We were enjoying a great day on the Ohio River yesterday on a 21' Cobalt with a Mercruiser outdrive. After a bit of stopping and going, we began cruising towards a restaurant for dinner when at about 3100 rpms when the boat felt like it had run into a bungee cord at the outdrive. We scanned the water for something we may have hit but there was nothing visible. The engine had died immediately and we began trying to assess the problem. The prop was clear and without visible damage or remnants of clogging debris. We opened the hatch to the engine and there was nothing out of sorts with the linkages. We then tried the engine and it would not crank. Plenty of juice in the battery, based on voltmeter and electronics. After several attempts to crank the engine over including attaching jumper cables, we gave up and was subsequently towed back to the ramp by another courteous boater. The boat is meticulously maintained, winterized, and stored inside year round. Since 1993 this is the first time it has failed. Oil is so clean, the dipstick is difficult to read. The problem seems like its electronic - possibly a solenoid in the transmission or outdrive, as when you try to start the belts move in cranking rotation about an inch, which in turn affects the steering wheel turning - moving the outdrive- at the time of trying to crank. When in neutral, the prop spins freely. We could not engage the the shift mechanism forward or reverse with the engine not running. Any thoughts? I would appreciate any help!
