Re: new to boats have no reverse
When the engine speeds up and the boat doesn't, that is usually a spun hub. The prop has a rubber donut inside it and with age these donuts sometimes fail, allowing the propshaft to spin almost freely without turning the prop very well.
You can have the prop re-hubbed. Just bring it to your local Mercury dealer or for that matter, any boat dealer. They all farm them out to prop shops. In reality, you can buy a new prop here on iboats or you can buy a used one on ebay quite a bit cheaper than new.
As far as no reverse, It could be a simple adjustment issue. On the right side of the engine between the transom clamps is a long hex coupler. Forward is down and reverse is up. SO: If you loosen the locknut and gradually turn the coupler so the upper and lower rods shorten, you may get reverse. Understand that it does not take a lot of adjustment. Less than 2 turns should do it. Go too far and the engine will either skip out of forward or not go into it at all
