Saving Old Seagulls

Hi there, as some of you may have seen on my other thread I have a couple of old Seabees.
The small one is the one we would like to use the most for our tender boat but it is a pig to start. We've replaced the spark plug and cleaned the carburettor but it hasn't made a whole lot of difference. It starts eventually and runs fine once started, but at the moment it's quicker and easier to row out to our boat than it is to spend 40 odd goes starting the thing.
the big one starts no problem after just 2 or 3 goes but it is a bit too big for our tender boat.
Any tips on how to improve the little one would be most appreciated. Thanks.

As always, back to basics. Timing, spark and fuel delivery. If all of those are ok it should fire up easily.

Have you got it set to run a bit on the lean side? sometimes that can make it hard to start but once running seem ok, try turning the mixture up a touch and see what happens.

Nudge wrote:Have you got it set to run a bit on the lean side? sometimes that can make it hard to start but once running seem ok, try turning the mixture up a touch and see what happens.

I thought along these lines originally but could find anywhere on the carb to adjust.
Any idea on where I should be looking?
Thanks.

I think the needle jet is the only thing adjustable in them little carbs.
I would think its more likely to be a low compression problem.