i had the engine in neutral. gave it a little gas to get it to idle and it jump into forward without touching the gears. after this happened the emgine died. Pulled the boat out of the wate and the pro is not moving forward or reverse. the gear shifter is stuck as well. Any ideas of what might have happend, and please don't say it tore up the outdrive. Has this happened to anyone before? what might have caused this?

Thanks
James

Maybe control box jammed .disconnect shift cable at engine and try to move lever on control box and see if shift cable from control box moves or if its jammed.Also try moving drive shift cable while controlbox cable is still disconnected to see if drive is the problem.Ihope its your box. Good luck

Fountainhead,
Is the gear select stuck at the neutral position or in forward gear?
If it's stuck in forward try to bump the ignition key while pulling the shift handle back into neutral. You will have to pull pretty hard. The engine won't turn over till you get the handle to trigger the neutral safety switch. As soon as the engine turns a bit you should be able to get the gear select back to neutral easily. My guess is the shift cables that are worn or not adjusted properly. There is also something that goes wrong with the shift arm in the top of the drive. I'm not familiar with that but hear it is an easy fix.
Dan

How tough is it to change the shift cable? I think you are on to something. Prior to this it was hard to shift the cable into the forward position.

Thanks