On Sat, 31 May 2008 12:07:53 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

My 1978 San Juan 28 has a Yanmar 15hp diesel and a Morse control - a
single throttle lever for forward and aft, and a push in-pull out
button for the clutch - you push it in to engage, out for neutral.

I'm having trouble finding the neutral spot when I need to disengage
the clutch. The throttle control is very notchy around the neutral
area. I find myself fiddling with the controls when I'm 20 feet from
the dock and wanting to drift in.

I don't really understand your problem - on any marine diesel I've
used with a single lever control, including a Yanmar 2GM, the clutch
control was only used when starting and warming up the engine - it
allowed you to advance the throttle without engaging forward or
reverse gear. There was no need to touch the clutch control while
manoeuvering - simply putting the control lever in the center detent
would disengage the clutch, and set the engine speed to idle.

If the engine normally remains in gear with the control lever in the
center position, the shift cable is misadjusted, or the control lever
mechanism that drives the shift cable is malfunctioning.

The levers connecting to the clutch and throttle cables are a bit
stiff despite plenty of lubrication. The business ends on the
transmission and the engine seem to be working fine. The cables are
probably the originals but they seem to move freely enough in their
tubes. I think the problem is right behind the control panel, but I
can't see how to fix it.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks in advance

Richard Isherwood
Windspirit, SJ 28 - 118
Port Townsend WA

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca