Hard Transmission

[sailr4]

What are some of the reasons my transmission would be very hard to shift Forward and Reverse?

[Bill Shreeves]

A little more information will make it easier to help.  Are you shifting from the cockpit?  Have you performed any troubleshooting?  if so, what?  Is this a sudden change or gradual over time? Have you checked the fluid in the transmission?  etc...

[sailr4]

Yes, I was being general im order to get varied responses. I shift from cockpit. It has been foing this for about a season. It was not gradual, it just got really hard one day. I tried to shift at engine, but it Did not seem as difficult. Perhaps it's the cable.

[scgunner]

Rob,

I'd check the cable the trans/cable linkage to see if it's binding. I had the same problem several years ago, I added a bracket extension which eased the binding between the cable and the shifter lever.

[Ron Hill]

Rob : Disconnect the cable at the transmission and determine if the "hard" shifting is in the transmission or in the cable.
You should be able to easily shift by hand at the transmission (cable disconnected). 

Then move the shifter at the helm back and forth to see if the "hard" shifting is in the cable itself!

A thought

[scgunner]

Ron is correct, disconnected the cable should be slack, no binding whatsoever. If you're lucky the cable will be the problem.