Abstract:
An arrangement for mounting a water jet apparatus to a hull of a marine craft. The hull has generallly horizontal and vertical sections and sidewalls which define a cavity in which an inlet housing of the water jet apparatus is installed. The inlet housing has a top section which abuts an exterior surface of the horizontal hull section and a front section which abuts an exterior surface of the vertical hull section. A top mounting plate abuts an interior surface of the horizontal hull section, while a front plate abuts an interior surface of the vertical hull section. One set of fasteners hold the top mounting plate, the horizontal hull section and the top section of the inlet housing together. Another set of fasteners hold the front plate, the vertical hull section and the front section of the inlet housing together.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention generally relates to water jet apparatus for propelling boats and other marine craft. In particular, the invention relates to means for mounting a water jet apparatus to the hull of a boat. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is known to propel a boat or other watercraft using a water jet apparatus mounted to the hull, with the powerhead being placed inside (inboard) the hull. The drive shaft of the water jet apparatus is coupled to the output shaft of the inboard motor. The impeller is mounted on the drive shaft and housed in a jet propulsion pipe or water tunnel. 
     To facilitate use of water jet-propelled boats in shallow water, it is known to mount the water jet at an elevation such that the water jet does not project below the bottom of the boat hull. This can be accomplished, for example, by installing a duct in the stern of the boat, the duct being arranged to connect one or more inlet holes formed in the bottom of the hull with an outlet hole formed in the transom. The water jet is then installed outside the hull in a position such that the water jet inlet is in flow communication with the duct outlet at the transom. Such a system is shown in Australian Patent Specification No. 262306, published in 1963. Alternatively, the water jet can be installed inside the duct built into the hull, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,868. 
     In another type of design, a water jet apparatus is installed inside the hull and penetrates the transom. An inlet housing of the water jet has a horizontal opening and an inclined water tunnel for guiding water to the impeller. The horizontal opening of the inlet housing is mounted in a hole in the bottom or near the bottom of the hull. A similar design is disclosed in Swiss Patent No. 481788. 
     In many water jet units powered by inboard engines, the drive shafts and pump mountings (which must penetrate the hull) are placed below the waterline. This mounting system has the disadvantage that various gaskets and seals are required to ensure the integrity of the installation. Leakage at any of the mounting and shafting locations can be disastrous. 
     There is a need for a boat design which would allow a water jet apparatus to be mounted to a hull with penetrations for the drive shaft and shift and steering control system. The area of these penetrations through the hull should be minimized. In addition, the mounting arrangement should allow for easier installation than is the case with the above-described prior art mountings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an arrangement for mounting a water jet apparatus to a hull of a boat or other marine craft. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the hull has a cavity defined by a generally horizontal section, a generally vertical section connected to the horizontal section and a pair of side walls connected with the horizontal and vertical sections. An inlet housing of the water jet apparatus is installed in the cavity. The inlet housing has a bore in which the drive shaft is rotatably supported. The drive shaft is coupled to an output shaft of an inboard motor via an opening in the generally vertical hull section at the front of the cavity. 
     In the installed state, a top section of the inlet housing abuts an exterior surface of the horizontal hull section and a front section of the inlet housing abuts an exterior surface of the generally vertical hull section. The front section of the inlet housing is attached to the generally vertical hull section by means of a front plate which abuts the interior surface of the latter. The top section of the inlet housing is attached to the horizontal hull section by means of a top mounting plate which abuts an interior surface of the horizontal hull section. One set of fasteners hold the top mounting plate, the horizontal hull section and the top section of the inlet housing together. Another set of fasteners hold the front plate, the generally vertical hull section and the front section of the inlet housing together. 
