Classic Australian Wooden Power Boat Association

My lever has a detent to lock it in nuetral assuming that the forward position is neutral but nothing to hold it in gear when the lever is pulled back.
It is the lever that came with the boat and the lever on the dog box is on the starboard side of the engine so it is a straight pull/push.

Your correct... the detent is to stop you accidently knocking it into gear.
If it is not staying in gear you may have adjustment problems ,,, not enough throw to
engage properly or worn dogs on the clutch.

There is no quick fix lf you dont have the leaver rod conected.

As the sliding dog is in the rear of the case at the prop shaftend.
You may be abel to tie the.arm for a short time but it will load the clutch fork on the side faceU

Seeing this was the first time you've launched the boat, if the clutch can't be adjusted to work, I'd be inclined to tie the arm and engage the clutch as a temporary measure, relaunch the boat, do a few laps and see what else might need addressing (hopefully nothing). As opposed to pulling the clutch to pieces only to find other issues when you relaunch.

I have all that I need, I think, to make a rod for the dog clutch.

The next test for the boat will be at Yarrawonga this weekend.

We will see if it doesnt work, there should be plenty of people to let me know where and what I have done wrong. I have no doubt.

Ok we have movement at the station.
after work today I finished the actuting rod for the Dog Clutch. I used some 5/16 Allthread and a couple of hex joiners. For the bracket off the arm I had a small suitable bracket left over from another project that I was able to bolt onto the dog box lever. So the allthread is a straight pull/push.
Adjusted it up and after a couple of attempts to get the adjustment right, it worked.
Started the engine and CLUNK it went into gear and the fan under the boat went in circles.
Knocked it out of gear and then pulled it back in and it worked a second time so it cant be a fluke.

Fixed the carby as the float level seemed a bit high, Tightened up the oil filter housing that was weeping a bit, cleaned the outside of the boat and hit the inside with some degreaser and hosed it out and all seems to be Ok for the weekend.
A few things still to do like put the floors and seats back in and a general tidy up.

It may all go pear shaped anyway but we have given it a RHG (Red Hot Go)

Bazinga! - back in the water after 22 years

Well done. Now have some fun.

There are a few things that showed up as needing a bit of a rethink. One being the rod for the dog clutch. I have made it out of 5/16 all thread. Whilst it worked OK it would appear that due to the length between the lever at the front and the bracket on the dog box the rod is bending in the middle.

Not sure how to stop the bend. It obviously needs to be supported somehow. I'm considering screwing some eye bolts into the inside of the engine bearers and running the rod through the eye.
Has anyone else had a similar problem? If so, how did they overcome the problem?

Peter,
I encountered a similar situation when fitting out our ski boat. I overcame the rod flex with some simple brackets mounted to the engine bearers. So far it has been trouble free for 29 years so I think you are on the mark with the eye bolts. Incidently, I used 8mm aluminium rod as a weight saver, alloy rod might offset some Y block weight.The allthread might bind on the eye bolts.