Outboard motor control apparatus

An apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller through a drive shaft and a propeller shaft, a transmission that is installed at a location between the drive shaft and the propeller shaft, the transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including at least a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, and a trim angle regulation mechanism regulating a trim angle relative to the boat through trim-up/down operation, comprising:

• a throttle opening change amount detector adapted to detect a change amount of throttle opening of the engine;
• an engine speed detector adapted to detect speed of the engine;
• a first-speed changer adapted to change the gear position of the transmission from the second speed to the first speed when the gear position is in the second speed and the detected change amount of the throttle opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined value;
• a trim-up starter adapted to start the trim-up operation through the trim angle regulation mechanism when the detected engine speed is equal to or greater than a first predetermined speed after the gear position is changed to the first speed by the first-speed changer;
• a second-speed changer adapted to change the gear position from the first speed to the second speed when the detected engine speed is equal to or greater than a second predetermined speed set greater than the first predetermined speed after the trim-up operation is started by the trim-up starter;
• and
• a trim-up stopper adapted to stop the trim-up operation after the gear position is changed to the second speed by the second-speed changer.