Mercury motor bogs down

[MNpurple]

I have a 2002 Mercury 25hp. The motor starts great, idles great, and once warm, runs great. The problem I have been having lately is when the motor is started from cold it idles fine, but when I shift it into forward (or reverse) and give it gas it sounds like it bogs down and if I do not shift it back to neutral fast enough, it kills. If I start it and then let it run for a minute or so to warm up before shifting, it works just fine. After that I can stop and start it multiple times with no problem, but if I stop it and then try to start it after an hour or so, the same thing happens. Any idea what this could be?

[bemidjibasser]

it's a merc... sounds like your plugs are possibly fouled? or you need to adjust the carb to me. just a guess

[boatfixer]

Ya, first thing I'd look at are the plugs. Sounds a bit too lean, idle mixture may need to be adjusted.

[harvey lee]

I had the same issue with a 25hp but it was a Johnson. I changed plugs and checked everything. I finally took it to a dealer and all he found was water in the carb, fuel lines and tank.

After that fix, it ran great.

[ozzie]

I have had the same problem with my 15hp Mariner since I bought it.....I always have to give it a pull on the choke-close it and shift into gear at the same time and then it goes