     In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the front plate has an opening which communicates with a first cavity in the front section of the inlet housing via the aforementioned opening in the generally vertical hull section. The front end of the drive shaft resides in this first cavity in the inlet housing. The openings in the front plate and the generally vertical hull section allow the drive shaft to be coupled to the output shaft of the inboard motor. The front face of the front section of the inlet housing has an endless recess disposed along a closed curve which encompasses the first cavity. A seal is placed in this recess to minimize leakage of water through the opening in the generally vertical hull section. The fasteners for attaching the inlet housing to the generally vertical hull section reside within the ambit of the seal. 
     Further in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the top mounting plate is penetrated by the shift and steering control system. In particular, the top mounting plate has an opening which communicates with a second cavity in the top section of the inlet housing via an opening in the horizontal hull section. A shift and steering control housing, which rotatably supports the shift and steering shafts, is seated in the second cavity and penetrates the openings in the horizontal hull section and in the top mounting plate. The top face of the top section of the inlet housing has an endless recess located along a closed curve which encompasses the second cavity. A seal is placed in this recess to minimize leakage of water through the opening in the horizontal hull section. 
     In accordance with a further aspect of the preferred embodiment, the shift and steering cable assemblies, which are respectively connected to shift and steering shafts via upper shift and steering levers, are supported at respective heights above the top mounting plate by respective mounting brackets. These mounting brackets extend upward from and are integrally connected to the top mounting plate. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic (presented on two sheets respectively labeled FIGS. 1A and 1B) showing a sectional view of a water jet apparatus mounted to a boat hull in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the section being taken along a vertical midplane. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic (presented on two sheets respectively labeled FIGS. 2A and 2B) showing a top view of the top mounting plate and the water jet apparatus depicted in FIG. 1, with the hull removed. 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic showing a front view of the inlet housing in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic showing a top view of the inlet housing in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIGS. 5,  7  and  8  are schematics showing top, side and bottom views of the shift and steering control housing. 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic showing a sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  shown in FIG.  2 A. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematics showing isometric and top views of a portion of a steering cable assembly which is mounted to the top mounting plate in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The water jet apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is designed to be installed in a cavity under a section of the hull and in flow communication with the outlet of an inlet ramp built into the hull. As seen in FIG. 1, the boat hull  2  has an inlet ramp  6  formed by a pair of opposing sidewalls  8  and a ramp surface  10  which curves gently upward in the aft direction. The end of the inlet ramp  6  is in flow communication with a cavity in which the water jet apparatus is installed. This cavity for the water jet apparatus is defined by a horizontal hull section  12 , a nearly vertical hull section  14  and a pair of opposing sidewalls  16  (only one of which is visible in FIG.  1 ), the cavity being open at the bottom and rear for allowing insertion of the water jet apparatus. 
     The water jet apparatus comprises an inlet housing  18  which is slid into the aforementioned cavity and bolted to the hull by means of a top mounting plate  20  and a front plate  22 . At the time of inlet housing installation, the drive shaft  26  is already rotatably mounted in the inlet housing. In particular, the inlet housing  18  comprises a vertical strut  85  having an axial bore  200  which houses a portion of the drive shaft. The drive shaft  26  is rotatably supported by bearings. The bearing assembly at the front end of the drive shaft  26  is housed in a bearing housing  202 . The bearing housing  202  is fastened to the inlet housing by a plurality of screws which are screwed into threaded holes  204  (seen only in FIG. 3) in the inlet housing  18 . 
     The front of the inlet housing  18  is attached to the vertical hull section  14  by means of a front plate  22  and a plurality of screws  24  (only one of which is visible in FIG.  1 ). The numeral  25  in FIG. 1 denotes a washer placed between the head of screw  24  and the front plate  22 . The front plate  22  has an opening  34  (best seen in FIG. 2) which, in the assembled state, is aligned with an opening  36  in the vertical hull section  14  to allow the output shaft (not shown) from the inboard motor to be coupled to the front end of the drive shaft  26 . The top of the inlet housing is attached to the horizontal hull section  12  by means of a top mounting plate  20  and a plurality of studs  28 . 
