i just bought a 2005 formula 400ss with 496 and 3x drives. My previous boat was a 1990 38 fountain lightning (fever) with 502s and TRS drives.


I mention this because on my old boat i could switch from reverse to forward with literally 1 finger, this was my first boat so i never thought anything of it and everyone who got on my boat and tried the controls were impressed. Now with that being said, on my new boat i feel like everyone else going from forward to neutral to reverse takes a whole hand full and some force.

What can i do? Is there a "easy" shifter out there i can buy? Is this typical? Should i be able to change from F to R with just one finger? Would changing the cables make a difference? or am i just stuck with this?

Welcome to life without transmissions. It shouldn't shift "hard" but will definitely take more effort than what you are used to . Not sure what type of controls you have , that may be a factor .

I had assumed that was the case but just couldn't believe the difference... i just thought everyone else didnt do regular maintenance on their boat and my old one was just kept up nicely. But then i hopped into my new boat thats 15 years newers lol

Is not like i have to sit on the controls but i definitely need to use more then a finger

Your new setup is COMPLETELY different than your last boat. You want them a little stiff. No pusssyfooting in/out of gear either with your Bravo setup; shift it like a man all the way forward, and all the way reverse.

Same issue here. Not really a issue, but went from TRS to bravo XR and really stiff. Trannys are soooooo nice.

I went from a bravo boat to a transmission boat.big difference in feel and shifting.i guess they don't call them velvet drives for nothing.

I agree, just went from bravo to TRS, and love the shifting. There is nothing wrong with your bravo shifting it is just stiffer as you are physically moving a shift fork to engage the cone clutch.