It's older, a 1974 Sabercraft with a 251 Cleveland and a 270 Volvo-Penta I/O. It will NOT lock down into reverse when in the water. When we first ran into the problem (it *looked* like it was in reverse when running out of the water when we bought it) we found a broken spring thingie on our first launch (which, as you might imagine, was not a good way for novices to be introduced to the joys of boating), so D replaced that. It worked once. A boating friend showed D a jury-rig, and that worked a bit- then the string would break and no reverse. Ordered TWO new springs, just in case; put one on, and Ta-da! It locks right down. On land, anyway. IN the water? Nope- won't lock down. And trust me when I tell you trying to jury-rig it while IN the water is a bad idea. It is NOT reliable.

What the %$#& is going on?? Does anyone know- and does anyone have any ideas, please?

It's coming to the point of reverse is reliable, or the boat goes.

Thank you for the rant space and, hopefully, an answer.