71 Outbaord Stalls at Low Speed

[Dan Salvin]

I have a 1971 40 HP outboard mercury. The engine starts up great and warms up ok with the idle level up half way or more. however, when I put the idle lever down to put it in gear, is sputters and almost stalls. As long as I put the throttle forward enough fast enough, the engine does not stall. However, when I need to slow down (i.e. approaching the dock at the launch) the engine will stall at very low speed. If I put it in neutral and put the idle lever up the engine will idle ok but it will stall if in gear at very low speed - runs fine at medium and fast speeds. It will star right up again after stalling but it makes docking and navigating a "no wake" area tough I'm new to this and just ordered the shop manual. Thanks.