     In the assembled position, a front portion of the inlet housing  18  is sealed against the vertical hull section  14  by means of a seal  30  and a top portion of the inlet housing  18  is sealed against the horizontal hull section  12  by means of a seal  32 . The seal  30  sits in an endless recess  208  having a closed contour and formed in the slightly inclined front face  210  of the inlet housing, as seen in FIG.  3 . The seal  30  encompasses the interface where the openings in the vertical hull section  14  and inlet housing for the drive shaft  26  meet and is designed to prevent water leaking into the drive shaft assembly or into the boat via the opening  36 . Similarly, the top mounting plate  20  has an opening  38  which, in the assembled state, is aligned with an opening  40  in the horizontal hull section  12  to allow a shift and steering control housing  42  to be placed in a corresponding opening in the top wall of the inlet housing  18 . The seal  32  sits in an endless recess  212  having a closed contour and formed in the horizontal top face  214  of the inlet housing, as seen in FIG.  4 . The seal  32  encompasses the interface where the openings in the horizontal hull section  12  and inlet housing for the shift and steering housing  42  meet and is designed to prevent water leaking into the boat via the opening  38 . In addition, a seal  31  is pressed between the inlet housing  18  and the hull along the front and sides of the inlet housing. The seal  32  sits in a recess  21  having a straight section formed in the front of the inlet housing  18 , as seen in FIG. 3, and having contoured sections (not shown) on the sides of the inlet housing. 
     The inlet housing  18  has a water tunnel  44  with an inlet  46 . The water tunnel  44  has a pair of sidewalls  48  (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) which are generally coplanar with the sidewalls  8  of the hull inlet ramp  6 . In addition, the water tunnel  44  has a guide surface  50  which starts at a point near where the ramp surface  10  of the hull inlet ramp  6  ends and then curves gradually upward in the aft direction. As a result of the foregoing structure, there is a generally smooth transition between the end of inlet ramp  6  and the beginning of water tunnel  44 . Thus the hull  2  and the inlet housing  18  combine to form a single inlet for guiding water toward the inlet of a stator housing  52  located downstream of the inlet housing. 
     An inlet grate  54  extends across the inlet  46  of the water tunnel  44  and serves to block the admission of debris into the water jet apparatus. The inlet grate  54  comprises a multiplicity of generally parallel tines  56  which extend downward and rearward from an upper end of the inlet grate. Only the upper end of the inlet grate is attached to the inlet housing by screws (not shown). The cantilevered design is based on the theory that any weeds that wrap around the grate will be drawn down to the lower, open end and slide of f under the boat and/or be drawn into the pump and chopped up. In addition, a ride plate  58  is attached to the bottom of the inlet housing  18 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the drive shaft projects in the aft direction out of the inlet housing  18 . The impeller is pre-assembled in the unit prior to mounting in the hull. The hub and blades of impeller  60  are integrally formed as one cast piece. The hub of impeller  60  has a splined bore which meshes with splines formed on the external surface of the drive shaft  26 , so that the impeller  60  will rotate in unison with the driveshaft. Also, a taper on the impeller locks on to a taper on the driveshaft to hold the impeller in place (see FIG.  3 ). The impeller  60  is held securely on the drive shaft  26  by a washer  62  (best seen in FIG.  1 B), which in turn is held in place by a lock nut  64  tightened onto a threaded end of the drive shaft  26 . As seen in FIG. 1B, the hub of the impeller  60  increases in radius in the aft direction, transitioning gradually from a generally conical outer surface at the leading edge of the impeller hub to a generally circular cylindrical outer surface at the trailing edge of the impeller hub. This outer surface of the impeller hub forms the radially inner boundary for guiding the flow of water impelled by the impeller. 
