Thread: What's going on with my Optimax 115

I took my Mako 18LTS out of the lake today and found this broken hose/tube (1st picture) hanging down when I trimmed the motor up to install the travel bar (whatever it's called). The motor had been running great with no problems. What does the hose do? What is the rust shown on the 2nd picture and is it a concern? Is that a gasket that's come loose that you can see on the last 2 pictures? Any help and guidance on what's going on here would be very much appreciated. I did have the water pump and lower unit reworked last fall.

Thank you,
TW