Patent ID: 7836787

Claim:
A shift system for a boat propulsion unit comprising: a remote control shift lever arranged to move through an operational range between forward, neutral, and reverse positions, the remote control shift lever disposed apart from the boat propulsion unit; a shift device disposed on the boat propulsion unit and arranged to shift between forward, neutral, and reverse operations; a shift actuator arranged to actuate the shift device; a controller arranged and programmed to control the shift actuator according to a position of the remote control shift lever, the controller arranged and programmed to control the shift actuator to not move when the remote control shift lever is between the neutral position and a first position, to move when the remote control shift lever is between the first position and a second position, and to not move when the remote control shift lever is between the second position and the forward or the reverse position; and a running state detector arranged to detect a running state of the boat propulsion unit; wherein the shift actuator is controlled at least in part as a function of the running state; the running state detected by the running state detector includes at least either a rotational speed of an engine mounted on the boat propulsion unit or a rotational speed of a power transmission mechanism; and the controller is programmed to apply different actuation amounts to the shift actuator to move the shift actuator slower at a beginning and at an end of a shift operation relative to a middle portion of the shift operation.