     The stator housing  52  comprises inner and outer shells connected by a plurality of stator vanes, all integrally formed as a single cast piece. The hub of the stator housing  52  gradually decreases in radius in the aft direction, starting out at a radius slightly less than the radius at the trailing edge of the impeller hub. The stator vanes are designed to redirect the swirling flow out of the impeller  60  into non-swirling flow. The stator housing hub has a radial end face with a central throughhole. Before the stator housing is installed, a tail cone cover  66  is attached to the radial end face of the stator housing hub by a screw  68 . The front of the stator housing  52  is then attached to the rear of the inlet housing  18  by a plurality of screws (not shown in FIG.  1 ). 
     A circumferential recess in the stator housing  52  at a position opposing the impeller blade tips has a circular cylindrical wear ring  65  seated therein. Wear to the impeller blade tips is mainly due to the pumping of abrasives such as beach sand. The purpose of the wear ring  65  is to protect the soft aluminum casting with a hard stainless steel surface, thus drastically reducing the rate of wear. 
     After the stator housing  52  (with attached tail cone cover  66 ) has been attached to the inlet housing  18 , the front of an exit nozzle  70  is attached to the rear of the stator housing  52  by screws. The front faces of the tail cone cover  66  and the exit nozzle  70  are preferably coplanar. The water flowing out of the stator housing  52  will flow through the space between the tail cone cover  66  and the exit nozzle  70 , and then will exit the exit nozzle at its outlet. 
     The water jet apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a steering nozzle  72  which can change the direction of the water exiting the exit nozzle  70 . This effect is used by the boat operator to steer the boat left or right. To accomplish this, the steering nozzle  72  is pivotably mounted to the exit nozzle  70  by a pair of pivot assemblies located at the top and bottom of the exit nozzle. Each pivot assembly comprises a screw  74 , a sleeve (not visible in FIG. 1) and a bushing  76 . The axes of the screws  74  are collinear and form a vertical pivot axis about which the steering nozzle  72  can rotate. In particular, the steering nozzle has a pair of circular holes in which the bushings  76  are seated. The sleeves are inserted inside the respective bushings  76 . The screws  74  are in turn inserted in the sleeves and screwed into respective threaded holes in the exit nozzle  70 . As best seen in FIG. 2B, the steering nozzle  72  has an arm  73  which is pivotably coupled to a flattened end of a steering rod  114 . Displacement of the steering rod  114  in response to operation of a steering cable assembly  78  (see FIG. 2A) causes the steering nozzle to swing a desired direction about its vertical pivot axis. 
     The water jet apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is also provided with a non-steerable reverse gate  80  which is pivotable between forward and reverse positions. In the forward position, the reverse gate  80  is raised, thereby allowing water to exit the steering nozzle  72  freely. In the reverse position, the reverse gate  80  is lowered to a position directly opposite to the outlet of the steering nozzle  72 . The reverse gate is designed to partially reverse the flow of water exiting the steering nozzle  72  when the reverse gate is in the reverse position. This reverse flow of water will urge the boat in the aft direction. To accomplish the foregoing, the reverse gate  80  is pivotably mounted to the exit nozzle  70  by a pair of pivot assemblies  94  and  96  located on opposite sides of the exit nozzle (see FIG.  2 B). Each pivot assembly  94  and  96  has a construction substantially identical to the pivot assemblies previously described with reference to pivoting of the steering nozzle  72 . As seen in FIG. 2B, the reverse gate has a pair of arms  98  and  100 , the ends of which are pivotably coupled to the respective pivot assemblies  94 ,  96 . The reverse gate  80  is pivoted by a shift rod  92 , the end of which is coupled to arm  98  of the reverse gate  80  by means of a rod end assembly  102  which comprises a ball socket for allowing horizontal radial motion at the shift lever and vertical radial motion at the reverse gate. The rod end assembly is attached to arm  98  by means of a screw  104  and a lock nut  106 . Displacement of the shift rod  92  in response to operation of a shift cable assembly  82  (see FIG. 2A) causes the reverse gate to swing in a desired direction, namely, into forward position or reverse position. The reverse gate has a design which allows the boat to steer in reverse in the same direction like an outboard, stern drive or car. 
