No forward gear

[Abandon Office]

I was performing a man overboard drill this morning and had the engine in reverse up to the buoy and then when selecting forward gear the engine stopped. I was able to restart but could only remain in neutral or reverse gear....called for a tow back to port and the prop was checked by snorkeling under but all was clear.
Anybody have any suggestions before I engage with engineer

[Yngmar]

Disconnect the control cable from the gearbox and move the lever on the gearbox manually to see if it's just a broken cable. A broken cable can still push but no longer pull.

If the gearbox works, investigate the control cable (easy to check with one person on the lever and one down below checking the other end). Sometimes also the lever mechanism itself can break too. All three are simple things to test and don't need a engineer. Replacing cable or throttle lever are simple too (although can be a bit fiddly due to space restrictions in the binnacle).

[diverphil]

check the end of the gear cable at the control lever, they can come off, first sign would be like you describe, starting to come loose leaves too much free play in the cable to select forward. followed by stuck in whatever gear its in once it falls off completely.
bad day, don't ask how i know 

[JEN-et-ROSS]

A little concerned that the engine stalled whenever 'Forward' is selected...An issue with the cable shouldn't cause that..
Might be worth engaging 'forward' and then trying to turn the engine by hand to see if it's locked up............Bill.

[Abandon Office]

Thanks all for your advice....I have a busy New Year's day ahead of me

[Krumelur]

On my last charter boat there was an issue that allowed the engine to be started even if it wasn't in neutral, which is typically not possible.

Just a theory: could it be that somehow this protection kicks in when you go into forward and shuts off the engine?


Out of curiosity: does anyone know how this protection works? Is it an electric switch/contact?

[Abandon Office]

I got a diver this afternoon to inspect the prop and it was a struggle for him to move it even though I had her in neutral. T

[diverphil]

Krumelur as far as i know there is a microswitch in the control lever box that stops the starter working, i.e. a neutral switch, but this would only stop the starter engaging so the boat cant start, and wouldn't cause the engine to shut down,( it would cut out every time you went into gear and only run in neutral )

[Krumelur]

I see. Curious to learn what the issue in the poster's case is. I hope it's not going to be too expensive :-(