Hull mounted, steerable marine drive with trim actuation

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• an enclosure recessed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit;
• a drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said drive unit having an upper unit adapted from trim actuation, and a lower unit coupled to said upper unit;
• a trunnion hub in cooperation with said enclosure assembly and said upper unit;
• a propeller shaft housing in cooperation with said lower unit, said propeller shaft housing being adapted to provide drive forces in order to propel the boat through water;
• and
• a trimming actuator assembly mounted to said trunnion hub for adjusting trim of said upper unit, said trimming actuator assembly including a trim shaft mounted to said upper unit by means of said trunnion hub and a rotary actuator for applying a rotational force to said trim shaft, said trim shaft having a center axis which defines an axis of trim, said trimming actuator assembly further including a selectively energized trim actuator for energizing said rotary actuator thereby applying said rotational force to said trim shaft.

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• a marine drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said marine drive unit adapted to propel the boat through the water, said marine drive unit having an upper unit adapted for trim actuation and further includes a lower unit adapted for steering actuation, wherein said lower unit is coupled to said upper unit;
• an enclosure assembly recessed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit;
• a trunnion hub in cooperation with said enclosure and said upper unit;
• a propeller shaft housing adapted to provide drive forces to a propeller;
• and
• a selectively actuated steering actuator assembly comprising a steering actuator, a gear set defining a planetary gear set in drivable communication with said lower unit for rotating said lower unit about a vertical steering axis, a drive shaft in geared communication with said gear set for delivering rotational forces from said steering actuator to said gear set, wherein said drive shaft of said steering mechanism is defined by a splined articulating shaft having a u-joint disposed at each end of said drive shaft for allowing tilting of said upper unit while maintaining said steering actuator in a stationary position relative to said marine drive assembly.

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• a drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said drive unit having an upper unit adapted for trim actuation, and a lower unit coupled to said upper unit;
• a propeller shaft housing in cooperation with said lower unit, said propeller shaft housing being adapted to provide drive forces in order propel the boat through water;
• an enclosure assembly recessed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit;
• a trimming actuator assembly for adjusting trim of said upper unit;
• and
• a breakaway system, said breakaway system being adapted to allow said lower unit to detach from said upper unit upon impact with an underwater object thereby preventing damage to said drive unit and said enclosure assembly, said breakaway system comprising a hydraulic dampening system adapted for absorbing rotational forces applied to said lower unit impact with an underwater object and further wherein said upper unit includes a decelerator pad carried by a stern end of said upper unit, wherein said decelerator pad is constructed of a resilient, compressible, material and is adapted to absorb force of an impact between said upper unit and said enclosure assembly upon over-rotation of said upper unit.

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• an enclosure assembly recessed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit;
• a drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said drive unit having an upper unit adapted for trim actuation, and a lower unit coupled to said upper unit;
• a trunnion hub in cooperation with said enclosure and said upper unit;
• a propeller shaft housing in cooperation with said lower unit, said propeller shaft housing being adapted to provide drive forces in order to propel the boat through water;
• a trimming actuator assembly mounted to said trunnion hub for adjusting trim of said upper unit, said trimming actuator assembly including a trim shaft mounted to said upper unit by means of said trunnion hub and a rotary actuator for applying a rotational force to said trim shaft, said trim shaft having a center axis which defines an axis of trim, said trimming actuator assembly further including a selectively energized trim actuator for energizing said rotary actuator thereby applying said rotational force to said trim shaft, wherein said rotary actuator of said trimming actuator assembly is defined by at least a pair of selectively moveable pistons and a sliding block disposed between said selectively moveable pistons, wherein said sliding block is carried by a clevis mounted to said trim shaft such that linear motion of said moveable pistons is translated into rotary motion of said trim shaft;
• and
• at least one trim foil mounted to said propeller shaft housing below a water line said trim foil being adapted to provide enhanced hydrodynamic trim lift.

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• a marine drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said marine drive unit adapted to propel the boat through the water, said marine drive unit having an upper unit adapted for trim actuation and further includes a lower unit adapted for steering actuation, wherein said lower unit is coupled to said upper unit;
• an enclosure assembly recessed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit;
• a trunnion hub in cooperation with said enclosure and said upper unit;
• a propeller shaft housing adapted to provide drive forces to a propeller;
• and
• a trimming actuator assembly for adjusting trim of said upper unit, said trim mechanism including a trim shaft mounted to said upper unit by means of said trunnion hub for trimming said upper unit about a trim axis, a rotary actuator for applying rotational force to said trim shaft, and a selectively energized member for actuating said rotary actuator wherein said rotary actuator of said trimming actuator assembly is defined by at least a pair of selectively moveable pistons and a sliding block disposed between said selectively moveable pistons, wherein said sliding block is carried by a clevis mounted to said trim shaft such that linear motion of said moveable pistons is translated into rotary motion of said trim shaft.

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• a marine drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said marine drive unit said marine drive unit having an upper unit and a lower unit coupled to said upper unit, said marine drive unit being adapted to propel the boat through the water;
• a propeller shaft housing in cooperation with said lower unit, said propeller shaft housing being adapted to provide drive forces in order to propel the boat through water;
• an enclosure assembly disposed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit and which is adapted to preserve the boat's hydrodynamic efficiency and preserve wake performance of said marine drive assembly, said enclosure assembly including an upper portion recessed substantially within the hull of the boat, the upper portion cooperating with the marine drive upper unit to allow the upper unit to pivot within the upper portion recess, the enclosure assembly further including a retention plate and a gasket flange, wherein said retention plate and said gasket flange are configured to closely follow a contour of the hull thereby providing a substantially seamless interface to the boat hull;
• and
• at least one selectively adjustable trim foil carried by propeller shaft housing below a water line.

A marine drive assembly adapted for being mounted in an opening in a boat hull, said marine drive assembly comprising:

• a drive unit extending downwardly through the opening in the boat hull, said drive unit having an upper unit adapted for trim actuation, and a lower unit coupled to said upper unit;
• a propeller shaft housing in cooperation with said lower unit, said propeller shaft housing being adapted to provide drive forces in order propel the boat through water;
• an enclosure assembly disposed within the hull of the boat and sealed such that water is substantially prevented from entering the boat hull through the opening in the boat hull which receives the marine drive unit said enclosure assembly including an upper portion recessed within the hull of the boat, the upper portion recess cooperating with the marine drive upper unit to allow the upper unit to pivot within the upper portion recess;
• a trimming actuator assembly for adjusting trim of said upper unit;
• and
• a breakaway system, said breakaway system being adapted to allow said lower unit to detach from said upper unit upon impact with an underwater object thereby preventing damage to said drive unit and said enclosure, said breakaway system comprising a hydraulic dampening system adapted for absorbing rotational forces applied to said lower unit upon impact with an underwater object.