Alpha 1 Won't Go Forward

[havasujoe93]

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I was in Havasu last weekend and I was waiting for my buddy to back my trailer in, the boat was in neutral; when i went to put into drive, it went backwards(reverse). The boat will go reverse when it is in the forward and reverse position. It will still idle in neutral. The boat is a 1990 California Cool. Does anyone have a info or insight on what it can be. Any information would be greatly appreicated, and if you know of anyone in the Havasu area that can fix it.
THANKS ALOT.

[Dr. Eagle]

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I was in Havasu last weekend and I was waiting for my buddy to back my trailer in, the boat was in neutral; when i went to put into drive, it went backwards(reverse). The boat will go reverse when it is in the forward and reverse position. It will still idle in neutral. The boat is a 1990 California Cool. Does anyone have a info or insight on what it can be. Any information would be greatly appreicated, and if you know of anyone in the Havasu area that can fix it.
THANKS ALOT.
Could be either of the shift cables... I had something like that happen on my OMC Cobra years ago...
Did you try shifting from the yoke on the engine...??

[havasujoe93]

Could be either of the shift cables... I had something like that happen on my OMC Cobra years ago...
Did you try shifting from the yoke on the engine...??
I made sure the cable wasn't broken on top of the engine, I think it's the connection in the drive but I thought I might get some info from anyone that might have gone through this in the past. THANKS for your help.

[Dr. Eagle]

I made sure the cable wasn't broken on top of the engine, I think it's the connection in the drive but I thought I might get some info from anyone that might have gone through this in the past. THANKS for your help.
Most likely its the lower shift cable as you suspect. Those cables have a finite life, and it isn't a bad idea to change them every 4 or 5 years. Mine seemed to fail in that time frame. Of course that was the OMC... they were notorious for that problem.
My friend had an Ultra like I have now with an Alpha and he had a similar problem as I did around the same time. Maybe a coincidence...

[Havasu Hangin']

Also check the shifter and where the cables attach. Make sure it's pushing (and pulling) the shift cable when you engage it.