Outboard kicks up in reverse

[Newport F470]

This boat/motor are new to me. I assume the outboard is not supposed to kick up in reverse, correct? Is there a latch/lock that is supposed to hold motor down?

[Downhilldai]

Yes

[9D280]

There will be a knob or a catch somewhere round the main tilt tube or lurking under the front of the cowl.

If it's the same vintage as mine was, it's a rotate job. and you'll need to rotate it a lot further than you might think!

[simsy]

Low power only in reverse is the norm..... as the mechanism to hold it down can be forced...... (my 2005 yam 20hp work OK in reverse, but I would not open the throttle)...

[prairie tuber]

You should be able to get some propulsion while in reverse without locking the motor down as long as you use minimal throttle. Reverse should be done with minimal power anyway, fast reverse makes you very susceptible to having waves crash over the transom. For a SIB that might not be a big deal, but for many hard boats that can be disastrous.

My other concern about locking the outboard in the down position for reversing is that you might forget to release it when you are in forward. If you hit a submerged rock while moving at a good clip with your outboard locked in the down position, the destruction to the outboard & transom can be spectacular.

[achille2124]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

You should be able to get some propulsion while in reverse without locking the motor down as long as you use minimal throttle. Reverse should be done with minimal power anyway, fast reverse makes you very susceptible to having waves crash over the transom. For a SIB that might not be a big deal, but for many hard boats that can be disastrous.

My other concern about locking the outboard in the down position for reversing is that you might forget to release it when you are in forward. If you hit a submerged rock while moving at a good clip with your outboard locked in the down position, the destruction to the outboard & transom can be spectacular.

Agreed.

Also when you give too much throttle and the outboard falls down it gives a hard hit on the transom. Always lock it up or give minimal throttle.

[Starovich]

Who drives so fast in unknown shallow water as to do catastrophic damage ?? if your in that much of an unknown situation, slow down.

Reversing with an engine not locked down is so dangerous, what if your near a pontoon/other boat etc, not only do you loose all power and steerage if the fan isn't in the water, you also have a metal blade prone to wizzing up and hitting anything close by if you make a mistake.

The engine i believe should auto lock down when its dropped into the water from its shore based position, requiring you to make a concious effort to un lock it to the lifting position. At least all modern ones do.

[Newport F470]

Thank you all for the replies. I will check the mechanism and fiddle with it. Agreed that one does not need much power in reverse. This all happened my first day out, on a new to me boat and motor, and new to me driving style (with tiller). Its going to take some time to get used to.

[wavelength]

renowned for sticking, failing or just being bent and not catching. The lock normally drops a couple of claws over the pin that your engine rests on in the down position so have a look for the claws and if there are some work back from there. When we beach launched all the time we never used the reverse lock cos (a) we had no alongside work to do and (b) I wanted it to kick up when we beached. We have beached with the engine locked down but they do kick up, albeit with a clunk! If you do have the o/b kick up when in reverse don't do the obvious and take all throttle off, try to ease it back so the motor drops back slowly-easier said than done though Leaning on the engine cover in reverse is the ad hoc remedy to no working lock

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by Starovich

Who drives so fast in unknown shallow water as to do catastrophic damage ?? if your in that much of an unknown situation, slow down.

Reversing with an engine not locked down is so dangerous, what if your near a pontoon/other boat etc, not only do you loose all power and steerage if the fan isn't in the water, you also have a metal blade prone to wizzing up and hitting anything close by if you make a mistake.

The engine i believe should auto lock down when its dropped into the water from its shore based position, requiring you to make a concious effort to un lock it to the lifting position. At least all modern ones do.

I don't know what the rivers & lakes are like where you are, but over here, most of the rivers lakes have uncharted rocks that are submerged under the water. Sooner or later you hit one, and you aren't going to putter around in displacement all day when you need to cover 100 miles or so that day, just because there are some rocks out there. Yes, go reasonably slowly in the areas that you know are particularly tricky, but never lock down the outboard when in forward!

As for reverse, why in the world would you be approaching other boats or objects while in reverse? Why would you try to move in reverse with anything other than minimal throttle??? If you're in that situation, slow down.