Outboard motor

An outboard motor comprising:

• a prime mover;
• a driveshaft extending in an up/down direction below the prime mover and to which a rotation of the prime mover is transmitted;
• a gear mechanism coupled to a lower end portion of the driveshaft and to which a rotation of the driveshaft is transmitted;
• a propeller shaft to which a rotation of the gear mechanism is transmitted;
• a lower case in which the driveshaft is inserted and defining a gear chamber that houses the gear mechanism and a lubricating oil;
• an upper bearing positioned above the gear mechanism and rotatably supporting the driveshaft inside the lower case;
• a feed passage through which the lubricating oil that is made to flow upward from the gear mechanism by rotation of the gear mechanism is fed upward from the gear chamber;
• a return passage separate from the feed passage and returning the lubricating oil, fed by the feed passage, to the gear chamber;
• and
• a connection passage guiding the lubricating oil from the feed passage to the return passage;
• wherein
• the feed passage includes:
• a first feed passage including a first upstream passage extending upward from the gear chamber and a spiral passage spirally surrounding the driveshaft below the upper bearing, the first feed passage extending from the gear chamber to the connection passage via the first upstream passage, the spiral passage, and an interior of the upper bearing in that order;
• and
• a second feed passage including a bypass passage separated from the spiral passage, the second feed passage extending from the first upstream passage to the connection passage and bypassing the spiral passage by the bypass passage;
• the bypass passage is positioned farther outward than the spiral passage in a radial direction of the driveshaft;
• and
• a diameter of a cross section of the bypass passage that is orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to a center line of the driveshaft is smaller than a maximum diameter of the driveshaft.