"Melandre" wrote in message
...


i think he said that I must first PULL the shifter inward (toward me)
and then pump the motor by moving the shifter forward once or twice.

I am not exactly sure that I am following what you are saying, but let me
take a guess after a short explanation.

Most fuel injected engines these days will start just fine with the throttle
at idle position, no need to "pump" the throttle. That is certainly not the
case with older carbureted engines. Some need additional throttle opening
to start cold, and some need to open the throttle in order for the choke
mechanism to properly operate.

That said, it sounds like the proceedure you were told was how to open the
throttle and still have the boat in neutral. Rotating the throttle lever
forward from the straight up/down position will engage forward gear and then
open the throttle. Rotating the lever back will engage reverse gear and
open the throttle. If you want to open the throttle without engaging a gear
you need to disengage the gear shift. Some systems have a little knob that
you pull out. On others, you pull the lever itself out. In normal
operation you rotate the lever forward and back, to disengage the gearshift
you pull the lever (from its pivot point) left or right.


Then I think I am supposed to bring the shifter back to the neutral
position (not sure if I do this with the shifter still inward or back
to its regular "anchored" position) and turn the key.

If it needs extra gas to get it started leave the lever out. Now you can
rev the engine up and get it warmed up as needed. Once the engine is able
to idle smoothly return the lever to the idle position (straight up/down)
and push it back in.

Then slowly push
the shifter forward to engage the driveshaft forward. Does that make
any sense?

When you are ready to drive the boat you will slowly rotate the lever from
the nuetral to the idle position. You should feel a positive "detent" as
the gear shift operates, but the engine RPMs should remain the same at this
point. Further rotating the lever will increase engine speed.


What is the purpose of "pulling" the shifter in toward me first?

As mentioned above, it disconnects the gear shift mechanism so you can rev
the engine up without turning the prop.

Aren't we supposed to simply move the shifter forward, backward or
neutral ? Anyway, if someone could confirm that this procedure is
correct and explain why we need to do this "PULL IN" trick with the
shifter, that would be greatly appreciated!


This operation is very basic and standard with boats. My best
recommendation is that you find someone who has experience with boats to
demonstrate some of the basic boat handling skills. It can save you a lot
of time, frustration, embarassment and possibly money! Remember, boats
don't have brakes! The hardest part of driving a boat isn't when you are
going fast, it is when you need to go really slow! Not being familiar with
how the gear shift and throttle work can lead to running into more things
then you might otherwise.

Rod