I hate having this outdrive because so few others do.. but in hopes that someone here has experience with the 1979 OMC 'Stringer' outdrive, ours is stuck in the down position. Unlike Mercruisers, OMC did not use hydraulic tilt controls, but rather an electric motor that moves a large gear on the outside next to the outdrive. Last night we went out for a spin, brought the outdrive up to go up to the beach, put it back down, got back to the dock and the outdrive wouldn't budge. I can hear the electric motor inside the engine compartment spinning, it's just not engaging the outdrive. To make matters worse, the boat is in the water so I can't even get it on land to troubleshoot. I have checked the fuses, changed the battery to a freshly charged one, and have tried to physically move the outdrive and still nothing. Any ideas? If only I could pull a hydraulic hose and let it drain out, I could get it up to inspect/repair on land, but as it is I'm stuck in the water. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and I can take any pictures that might help shed some light on the configuration. Thanks!