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What gear you leave the transmission in while sailing and whether you can easily get back into neutral depends on the engine / transmission combination. Many Yanmar's use a different kind of clutch (than Westerbeke / Univeral, etc.) and can "lock up" in reverse when you attempt to get back into neutral after sailing. They (not me) consider this normal and specify that you should start the motor while the gear shifter is in reverse, then shift accordingly. I've been on a dozen Catalina's that do exactly this (larger boats with Yanmar power) and on 2 dozen more that don't (mostly Westerbeke / Universal). What gear you leave the shifter in while sailing is also dependent on the boat, engine and prop. You do what ever it takes to stop the shaft from spinning, assuming you want it to stop. Stopped is usually better because it stops the output shaft gears and clutches from rotating inside the gearbox while there is less lubrication. The prop also has an effect on this - some props (Autoprop for example) will attempt to turn the WRONG way while sailing, and will require the opposite gear to shut it down.
Ron
C400 #74 "Good Vibrations"
C250 WK #688 "Running Free"
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