Yamaha 242 limited

[Tom Denion]

After resealing the intake grates I am almost sure that is my problem, the port pump got worse after I resealed it. In my service manual it showed how to apply the silicon, does anyone know what type of silicon to use I am seeing "black marine silicon" on some posts should I use this, where do you get it? Obviously I did not do a proper seal job, I am going to order new grates, impellers and housings and change everything, my real concern is doing a proper job on the grate seal, the tops of my grates were pitted similar to cavitation damage, and came to a very sharp edge. I put silicon where it showed in my repair manual but obviously I got it wrong. When I have everything apart, I can put my new grates in and will be able to see the seal between the grate and impeller housing. Does anyone know of a good video or detailed pictures of how to properly seal the grate? I did such a bad job on my port pump that it is in total cavitation mode, it contributes no power whatsoever. This Thursday I am going to pull it from the marina hope I have enough thrust to get the boat on the trailer. I can get everything new for about 1000$ which is nothing for getting this boat out of the marina. If someone could give me some suggestions on how to get the grate seal done properly I would appreciate it.