616,408. Controlling change-speed gearing. HENRY, H. P. Sept. 4, 1946, No. 26625. [Class 80 (ii)] [Also in Group XXVII] In a marine transmission having a forward and a reverse gear ratio engaged respectively by movement of a hand lever in opposite directions from a central neutral position and in which further movement of the lever in either direction opens the engine throttle progressively, the hand lever is so arranged as also independently to actuate engine starting controls. As shown, the hand lever 26, Fig. 1, moves in a sector-shaped control box 23 having a gate comprising a narrow gear and throttle control operative slot 62, Fig. 3, and a wide starting control operative slot 63, connected by a transverse slot 64. The lever 26 pivots longitudinally about a pin 55, Fig. 5, for operative movement, and laterally about a pin 58 for slot selection, being biassed towards the slot 62 by a spring 61. Sliding control rods 24, 25, Fig. 4, pass through universal bearings 67 in the control box casing, and have transversely notched heads 68, 71, alternately operably engageable by the lever 26 when the latter is in the slots 62, 63 respectively. The rod 24 is connected to a lever 27, Fig. 1, controlling the ratio change of the forward-reverse gear-box 11 either directly or by fluid-pressure means such as a valve monitoring the supply of liquid under pressure to a motor cylinder or cylinders actuating the gear-change mechanism. The lever 27 has a second arm connected to a rod 28 controlling the throttle valve 33 of the driving internal-combustion engine 10, the rod 28 being in alignment with this arm when the hand lever 26 is in the central neutral position so that movement of the lever in either direction from this position opens the throttle valve 33 progressively, spring or other lost motion being provided in the gearing controls to allow the necessary further movement of the lever 27 after the appropriate gear is engaged. A second rod 34 connects the lever 27 to the engine ignition distributer 18 to adjust the ignition timing as the throttle opening is varied. The control rod 25 is connected to a slide 36 mounted on the exterior of the engine 10 and having a pin 41 engageable with a slotted arm 53 controlling a choke on the air intake 14 of the engine carburetter 12. A cam slot 42 on the slide 36 is engaged by a pin 43, connected to fuel supply and cooling water cocks 16, 17 by a two-armed link 44. Mounted on the control box casing, which has a flange 54, Fig. 5, for securing as to decking, are ignition cut-out and engine starter switches 74, 76, Fig. 3, respectively. The switch 76, which when actuated, closes the circuit of an electric starter motor or a relay circuit for operating such a switch, has an actuating bar 77 operatively engageable by the lever 26 only when the latter is manually biassed to the side of the slot 63 remote from the slot 62. A similar bar 81, projecting sufficiently to be operatively engaged by the lever 26 at all times when the latter is opposite the bar, actuates a switch for the driving motor of a fan for clearing fumes from the boat bilges.- The switch 74 is operatively depressed to disable the engine ignition when the lever 26 is located in a notch 66 in the slot 63, in which position the pin 41 has rocked the arm 53 fully to the left and become disengaged therefrom, and the pin 43 is at the upper end of the inclined portion of the cam slot 42. The choke and the cocks 16, 17 are then all closed.. To start the engine, the lever 26 is moved from the notch 66 along the slot 63 to the appropriate one of three positions opposite the bars 77, 81 corresponding to the correct setting of the choke for starting with a cold, warm or hot engine respectively. Such movement shifts the pin 43 to the horizontal part of the cam slot 42 to open the cocks 16, 17 before engaging the pin 41 with the arm 53 to set the choke. The lever 26 is then manually biassed to actuate the starter switch 76. When the engine fires, the lever 26 is passed through the transverse slot 64 into a registering notch 65 in the slot 62. The controls are then in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the engine idling and the gear in neutral. The invention may be applied to a craft having a compression ignition engine, the starting controls of which would include a decompressor, a primer and an idling cut-off for the fuel injector pump.