It's not too bad a job to pull the foot off and change the water pump. Youtube is your friend. I had a blockage in my Yamaha 90 hp that you and I fished out of several times. I had it in the shop twice. They couldn't fix it (or didn't want to try). I brought it home and took the foot off to change the water pump. While I had it off, I took the thermostat out as well and ran a water hose through the thermostat opening. It flushed out what ever was in there. After I put the new pump in and put it back together, it pee'd like a two year old Clydesdale.