Sheared off the end of our sail drive shift cable, now 0.5" shorter

[BrettB]

What kind of side effects would this have until we get a chance to get a new cable?

[Ostinato]

Probably could prematurely wear your clutch or cone (depending on your sail drive model) in the transmission portion of the drive. In other words the transmission may not fully engage. Depending on your shifting mechanism at the helm you may be able to adjust it so your forward gear is at least fully engaged.

How much powering you do before it’s replaced is another factor. I would also be concerned with how/why the cable broke there.