Patent ID: 7210973

Claim:
A marine outboard engine assembly comprising: an engine; a vertically oriented driveshaft operatively coupled to the engine; a drive mechanism operatively coupled to the driveshaft; a gear case that houses at least a portion of the drive mechanism; a cowling disposed around the engine, wherein the cowling includes an upper motor cover that surrounds at least an upper part of the engine, a lower motor cover that surrounds a lower part of the engine, the cowling having, five sides, including a top side, a front side, a rear side, a left side, and a right side; wherein on at least one of the sides of the cowling, the upper motor cover lower edge having a non-linear profile when viewed from a side elevation view of the at least one side and the lower motor cover has an upper edge having a non-linear profile when viewed from a side elevation view, each of the non-linear profiles having first and second angled portions, the first angled portion having a positive slope and the second angled portion having a negative slope when the driveshaft is disposed vertically, the first and second angled portions together extending substantially an entire length of the corresponding upper and lower edges, and wherein the upper edge of the lower motor cover mates along substantially its entire length with the lower edge of the upper motor cover and the upper motor cover is detachably attached to the lower motor cover and separable therefrom along the respective edges.