starting a motor

[jcork11]

I recently got a 1970 boat and motor that has not run since probably late 80's. the motor has compression and is getting fuel but NO spark. What do I need to do? The boat also has electric start but no battery. Does the ignition have to be on before there can be spark? All I have tried to do is pull start it

Thanks

[jesseroel]

ignition must be on, you can jump the starter, but without ignition turned to on position, will get no spark. put a fresh battery on it, this is a must to check start. once u have the good battery on it, turn key to on position, prime it, and try it. if nothing happens other than spinning flywheel, then pull all plugs, leave plugs in boots, then use a pair of ELECTRICAL INSULATED pliers to hold the gapped part of plug against motor(ground), have somebody turn the starter for a second or tow, if u see a spark in the sparkplug, tht one is good. do that with all plugs. if one doesnt work, your coil for THAT cylinder may be out. if both plugs on one side dont spark, its a power pack, and if you get NO spark at all, it could be your stator ***y, or timer base. plugs are cheapest replacement, then ignition coils r next price up, then power packs, then timer base n stator r usually ur mpst expensive parts, electric wise. lol. im new to this, but had to learn how to troubleshoot my motor on my own, and i did ALMOST everything the 34yr mechanic did, lol. hope this helped.