Patent ID: 6855021

Claim:
A watercraft comprising an internal combustion engine and a hull defining a center plane extending generally vertically from bow to stern, the internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder body defining at least one cylinder bore, an axis of the cylinder bore slanting from the center plane, a piston reciprocating within the cylinder bore, a crankshaft, a connecting rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft with the piston, the piston having a pivot axis at which the connecting rod is pivotally coupled with the piston, the pivot axis generally lying within the center plane during at least one point of reciprocal travel of the piston within the cylinder bore, a cylinder head member closing an end of the cylinder bore and defining a combustion chamber with the cylinder bore and the piston, a first passage comprising at least two paths communicating with the combustion chamber, a first valve device comprising at least two valves arranged to selectively connect and disconnect the paths of the first passage with the combustion chamber, a second passage comprising at least one path communicating with the combustion chamber, the number of paths of the second passage being fewer in number than the number of paths of the first passage, and a second valve device comprising at least one valve arranged to selectively connect and disconnect the at least one path of the second passage with the combustion chamber, the first valve device being disposed closer to the center plane than the second valve device.