[capta]

I ran Seagull OB's for years with no fuel filter at all, all over the SoPac. I'd probably just put any commercial inline fuel/water filter in the line (for gas, not diesel) and let it go at that. It's not like your fuel is filthy in the states like it is in the 3rd world.
$90 for an element seems just a bit out there to me, especially on a motor that one can disassemble, clean and reassemble the carb in an hour or so.

 

[capta]

Thanks capta, but we are talking about water filters...not the British Seagull outboard.

Oops, my bad. Sorry.
The logo looks the same, but I have admit, I've not seen anything on a Seagull OB that looked like that.
I've had great luck w/ JB Weld as a patch on metal, but it must be very clean and roughed up with sandpaper.