Wellcraft Boat Owners Forum

Hello,
I'm a new guy on here and I just bought an 1997 19' Scarab Sprint with a 350ci engine that replaced the original 4.3ltr.. It has a Volvo Penta jet drive, and it's really hard to get into gear being forward or reverse. There are only about 83 total hours on the boat according to the hour gauge if that's correct. The seller said it would be easier to shift once in the water, which I don't believe is true, and I haven't had the boat out yet. I disconnected the cable at the diverter if that's what it's called and it's still the same. I'm just trying to correct this so any help is appreciated, this is my fourth boat but I never had a jet drive. I don't feel comfortable using the boat as is. One more question for now where do you attach fenders to the front side of the boat? There's cleats in the back and one on the bow but nothing on the sides. There are no rails on the boat to connect them to.
Thanks!
Joe

Maybe shift cable needs lubed if your unhooked from???, if that's before outdr., yes it would prob shift better running in water

Thanks goodday, that's what I was thinking that maybe it just needs lubrication. How do you go about that as far as getting the lubricant inside the cable housing? I was thinking of disconnecting the cable from the jet drive and try to get some lubricant in there if that's possible. That's good to hear it will probably shift easier in the water, because I'm not comfortable with the way it is now shifting out of the water.
Thanks again!

Some have a zerk, unhook maybe try to get some lube to work in,, might have to just replace

It's a 1997. Replace the cable. Lube is only a short term fix. If it's tight without the linkage connected the cable is worn and needs to be replaced.
Just my opinion, but i wouldn't screw around with trying to lube a 20 year old cable. They're not that hard to replace and not overly expensive.

There should be a name brand and the length on the cable. Use the old one to pull the new one into place.

Thanks for the replies, I'm sorry for the late reply, I've haven't been on here in a while.

I know this post is about a year old, time flies. Anyway, I did replace the gearshift cable and it shifts nice and smooth now. I did find the part # on the original Teleflex cable and Teleflex was able to give me the new part#. It really wasn't that hard of a job either, I just attached a string ( tied it and taped it) to the old cable before pulling it out the stern, then I attached the string to the new one and pulled it through. The cable wasn't that expensive either, thanks again for the advice and help.
Joe