TOPIC: New reverse gear

It will be nice having reverse again. Bought my 1965 Merc 1000 knowing it could be a gear and hoped it would only need a cable adjustment...here is the old and new gear. Cal knows the story because I couldn't tow his boat to the landing a year ago for fear we would get all tangled going down river crashing into boat docks in that fast current. Maybe now I can pull some skiers one day. Reverse is a nice convenience.

I have the same motor on my old boat. Great motor ! Mine still runs great....I just cant get it to go in gear at the moment. I also went without reverse for a season plus. Huge game changer when I got it back, which for me happened when I swapped out the l/u. I feel so much safer with reverse working, way easier to get out of shallows, and tight canyon/coves, plus its nice to not have to walk the boat off the dock with ropes to head out.

I trust you are replacing the shift clutch as well, the "dogs" on the shift clutch are surely as damaged as the ones on the reverse gear, and will quickly damage the new gear if not replaced.

It is beyond my skills, so a marine mechanic is doing the work and he did mention those parts too. He was showing me the wear that was causing it to no longer hold. I always cringe when a person is waiting for a water skier and instead of firmly and briskly going into reverse, they slowly pull back while you hear the terrible noise of the motor "wishing" it were fully engaged in reverse...everyone has likely heard that sound... like fingers on a chalkboard to me. Thanks for the great advice and concern as it is greatly appreciated!

I'm tired, and it is late,...But it doesn't appear to me that the (2) gears pictured are the same???
On another note,...The original cause of the failure was probably due to the cam follower & shift cam being worn out, so make sure he knows the specs, and can replace these (2) components if needed, or you will just thrash another gear.
These (2) parts are items 55 & 56 in the prop shaft part of the parts break-down.
doc

Thanks. He did say there were associated other parts that are also being replaced. I will look in my Merc manual to better educate myself on the correct parts and terminology. I sure can't thank you guys enough for looking out for my back on this so I can get out and have some fun with my Powercat/Merc combo.