I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it?

[erikpn]

I was running it in a tank and tested putting it into gear. Going into forward was fine. When I put it in reverse, the motor lifted itself out of the tank. It's my first boat. Is there some basic thing about outboards that I have overlooked? :redface:

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

I was running it in a tank and tested putting it into gear. Going into forward was fine. When I put it in reverse, the motor lifted itself out of the tank. It's my first boat. Is there some basic thing about outboards that I have overlooked? :redface:

Yes. The tilt lock was not set. That lever you lift up before you can raise the motor. It needs to be down to lock the outboard in place.

 

[erikpn]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

Yes. The tilt lock was not set. That lever you lift up before you can raise the motor. It needs to be down to lock the outboard in place.

Thank you! I knew it was going to be something utterly stupid. Wait damn I just tried the lever that I had to lift up before I could lower the motor and its already down. I've never had to lift anything to raise the outboard. It's a manual tilt and i just pulled up. Where would the tilt lock be found?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

Don't worry, you are certainly not the first one to do it.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

What's really fun is when you're at the lake, lift the motor to clear some weeds/gunk from the prop, restart it and put it in R then the motor starts climbing out of the water cause you didn't lock it down with the lever. Done this more than once and I blushed/cussed every time.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

Thank you! I knew it was going to be something utterly stupid. Wait damn I just tried the lever that I had to lift up before I could lower the motor and its already down. I've never had to lift anything to raise the outboard. It's a manual tilt and i just pulled up. Where would the tilt lock be found?

The lever that allowed you to lower the motor should be it.
Something broken or missing maybe?

 

[erikpn]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

The lever that allowed you to lower the motor should be it.
Something broken or missing maybe?

I found a locking mechanism that does it, probably something is missing because I have to stick my hand under the outboard and watch out for having my hand crushed while carefully moving the locking mechanism into place so it locks onto the mount.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

Find a boat with outboard just like yours and examine the motor lock to see what is missing on yours...then fix it up. Don't risk crushing your hand...not a fun experience.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

many only lock when in reverse

 

[bassman284]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

My 2003 Merc 9.9 4stroke is locked down in Nuetral and Reverse. To tilt it up I have to shift to Forward.

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

Thank you! I knew it was going to be something utterly stupid. Wait damn I just tried the lever that I had to lift up before I could lower the motor and its already down. I've never had to lift anything to raise the outboard. It's a manual tilt and i just pulled up. Where would the tilt lock be found?

What motor is this? On johnson/evinrudes there is a large pin that slides through from port to starboard on the mounting bracket. This is called a topper/tilt lock pin. When you flip the tilt lever up it releases from this pin; when you flip it down it is positioned so that it will lock into place when the motor comes back down.

If it's a merc, it will be slightly different. The 80's mercs I had needed to be in forward to be tilted up and would automatically lock when in neutral or reverse.

Check to see that you have that pin there or post your motor model and year and we can look up a parts diagram for the motor.

Cheers~!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

Having the tilt lock locked during normal operation is a recipe for disaster as well. Strike an object in the water at speed and you risk transom as well as motor damage. Leave the tilt lock disengaged so the motor can kick up if you strike something. The motor will obviously pull itself up if you get over zealous with the throttle in reverse. But then you don't need to rev much in reverse anyway.

As for why it pulled up in the barrel is simple physics. Going forward the motor pushes against the boat. In reverse it tries to pull away from the boat. If not locked down it pivots up on the tilt tube.

 

[superwooter]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

i have a '78 mercury 700 thunderbolt. it locks by itself when i trim down almost all the way in. if i trim up past a certain point, the lock is not secured. therefore, if i attempt to give it a bump of throttle while in reverse with the motor trimmed up more that slightly, say while in shallow water, the motor jumps up out of the water. i pretty much have to remember to troll out of the really shallow stuff with the electric troller and then drop the engine if i plan on reversing it.

 

[mars bar]

Re: I think I'm a retard? Outboard swiveled itself out of the tank when I reversed it

I've seen it where people use a piece of wood between the motor and bracket to keep it up while traveling... It sometimes bends the mechanics.