Quick Outboard question

[willy13]

Does the outboard need to be running to put into forward and reverse gear? I swapped my 2013 Yamaha 115 onto a new pontoon boat and was checking everything before going to the lake. Without really thinking why I went ahead and tried to put it into forward and reverse, lol. I was able to get it into forward but then not reverse. Now it wont go in forward or reverse. I am pretty sure it need to be running but want to confirm. Thanks.

[DWRAT]

Yes.
Another way I found while sitting on your trailer is have someone spin the prop slowly while you shift.(with the motor off of course).....

[Bamaman]

May have a cable adjustment problem. They will shift without the engine running.

[willy13]

I tried DWRAT's suggestion and now I can get it into gear. So I guess I am fine.

[DWRAT]

[quote="willy13"]I tried DWRAT's suggestion and now I can get it into gear. So I guess I am fine.[/quote]

That's great.
It's like a manual transmission in a car, sometimes it will mesh gears when it's off and sometimes it won't.
Depends how everything lines up the last time it was running.
Just don't force it.