Patent ID: 8437895

Claim:
A marine vessel comprising: a hull; a propulsion device mounted on a stern of the hull and including an engine and a propulsion device control unit; a starter switch arranged to be operated by an operator to start the engine; and a main control unit mounted on the hull at an operator's compartment and arranged and programmed to receive a start command from the starter switch and to communicate with the propulsion device control unit, the main control unit including: a stand-by unit arranged to, when receiving the start command from the starter switch, stand by until information for determination of a predetermined start permission condition is acquired from the propulsion device control unit; a determining unit arranged to, after the information for determination of the predetermined start permission condition is acquired, determine if the predetermined start permission condition is met; and an engine start command unit arranged to, if the predetermined start permission condition is met, provide an engine start command to the propulsion device control unit; wherein the information for determination of the predetermined start permission condition includes information to be communicated from the propulsion device control unit; and the propulsion device control unit starts the engine upon receipt of the engine start command from the main control unit.