New to boating need advise

[Stephendhumphreys]

I just got a 1997 Bayliner Capri 1950Cl. Took it out for the first time today and I have to push the throttle to almost half throttle before the outdrive catches, which by the way is loud when it does. Can anyone give me some information on this matter? If this has been covered in another post please let me know. Thank you.

 

[midnightrider1818]

Hhmm sounds like shift cable needs adjusted maybe. Does the motor rev up high then it goes into gear. That is not good at all. Supposed to go into gear then the throttle takes over

 

[harringtondav]

Hhmm sounds like shift cable needs adjusted maybe. Does the motor rev up high then it goes into gear. That is not good at all. Supposed to go into gear then the throttle takes over

Above is correct. If your engine rpm comes above idle before the drive engages, you need to adjust your lower shift cable before you operate the boat again. You need to state you engine and out drive model to get the best help.

An expert contributor in Merc. Sterndrives achris can help you. I yield to him on shift cable issues.

 

[fishrdan]

What drive (and engine) does the boat have?

If Mercruiser, you need to swiftly move the throttle/shifter 2-3" forward, to shift into forward gear, and you'll hear a "thunk" as the drive shifts into gear. if you hear grinding/ratcheting, you're moving too slow. It takes practice to shift into gear quickly, without accelerating the engine. You should be able to "drop it into gear", with the engine still idling. Same with reverse, have to move the shifter 2-3" swiftly. (It's actually called the remote control.)

Also, what is the engine's idle RPM? Too high and it will shift into gear to harshly -loud. High idle is hard on the drive.

 

[achris]

.... High idle is hard on the drive.

Yep. 'Self-disassembling' hard!

Have a look at the video I did on shift cable adjustment. In the link at the bottom of my signature.

Chris........