No transmission contol and coming in!

My wife, little one, and I enjoyed yesterday cruising around Boca Ciega Bay. We returned to the marina and, while we were just 200-300 or so feet away from my slip, I was suddenly unable to shift into neutral. She was stuck in gear and coasting forward. My wife was on the bow with the hook. I told her that we had no transmission control and I was shutting down. We managed to bring her into the slip without a scrape. It was interesting that my wife and I never spoke while docking but just got quickly into action with the lines--we were in autopilot! I am sure if I had a larger boat the outcome would have been different, but all went well and this was a good learning experience. My wife is very much engaged in our boating and knows how to handle/dock the boat.

Once we were stopped and settled, I inspected the linkage at the transmission. I have dual controls and the small linkage pin broke and popped out. It appears to have been an R clip. It was not rusted as I regularly lubricate this area but mangled and bent. Easy fix and all is good!

Close call. You may need to find the cause of the pin being bent

I've been teaching my family how to run the boat. Showed them how I always shift to neutral, reverse, and back into gear prior to entering the marina, for this very reason.

Thanks for the training story to share with them. I think I would be able to "dead stick" my little boat in just like you did. Be a little different with the momentum of a bigger boat.

Glad it all worked out okay!

Northern Spy said:

I've been teaching my family how to run the boat. Showed them how I always shift to neutral, reverse, and back into gear prior to entering the marina, for this very reason.

Thanks for the training story to share with them. I think I would be able to "dead stick" my little boat in just like you did. Be a little different with the momentum of a bigger boat.

Glad it all worked out okay!

Click to expand...

Thanks! I am always open to sharing my "challenges" as I learn much from others who do the same. I am going to add your suggestion of shifting gears before entering the marina to my pre-docking routine.

Regarding why the pin broke, I've had the engine out twice for some work (replacing the oil pan gasket and repainting). By the looks of the pin, the yard may have reused the old pin--maybe it was a cotter pin or something someone rigged? I don't see anything that would have caused premature wear--the linkage looks normal. I plan to use quality stainless steel R clip and will inspect often.

My family thinks I'm a little anal sometimes (I blame it on my time on submarines), but my answer is, "Boats don't have brakes!"

I don't recall where I learned to check the gear, but I didn't come up with it myself, I remember being shown.

Hang around a marina long enough and you may see the gear failure on occasion. I've seen it twice personally. One wasn't graceful at all.

R pins are always stressed by design. Little bit of corrosion or a stress riser, and snap. Mangled, might be that it is missing a backing washer. Like you said, always a good idea to replace any type of retaining pin with new.

I cringe (inside) when I see reused cotter pins all bent up. But again, taught behavior, courtesy of the USN.

I checked the transmission schematics and looked at the connecting kit. Volvo Penta uses a spring washer and brass cotter pin. I was definitely missing the spring washer and the pin the yard used was stainless. I ordered the correct parts for less than $5 shipped.

Glad your fun and games time worked out well for you.


I've been in a similar situation and just about discolored my britches. Here's a link to my post. When I read through it a minute ago it still almost made me discolor my britches.


http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/remember-show-38808.html

As a child, I was told by the old-timers about boats that had big, single-cylinder, two-stroke engines with no transmissions. They flipped the magneto and started the engine backward to go in reverse. Starters? I don't know. I think electric starters came later.

The adverse conditions endured by previous generations are a marvel to me. People up north without snow plows and people down south without air-conditioning? Nobody had toilet paper. What does it take to make me happy? Really?

Glad your ordeal ended well.

Nice teamwork.

GFC said:

Glad your fun and games time worked out well for you.


I've been in a similar situation and just about discolored my britches. Here's a link to my post. When I read through it a minute ago it still almost made me discolor my britches.


http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/remember-show-38808.html

Click to expand...

That's a dandy of a story. [emoji3] I missed that one last year...

That is an amazing story, GFC! My wife and I read it together and were enthralled!