Late 60's Sportwin 9.5hp gear switching problem

[Salmon Hatchery]

Hello all!
So I tried to take my sailboat out yesterday and got the motor in neutral, untied off the dock, backed out of the slip the hit the motor into forward but i was still in neutral!! I then had to gracefully back the boat into a slip that was off limits due to sinkage, i jumped on the dock and the dock sank, i fell in. But thats beside the point. I'm not sure why backwards engadges but forward does not. After some time trouble shooting i got it in forward only twice by hitting the lever pretty hard (or just luck) then backwards started to not engage, thats when i quit working on it in fear i might be making it worse. Thanks for any advice or help!!

Eric

 

[Rick.]

Re: Late 60's Sportwin 9.5hp gear switching problem

How many people were watching? Not really important I know. Look under the cowl where the shift lever is connected to the shift rod. There is a bolt to tighten/loosen the connection. Put the gear case in neutral and then loosen the bolt and adjust the lever so it is in the neutral position/location. Tighten the bolt back up and see if that makes a difference. You may have to have it a little more up or down until it shifts right each way. Let us know if that does the trick. Rick.

P.S. when switching gears you should make the shift rather abrupt rather then trying to feather it into and out of gear.

 

[Mandrake35]

Re: Late 60's Sportwin 9.5hp gear switching problem

I'm pretty sure if you tighten the top nut on the linkage, it will make it shift "more" forward, if that makes any sense. Is there play in the shifter? Has it ever popped out of gear before? Any shrapnel in your lower end oil? If I had to guess the top nut just vibrated and backed off a little. Hope you get it. Usually you see boats sinking at the dock, not docks sinking at the boat!!!