These engines are quite misunderstood as far as the "Hit or Miss" aspect.
What it's all about is this: the ignition is on a cutout hooked to a governor. All it does is kill the sparks over a set RPM. If you've the engine under load, it won't cut out unless it over revs. And you can set the RPM at which it cuts out.
Oh, and the pot of water is simply a cooling device, The idea was to simply add cooler water if the thing got a bit hot.
So, its really just a big water-cooled single with a governor.
Cosmo