     In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shift and steering cable assemblies located inside the hull are respectively coupled to the shift and steering rods located outside the hull by means of respective lever and shaft assemblies rotatably supported in a shift and steering control housing  42  which is installed in a corresponding opening in the top of the inlet housing  18 . As best seen in FIGS. 5 and 7, the housing  42  preferably comprises a base plate  116 , an upper vertical tubular structure  118  integrally formed with base plate  116  and extending above it to a first height, and an upper vertical tubular structure  120  integrally formed with base plate  116  and extending above it to a second height greater than the first height. The tubular structures  118  and  120  are reinforced by a rib  122  extending therebetween and integrally formed therewith and with the base plate  116 . Additional reinforcement is provided by respective pairs of ribs  124  and  126 . As seen in FIG. 5, the base of housing  42  has a generally square shape with rounded corners. Below the base plate, the housing has a circular cylindrical lower wall  128  (shown in FIGS.  7  and  8 ), integrally formed with lower vertical tubular structures  130  and  132 . The lower wall  128  slides into a circular opening  134  (shown in FIG. 4) formed in the top wall of the inlet housing  18 . The opening  134  in the inlet housing communicates with the exterior of the water jet apparatus via a pair of opposing side channels through which the lower shift and steering levers (described below) respectively pass. The lower wall  128  is provided with a pair of annular grooves  136  (see FIG. 8) in which respective O-rings  138  (see FIG. 6) are installed to seal the interface of the respective housings  18  and  42  against leakage of water through opening  134  and into the hull. 
     Preferably the opening  40  (see FIG. 1A) in the horizontal hull section  12  closely matches the opening in mounting plate. As seen in FIG. 2A, the housing  42  is bolted to the inlet housing  18  by studs  140 . The shift and steering control housing  42  has throughholes  142  at respective corners (see FIG.  5 ). The studs  140  are threaded into respective threaded holes  144  formed in the top wall of the inlet housing  18  (see FIG.  4 ). 
     As best seen in FIG. 6, the shift and steering control housing  42  has one bore  146  for receiving the shift shaft  88  and another bore  148  for receiving the steering shaft  110 . The bore  146  has upper and lower annular recesses in which upper and lower bushings  150  and  152  are respectively inserted; the bore  148  has upper and lower annular recesses in which upper and lower bushings  154  and  156  are respectively inserted. The shift shaft  88  is rotatably supported in bushings  150  and  152 , while steering shaft  110  is rotatably supported in bushings  154  and  156 . One end of the upper shift lever  86  is secured to the top of the shift shaft  88  by means of a lock nut  158  which screws onto a threaded end of the shift shaft; one end of the upper steering lever  108  is secured to the top of the steering shaft  110  by means of a lock nut  160  which screws onto a threaded end of the steering shaft. (Only a portion of each of the upper levers is shown in FIG. 6.) The upper levers bear on the flanges of the upper bushings during rotation of the lever and shaft assemblies. 
     The upper shift lever has a D-slot which form fits on a portion of the shift shaft having a D-shaped cross section. Referring to FIG. 2A, the upper shift lever  86  has a pair of opposing fingers which are pinched together by a screw  172 , the resulting compressive force clamping the upper shift lever  86  to the shift shaft  88 . The upper steering lever  108  has a similar construction, with fingers pinched together by a screw  174  to clamp the upper steering lever to the steering shaft. Alternatively, the shift and steering levers can be stampings retained by washers and nuts, with the “pinch” fingers being eliminated. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, the reference numeral  176  designates a pair of seals installed in annular recesses formed at the bottom of the respective lower vertical tubular structures  130  and  132 , in surrounding relationship with the shift and steering shafts respectively. A lower shift lever  90  is welded to the bottom of the shift shaft  88 , while a lower steering lever  112  is welded to the bottom of the steering shaft  110 . A lower washer  178  is installed between the lower shift lever  90  and the lower vertical tubular structure  130  of the shift and steering control housing  42 , while a lower washer  180  is installed between the lower steering lever  112  and the lower vertical tubular structure  132  of housing  42 . The washers  178  and  180  provide for rotation. 
