Marine inboard/outboard system
OwnerJohn F. Maselterinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A marine vessel is provided having a stern drive attached to the transom of the vessel. An actuator is provided for adjusting the pitch of the stern drive relative to the transom of the vessel. The stern drive is mounted on the transom of the vessel such that a driveshaft driven by the engine of the vessel and passing through the transom to enter the stern drive does so above the waterline of the vessel. Furthermore, the actuator is of a sufficient length to allow the pitch of the stern drive to be adjusted to such a degree that the entire stern drive can be brought above the waterline of the vessel. To this end, the actuator may be disposed between the transom of the vessel and a cantilevered member attached to the stern drive.
Claims14
An improved marine vessel comprising:
- a hull, the hull including a transom and having a predetermined waterline intersecting the hull and transom;
- an engine disposed within the hull;
- an engine driveshaft driven by the engine;
- a lower gear set;
- an interior upright shaft driven by the engine driveshaft through the lower gear set;
- an upper gear set;
- an upper driveshaft passing through the transom and driven by the interior upright shaft through the upper gear set;
- and
- a stern drive attached to the transom, the stern drive comprising:
- a vertical shaft driven by the upper driveshaft;
- a propeller shaft driven by the vertical shaft;
- and
- a housing attached to the transom and enclosing the vertical shaft;
- wherein the propeller shaft exits the housing of the stern drive;
- and
- wherein the upper driveshaft passes through the transom and enters the stern drive above the predetermined waterline.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.