Just got my boat back from the shop for new throttle cable, trim seals
and oil tank overfilling.

I get home, want to test boat, hook up the water, turn key and all's I
get is a spinning of the starter motor.

I see that the gear of the starter motor is below the flywheel,
basically spinning free. I'm not much of a mechanic, but I can
surmise that the starter gear must somehow mesh with the flywheel to
turn the motor over. Looking at the service manual, it doesn't look
like anything complicated. Is the starter gear supposed to move up on
the shaft as it spins? I don't get it!!! I am mad as heck.

The photos in the manual have me just as confused, some of the photos
show the starter gear below the flywheel and others seem to show it
meshed together.