Patent ID: 8690619

Claim:
Apparatus for steering a vessel propelled by an outboard motor comprising: a housing; a first fitting on the housing for attachment to one end of a tilt tube of an outboard motor, the first fitting having an internal passage for providing communication between the interior of the housing and the interior of a tilt tube to which the fitting is attached; a reel within the housing and mounted for rotation therein; a reversible electric motor; reduction gearing connecting the motor in driving relationship to the reel; and a flexible cable wound on the reel and extending therefrom through the internal passage of the fitting, a part of the cable adjacent one end thereof being fixed to the reel, and the cable having an opposite end external to the housing; and a second fitting on said opposite end of the cable for attachment, within the tilt tube, to a rod protruding from the interior of the tilt tube through the opposite end thereof; wherein the cable has sufficient stiffness to exert a pushing force on the rod when the reel is rotated in a direction to unwind the cable therefrom; whereby, by linking the protruding portion of the rod to the outboard motor, the outboard motor can be steered by operation of the reversible electric motor.