We had one come into a pasture that had ground squirrels. It tore the shit out of that field digging up and eating them. We let it be as it was impressive the speed it dug and how many squirrel burrows it destroyed. It moved on fairly quick after it ate that colony.
Have you noticed any other fuel leaking or drops of diesel under the tractor?
even a small crack in the fuel line will cause the symptoms you described.
OB jets do ok. Depends on the boat and motor. They can go as skinny as you dare ;). This 20’ is a little portly and I’m getting old, so I limit depth to 8” +/-
It will jump on step fairly quick, my guess is two or three boat lengths to plane at 4800’ elevation.
Current boat is a Wooldridge Alaskan II. 20’ with a 225 Optimax outboard jet and a Yamaha 9.9 kicker. I have abused it. Rode it hard and put it away wet. It has proven to be a great fishing, hunting and family boat.