Cowlings for marine drives and latching devices for cowlings for marine drives

A cowling for a marine drive, the cowling comprising first and second cowl portions for enclosing a powerhead and a latching device which is movable into a latched position in which the powerhead is enclosed by the first cowl and second cowl portions and an unlatched position in which the second cowl portion is movable with respect to the first cowl portion so that the powerhead is accessible, wherein the latching device comprises an electric actuator configured to automatically move the latching device from the latched position to the unlatched position and a manually-operable input device which is accessible from outside of the cowling and is configured to actuate the electric actuator to thereby automatically move the latching device from the latched position to the unlatched position, wherein the manually-operable input device comprises a push-button and a printed circuit board, which together are configured such that manually pressing the push-button causes the printed circuit board to actuate the electric actuator, which thereby moves the latching device from the latched position to the unlatched position, and further wherein the printed circuit board is seated in a supporting housing on the cowling and further comprising a potting compound in the supporting housing, the potting compound preventing water ingress to the printed circuit board.

A latching device for latching a cowling on a marine drive, the cowling having first and second cowl portions for enclosing a powerhead, wherein the latching device comprises:

• a pawl mechanism on a first one of the first and second cowl portions and an engagement member on a second one of the first and second cowl portions, the pawl mechanism being movable by the electric actuator into and between a closed position for retaining the engagement member when the latching device is in the latched position and an opened position for releasing and receiving the engagement member when the latching device is in the unlatched position;
• wherein the pawl mechanism comprises first and second pawl members that are rotatable about first and second pawl axes, respectively;
• wherein the first and second pawl members in the closed position retain the engagement member there between and thus retain the first and second cowl portions together so as to enclose the powerhead, and alternately wherein the first and second pawl members are movable into the opened position so as to release the engagement member and thereby allow the first and second cowl portions to be separated from each other so the powerhead is accessible.