Patent ID: 8808040

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having a shift lever used to change a shift position between an in-gear position that enables driving force of an internal combustion engine to be transmitted to a propeller by engaging a clutch with one of a forward gear and a reverse gear and a neutral position that cuts off transmission of the driving force by disengaging the clutch from the forward or reverse gear, comprising: a throttle opening detector adapted to detect a throttle opening of the engine; an engine speed detector adapted to detect a speed of the engine; an engine speed change amount calculator adapted to calculate a change amount of the detected engine speed; and a driving force decreasing controller adapted to conduct driving force decreasing control to decrease the driving force of the engine based on the detected throttle opening, the detected engine speed and the calculated engine speed change amount, wherein the driving force decreasing controller conducts the driving force decreasing control when the detected throttle opening is at a fully-closed position or thereabout, the detected engine speed is equal to or less than a predetermined engine speed and the calculated change amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value.