Patent ID: 7350497

Claim:
An outboard motor comprising a vertically extending case configured to be supported on a hull of a watercraft, an upper end of the case supporting an internal combustion engine, an oil pan that holds lubricant for lubricating the internal combustion engine, an exhaust passage extending downwardly from the internal combustion engine and defining an axis, an oil conduit extending upwardly towards the internal combustion engine and having a lower end defining an opening, and an oil pump adapted to draw lubricant through the lower end of the oil conduit and direct a lubricant flow through the oil conduit and to the internal combustion engine, the oil pump being positioned in the vicinity of a front portion of the oil pan when the outboard motor is attached to the hull, the oil pan having a bottom comprising a first bottom surface and a second bottom surface, a lower portion of the oil pan being located below the lower end of the oil conduit and comprising the first bottom surface, the lower portion being positioned forwardly of the second bottom surface, and the second bottom surface is generally vertically higher than the first bottom surface and slopes downwardly in a forward direction to beyond the axis of the exhaust passage.