     The full length of the lower steering lever  112  is shown in FIG. 6, while only a portion of the lower shift lever  90  is depicted. FIG. 6 shows a clevis  182  and a shoulder screw  184  for attaching the distal end of the lower steering lever  112  to the forward end of the steering rod (not shown in FIG.  6 ). Similarly, the distal end of the lower shift lever is attached to the forward end of the shift rod by means of a clevis and shoulder screw coupling (not shown in FIG.  6 ). 
     Referring to FIG. 2A, the distal end of the upper shift lever  86  is attached to the shift cable assembly  82  by means of a clevis  186  and a clevis pin  188 . These components are located inside the hull of the boat (see FIG.  1 A). Displacement of the end of shift cable assembly  82  causes the shift lever and shaft assembly to rotate. Likewise the distal end of the upper steering lever  108  is attached to the steering cable assembly  78  by means of a clevis  190  and a clevis pin  192 , and displacement of the end of steering cable assembly  78  causes the steering lever and shaft assembly to rotate. In response to operation of the steering cable assembly  78 , the steering nozzle can be selectively turned left or right to steer the boat as desired during water jet operation. In response to operation of the shift cable assembly  82 , the reverse gate can be selectively raised or lowered to propel the boat forward or rearward as desired during water jet operation. 
     As seen in FIG. 1A, the shift cable assembly  82  is supported by a bracket  194  and the steering cable assembly  78  is supported by a bracket  196 , both brackets being integrally connected to and extending vertically upward from the top mounting plate  20 . The structural details of the preferred mounting arrangement are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 for the steering cable assembly. An identical arrangement is employed to mount the shift cable assembly to the top mounting plate. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the steering cable assembly  78  comprises a steering cable housing  216  which is mounted to the mounting bracket  196  by means of a pair of connected tabbed washers  218  and a pair of threaded nuts  220  and  222 . The threaded nuts  220  and  222  are respectively threadably coupled to oppositely threaded threads on the exterior of the steering cable housing. One tabbed washer of washer pair  218  is sandwiched between threaded nut  220  and a surface of the mounting bracket  196 . The other tabbed washer of washer pair  218  is sandwiched between threaded nut  222  and the opposite surface of the mounting bracket  196 . The tabbed washers are connected by a U-shaped member  224 . A steering cable (not visible in FIGS. 9 and 10) is slidably arranged inside the steering cable housing. One end of the steering cable is coupled to the steering mechanism (e.g., a steering wheel in the cockpit), while the other end of the steering cable is connected to one end of a coupling rod  226 . The other end of the coupling rod  226  is coupled to the upper steering lever  108  by means of the clevis  190 . Thus, the upper steering lever  108  can be pivoted by sliding the steering cable inside the steering cable housing  216 . 
     The foregoing structure is designed to facilitate installation of a shift and steering control system which penetrates a horizontal hull section of a boat. The assembly procedure is as follows. The lower levers are welded to the bottom ends of the respective shift and steering shafts. These welded lever and shaft subassemblies are then inserted in a large opening in the inlet housing, the bottoms of the shafts being supported by a boss  198  (seen in FIG.  5 ). As part of the assembly, grease is applied to both shafts. Then a pair of O-rings are installed in the annular grooves of the shift and steering control housing  42 . One of the shaft is then placed in position in the opening in the inlet housing and the corresponding bore ( 146  or  148 ) of the shift and steering control housing  42  is slid over the top part of that shaft. Then the second shaft is passed up through the inlet housing and its top section is slid into the other bore, following which the housing  42  is slid downward and into the receiving opening in the inlet housing  18 . In the final position, the housing  42  is bolted to the inlet housing  18 . Then the upper shift lever  86  is assembled to the shift shaft  88 . The upper steering lever is not pre-assembled to its shaft to allow assembly of the inlet housing to the hull. Therefore, means are provided for retaining the steering shaft and lower steering lever subassembly in the housing  42 , either temporarily or permanently, until the upper steering lever  108  is installed in the boat. 
