Starting a 1961 75HP in gear

"I am interested in opinions o

"I am interested in opinions on the risk of damage from starting my 1961 75HP Johnson in gear.

I put about 4 hours on the motor last year (restored Thompson, repainted & reworked motor), and realized that my periodic motor jerking was due to a worn clutch dog. I took the lower unit off, and we replaced the clutch dog, and cleaned up some minor damage to the edges where the ears contact the gears.

Although I will set the idle as slow as possible, and make sure I shift with a quick snap rather than slow movement of the shift lever (manual), I am wondering if it would be smarter to just start the engine in neutral, get things warmed up, shut it off, shift into gear, and then restart.

The literature says two things... 1) that it is OK to start in gear, but this should be limited to docking situations where a stall needs to be recovered from and 2) do not shift into gear when the engine is not running...

Any idea as to which risk is a better choice? I will be 5-6 weekend per year boater, and if it is low risk, I would rather eliminate any potential for wear as the dog engages.

Thanks in advance."

"Unless the dog clutch is exac

"Unless the dog clutch is exactly alligned , it will not go into gear. If you try to force it , you will probably damage the shift cable / mechanism. Never try to engage a gear without the engine running , or someone spinning the prop by hand . As for starting the engine in gear , do you not have an ignition cut out switch that prevents this ? ( or did this only come out on later models ?


FM"