Re: engine/transmission problem
a spun hub in the prop might very well work with no load. same with the engine coupler. did the boat heat up when you were in the water? if so its the coupler. if it pumped water and ran cool but no gears its the hub in the prop. you might put it in gear and see if you can turn engine by turning prop backwards. a sure test is to put it in water and see if it runs cool while slipping. You might need to try to plane to get it to break lose again. some times they will reset for a while.
was boating at full rpm and engine seemed to pop into neutral, stopped engine, restarted and could not get back into forward or reverse--got boat out of water, traced throttle lines to back of engine and checked for broken or impeeded parts and found none. started boat in driveway, and it runs fine, and does go into forward and reverse and spins prop at speed of rpms in both forward and reverse. A friend said something about cotter pin and that when I put back in the water the water and boat weight resistance might cause the same problem---any ideas for how I might proceed? boat is 1974 trisonic 1900 riviera, engine is a straight 6 merc model 165--please respond to this or to samski30@aol.com