I just bought a boat with an inboard motor that has been winterized and sitting for the last two years, where do I begin? I know nothing about an inboard motor! I fired it up surprisingly quickly but didnt run it but just a few seconds. I have tried to get it to circulate water with no luck, Ive used muffs and just had the outdrive sitting in a bucket of water. How do I prime this thing and know it is circulating? The tilt on the outdrive works but is weak, is there a minor fix to this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Check the thermostat. You may not have run it long enough to let it warm up and open or it could be stuck in the closed position.

What type of motor and outdrive? How do you know the water is not pumping? Is it an inboard/outboard or a true inboard (like a ski boat)?

Its an inboard 350 with a Volvo Penta 280 outdrive. Ive been told this outdrive is one that has to be fully submerged in order to pump correctly. My old boat with a Yamaha outboard wouldnt pump with the muffs hooked up either but when submerged it did just fine. I plan on dropping it in the lake tomorrow and see if that does any better.