Patent ID: 7625255
Filing Date: 2009-12-01
Classification: B63H

Abstract:
1. A marine propulsion machine comprising: a drive shaft means rotatably driven by an engine and including a first drive shaft having a vertical center axis and interlocked with the engine, and a second drive shaft having a vertical center axis, interlocked with the first drive shaft and disposed on a rear side of the first drive shaft; a gear case normally lying beneath the surface of the water said gear case having a gear holding part and a support part extending upward from the gear holding part; an output gear mechanism driven by the second drive shaft and held in the gear holding part of the gear case; a propeller shaft held in the gear holding part of the gear case and driven for rotation by power transmitted thereto through the output gear mechanism; and a water pump driven by the drive shaft means, wherein the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft are rotatably supported on the gear case, the first drive shaft has a lower end located substantially in a middle of said support part, with respect to a vertical direction; the second drive shaft extends downward beyond a vertical position corresponding to a lower end of the first drive shaft, and wherein the support part of the gear case is formed in opposite side surfaces thereof with a pair of water intake openings through which the water pump sucks water, and at least a part of each of the water intake openings is located below a plane orthogonal to the first drive shaft and at the lower end of the first drive shaft and above a plane orthogonal to the second drive shaft and corresponding to a top of the output gear mechanism and is on a front side of the second drive shaft.