Morse Control Box Issue? No Forward only reverse.

[ElNuevoCapitan]

1991 Starcraft Eurostar 1901
4.3LX
Alpha 1 Outdrive
Morse Control Box

Last week I had my boat in the shop for the routine summar maintenance, to replace all bellows (These were the original)and the gimbal bearing. The previous owner 8 years ago replaced the Merc Control box with a Morse and the shop said it was starting to go bad. They also replaced the lower shift cable and adjusted the linkage.

Took the boat out Saturday and ran great all day, I noticed that the shift was much smoother and was very happy.....until we started back the 8 miles to our marina and I only heard my engine rev when shifting into forward gear. Reverse worked fine. I shifted back into neutral and then into forward to find myself go in reverse. This has never happened to me before.

My questions are:
Does this sound like an oops on the part of my mechanic? (30 years experience)
Could I be looking at something more major?
They did suggest to replace the control box over the winter as the one the previous owner put on was not that good, could this be my issue?

I took the boat back to the shop but they are not going to be able to look at it until at least Friday. Just curious what this could be.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Morse Control Box Issue? No Forward only reverse.

Doubtful the control box broke because N and R work
If your trailered shift the box in fwd and see if the shoes are in a straight line

The pic shows neutral so if the tip was pointing right at you ,thats fwd

 

[ElNuevoCapitan]

Re: Morse Control Box Issue? No Forward only reverse.

Thanks BT Doctor,
When I shifted it in forward it did not move it. When I pull it in reverse it moves the shoes.

Is there a way I could have manually got the boat to go in forward vs backing up to the marina?

What is your experience with the Morse control box? Should I have it replaced anyway with a Quicksilver?

 

[ElNuevoCapitan]

Re: Morse Control Box Issue? No Forward only reverse.

Thought I would post a reply to let everyone know what it was....I took my boat back into my mechanic and the linkage had slipped. They readjusted and corrected the issue with no charge. I guess there are a few honest boat mechanics out there in DFW. I would definitely recommend Regency Marine in Rowlett for anyone in the DFW area.