Controls Question for a Mercury Outboard 1972 Thunderbolt 800

[krizm200]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and a novice to larger boats (well, 1974 Mako15 with a Mercury Thunderbolt 800 1972 outboard). I took the boat out yesterday, and had issues with the throttle controls, which I think I may be using incorrectly. There are 2 levers, one to put the engine in Forward, Neutral, and Reverse. The other I think is for throttle, or an idle increase? What position should the idle lever be in before going into Forward gear? With the idle lever 1/2 way up, I can only get 1/2 throttle or so when going into gear. Like I said, I am new to this type of control setup. I had a Tohatsu 9.8 4 stroke on a 14ft aluminum fishing boat before this with the grip on the engine. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Mark

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome aboard.

The big handle is shift and throttle. The small one is the warmup lever and is used in neutral for a high idle while warming up the motor.

The warmup lever will cause a bind if you try to increase the throttle in gear. Push the lever down after a cold motor is idling OK and warm.

 

[krizm200]

Thanks for the info! Hope to try it out again this weekend.

Mark