Patent ID: 8277266

Claim:
An outboard motor comprising: an outboard motor main body including an engine which is arranged to generate a propulsive force that propels a hull; an attachment mechanism including at least a fixed member arranged to be fixed to the hull and a horizontal shaft coupled to the fixed member, the attachment mechanism arranged to attach the outboard motor main body to the hull such that the outboard motor main body pivots about the horizontal shaft; a pivoting mechanism including a first cylinder arranged to support and pivot the outboard motor main body about the horizontal shaft from a first angle to a second angle greater than the first angle, the pivoting mechanism arranged to pivot the outboard motor main body about the horizontal shaft to incline the outboard motor main body with respect to the fixed member; an angle detecting device arranged to output an angle detection value corresponding to an inclination angle of the outboard motor main body with respect to the fixed member, the angle detecting device arranged to output the angle detection value corresponding to the inclination angle less than the first angle or the angle detection value corresponding to the inclination angle greater than the second angle when an abnormality occurs in the angle detecting device; a rotation speed detecting device arranged to output a speed detection value corresponding to an engine speed of the engine; and a controller arranged and programmed to acquire the angle detection value output by the angle detecting device and the speed detection value output by the rotation speed detecting device, the controller arranged and programmed to execute, in accordance with the angle detection value and the speed detection value, a speed reduction control to control the engine so as to reduce the engine speed, the controller arranged and programmed not to execute the speed reduction control when the angle detection value is a value corresponding to the inclination angle less than the first angle or a value corresponding to the inclination angle greater than the second angle.