[Overspendin']

I have a very early C30. At some point a Yacht Specialties wheel and pedestal were installed, thereby relocating the engine controls from the coaming to either side of the wheel, transmission on the left and throttle on the right.
My problem is that the controls are reversed, pushing forward on the shifter engages reverse, pulling back puts it into forward.
The throttle is the same, forward slow, back fast.
The previous owner suggested it was set up this way to back the boat into the slip easier???
I haved learned to live with the setup although it made for a few interesting moments in the marina when we first got the boat.
I now have the time to rectify the situation.
The obvious solution of swapping the connections at the pedestal is not an option.
Short of installing a new Edson pedestal, levers and brackets in the engine compartment seem to be the only solution.
Has anybody out there encountered this before?