumps are working, and you said you saw them squirting gas when you pumped the throttle, then you shouldn't need to pour any gas in. Pump the throttle a few times, turn the key and see what happens. Good luck!

If there was a lanyard or anything resembling a lanyard, it's function is to kill the spark by interrupting power to the coil. (Different from a fuel injected boat that might kill power to the fuel pumps instead) This isn't your problem, since you have spark at all the plugs and there's not a lanyard anyways.

Not being there, I'd guess that maybe you didn't pour enough gas down the carb throat to prime it or..........maybe too much and it was flooded.

If it ran at the end of 2018 and you're getting spark it should at least start.

I'd turn the key in the morning and see what happens. If it doesn't start, pump the throttle a couple of times and try again.

I won't ask a silly question like did the PO tell you it had a brand spankin' new starter or anything like that

JQ I have been burned by that (lanyard off) on my 05 before so can relate. I do not see anything like a lanyard on the 84 though. Puzzled as to what that switch below the Nav switch is........see first pic above.

/Users/owner1/Desktop/84 dash switches.png

Finally got some time to play with the 84 this weekend. Put the new numbers on, changed the oil, filter, impeller, new battery and T stats as those items are within my skill level. Went to fire it up and....................turned over but will not fire. Had spark at all the plugs, gas going into the carb when the throttle was pumped (poured gas in the carb before initially turning over. Condition reminded me of a lanyard off type situation that I have experienced with my newer Nautiques. I remember the 85 I had, and sold, had a master power fuse but did not see anything like that on the dash. There was a switch below the Nav switch (pic enclosed) that I could not figure out what it was for. Brochure here on the site did not help me. I got frustrated and called it quits. I am very week when it comes to mechanical troubleshooting and will not pretend otherwise thus would appreciate any / all inputs from the regulars on the forum. as to what I should try next.
Besides the boat not starting it was fun crawling around and messing with it, cleaning it up etc.... The garage in front of the house out on the street was a bit warm at times but not complaining about good weather. For the most part the boat and trailer are all there so it should be fun to play with for a bit (after I get it running) before deciding next steps.
I did take a few pics so I would not catch flack from you guys but I am still working on zipping them down to size to get them posted............will keep trying.

Drive it like you stole it. !!!!!!!

Over-kill is a symptom of BOD ( Boat Obsession Disorder). I got it bad...

JQ