     After the shift and steering control housing has been attached to the inlet housing, the inlet housing is installed in the cavity behind the generally vertical hull section and under the horizontal hull section. During inlet housing installation, the front plate  22  is placed on the inside of the vertical hull section  14  and the inlet housing  18  is placed on the outside of vertical hull section  14 , a set of three throughholes in the vertical hull section  14  and a set of three threaded holes  206  (seen only in FIG. 3) in the inlet housing  18  being aligned with a set of three throughholes in the vertical hull section  14 . Three screws  24  (only one of which is visible in FIG. 1) are passed through the aligned throughholes and screwed into the threaded holes  206  of the inlet housing  18 . The studs  28  are affixed to the inlet housing  18 . The inlet housing  18  is inserted into the hull cavity and the studs  28  are inserted into throughholes in the hull. The front plate  22  is then positioned and screws  24  are screwed into the inlet housing  18 . The top mounting plate  20  is then placed over the studs  28  and secured to the hull using nuts and washers. 
     After the inlet housing is installed with the shift and steering control housing projecting inside the hull, one end of the upper steering lever  108  is connected to the top of the steering shaft  110 . Then the steering cable assembly  78  is installed and connected to the upper steering lever  108 , as shown in FIG.  2 A. Installation of the steering cable assembly will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, with the understanding that the shift cable assembly is installed in a similar manner. 
     During steering cable assembly installation, the tabbed washer pair  218  is slid onto the mounting bracket  196  with tabbed washers on opposing sides of the bracket and with the washer openings in alignment with the mounting bracket opening. Then the cable housing  216  is passed through the aligned openings and positioned so that the external threads of the cable housing  216  are on opposite sides of the mounting bracket  196 . The forwardmost nut  220  is installed on the cable housing prior to installing in mounting bracket  196 . The nut  222  is threaded onto the cable housing from the opposite side and tightened until the cable housing is secured to the mounting bracket. Although not shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the tabs on the tabbed washers are folded down into abutment with respective facets of the threaded nuts, thereby locking the rotational position of the threaded nuts. Because the tabbed washers are connected by U-shaped member  224 , the tabbed washers cannot rotate relative to each other. When the tabs are folded so that the tabbed washers are respectively interlocked with the threaded nuts  220  and  222 , the tabbed washer pair  218  serves to lock the threaded nuts in rotational position, thereby preventing loosening of these nuts. After the steering cable assembly  78  has been attached to the mounting bracket  196 , the end of the coupling rod  226  of the steering cable assembly is connected to the clevis  190 . 
     Preferably the inlet housing and shift and steering control housing are made of sand-cast aluminum or molded plastic, the top mounting plate is made of carbon steel and the front plate is made of aluminum. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. 
     As used in the claims, the term “outlet housing” comprises one or more attached parts. For example, in the disclosed preferred embodiment, the stator housing and the exit nozzle form an outlet housing. However, the present invention encompasses forming the stator housing and the exit nozzle as one piece, or forming the stator housing as two pieces, and so forth. In addition, although the preferred embodiment shows a horizontal hull section  12  and a nearly vertical hull section  14 , it will be appreciated that the former may be nearly horizontal and the latter may be vertical. As used in the claims, the terms “generally horizontal hull section” and “generally vertical hull section” mean a horizontal or nearly horizontal hull section and a vertical or nearly vertical hull section respectively.