Reverse gear on Cavalier is weak

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I purchased a 1960 Cavalier last year; it’s my first vintage boat and I am still figuring thing out, so apologies if this is a dumb question. My reverse gear is really weak. If the boat already at a full stop, it will back up VERY slowly, but it’s like a small trolling motor. I would not want to depend my reverse gear to bring the boat to a stop against even modest forward momentum. Is this normal? Also, it will only go into reverse I am holding the shifter all the way back – If I release the handle, it goes back into neutral, like a dead man’s handle - this part does not bother me, but the lack of power does.

[Captain Nemo]

If you have a manual reverse gear unit, it could be that just the reverse bands need adjusting.

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Thanks, that sure sounds like my problem! I will give it a try tomorrow.