Integrated copilot and locking mechanism for marine drives

An apparatus for supporting a marine drive on a marine vessel, the apparatus comprising:

• a transom bracket assembly for mounting to the marine vessel, the transom bracket assembly comprising a swivel cylinder,
• a steering bracket for coupling the marine drive to the transom bracket assembly so the marine drive is steerable relative to the transom bracket assembly, the steering bracket comprising a steering arm and a swivel tube assembly that is seated in the swivel cylinder such that steering of the steering arm relative to the transom bracket assembly rotates the swivel tube assembly in the swivel cylinder, and
• a copilot mechanism configured to retain the steering bracket in a plurality of steering orientations, the copilot mechanism comprising a copilot arm that frictionally engages an outer surface of the swivel tube assembly to limit or prevent rotation of the swivel tube assembly in the swivel cylinder and thereby retain the steering bracket in each of a plurality of steering orientations.

An integrated copilot and locking mechanism for a marine drive, the integrated copilot and locking mechanism comprising:

• a copilot arm configured to retain a steering bracket on the marine drive in each of a plurality of steering orientations relative to a transom bracket assembly,
• a locking arm configured to lock and alternately unlock the steering bracket relative to the transom bracket assembly such that in a locked position the marine drive is retained on the transom bracket assembly and such that in an unlocked position the marine drive is removable from the transom bracket assembly, and
• a multifunctional handle end that is operable to cause the copilot arm to retain the steering bracket in each of the plurality of steering orientations and also operable to cause the locking arm to lock and unlock the steering bracket relative to the transom bracket assembly.