Patent ID: 8047885

Claim:
A boat propulsion unit comprising: an engine; a drive shaft arranged to extend below the engine; a first shaft and a second shaft arranged to extend in a direction intersecting with the drive shaft; a first propeller disposed on the first shaft and arranged to rotate together with the first shaft during both of forward travel and reverse travel of a boat; a second propeller disposed on the second shaft and arranged to rotate together with the second shaft in an opposite direction of the first propeller during both of the forward travel and the reverse travel of the boat; and a forward-reverse switching mechanism arranged on an axis of the first shaft and the second shaft and arranged to switch between a direction in which the first shaft and the second shaft are rotated during the forward travel of the boat, and a direction in which the first shaft and the second shaft are rotated during the reverse travel of the boat; wherein the forward-reverse switching mechanism includes a forward-reverse drive arranged to be driven during both of the forward travel and the reverse travel of the boat, and a reverse drive arranged to be driven during the reverse travel of the boat; and the second propeller is disposed on a first end of the second shaft, and the reverse drive is arranged on a second end of the second shaft.