Nothing but a click from the starter

[BayBoy]

Can't figure this one out. Boat ran fine in the fall. Put back in several weeks ago after winter storage. Port engine started after a few cranks. Starboard engine cranked and cranked but would not start. Now all I get is a click from the starter. Batteries are new and fully charged. Checked all connections and all is good. Even swapping batteries and having battery switches set to 'Both' does nothing. I have had some trouble in the past where I had to move the throttle lever back and forth a few times to get it to kick over. I am suspecting a problem with the neutral safety switch but would I even get a click out of the starter if it was bad? Can a loose connection from the neutral safety switch to the ignition switch cause this? Trying to get some ideas before I starting tearing into things only to be disappointed.

1999 3200SCR w/5.7 2bl Bravo 2's

Thanks in advance for all suggestions

[shrew]

I would have someone turn the key while you're down there to verify where the 'click' is specifically coming from. If I had to guess, I'd suspect it is the solenoid you are hearing. I had a similar problem with a loose postive cable to the starter as well as when the connector on the postive was heavily corroded. In my case, replacing the positive connector and cable resolved my issue. This might be a 2 person job.

[BayBoy]

Thanks. I'll give it a try. Replaced the starter several years back and did it almost entirely by feel due to location. My genset sits about 8" away which makes it very tight. One of my co-workers suggested the old 'smack it with a hammer' trick in case the solenoid is hung up. It is painful just to think about squirming my fat ass back into that part of the bilge but that's the price I pay for wanting to do all this crap myself.