Sears GameFisher 7.5 outboard runs but doesn't spin prop.

This summer I bought a Sears Gamefisher 7.5 off of craigslist as a backup to my Johnson Sportwin 10 for my 14 foot Starcraft.

The motor reportedly ran fine and had a cracked mount (which I repaired) so the price was great at $50.

This July my wife and I took a trip to Ontario and I used the motor for a week since it was smaller and slower which was great for trolling for lake trout. The motor did fine all week until the last day. My brother got his line wrapped around the prop and I had a nice birds nest to pull out. I took the prop off and spent about 20 minutes pulling fishing line out from the prop shaft. Put it the propeller back on and things worked fine for a while. An hour or so later, shifted from neutral to forward and nothing. (the motor only has a forward and neutral. no reverse to check.) Tried several times and checked the lever to be sure all was right. Motor runs, lever shifts, but the propeller wont spin.

Is this a spun prop? I've done very little work on outboards but am usually pretty handy. I'd love to figure this motor out. Anyone have any insight on how I should go about fixing this?

Does the prop shaft turn?

Does the prop use a pin drive?

Did the line eat the prop seal? Is there gear oil in lower unit?

Have you tried manually moving the linkage - sounds like the shift pin is not moving

I'll check on the pin style. Don't remember exactly what it looked like in there. I was in a hurry to get the line out of there and get back to fishing. I don't think it was very complex looking.

Found the problem. I pulled the prop off to see if it was pin drive. It is. And the pin was in 3 pieces! I must not have had the propeller on tightly enough. Looks like it should be an easy fix now. Anyone know how best to hunt down a replacement pin? Online resource/parts list? Or should I just take my broken one to a marine service and see if they can match it?

Go to your local hardware store and pick up a few stainless steel dowel pins and a few cotter pins. I believe the original were brass or bronze. Keep them and some needle nose pliers in your tackle box. I still have mine for the old '71 18hp I had.

Ok. But...might be worth the small effort to buy some brass bolts of the shear pin's diameter and grind or cut the heads off at the appropriate length. The whole concept of a "shear" pin is that it should shear rather than causing propeller damage, right? Then stick some extras in a film canister or something that can stay with the engine.

Your choice, of course.

Have fun, be safe.