Power boat locking arrangement

Claim 1

In a system for pivotally steering an outboard power leg mounted on a boat from a remote helmsman''s station at which there is a steering wheel mounting panel having a front and a back face and having an opening therethrough, a rigid tube having two ends and adapted and arranged to extend through said opening with one said end disposed spacedly in front of said panel and the other said end disposed spacedly behind said panel, means fixed to said tube for mounting said tube to said panel, a steering cable control head mounted on said other end of said tube, a shaft having two end portions, a steering wheel attached to one of said end portions of said shaft, said shaft extending from said one end portion into said one end of said tube and through said tube and into said head, a ball bearing for said shaft disposed within and adjacent said one end of said tube, said bearing including an outer race member having an outwardly directed flange engaged with said one end of said tube and extending from said flange into said tube, and an inner race disposed on said shaft within said tube, a compression spring disposed between and seated respectively against said steering wheel and said inner race thereby to urge said flange into such engagement, said shaft extending through said head and comprising an end portion protruding therebeyond, said last mentioned end portion being provided with a thrust bearing against said head effective to retain said shaft against displacement in response to the force of said compression spring against said steering wheel, said shaft including a laterally open lock-bolt-receiving aperture located between said bearing and said front face of said panel, said tube having a side opening aligned with said aperture, a key operated lock body, a lock body Housing disposed outwardly of said tube, means fixing said housing to said tube in covering relation to said side opening, a lock bolt carried by said housing in alignment with said side opening, said aperture being aligned with said lock bolt in one rotative position of said shaft, spring means urging said bolt outwardly of said housing toward said aperture, switch carried by said housing, means operably connecting said lock body to said switch and lock bolt for retracting said bolt from said aperture against the force of said spring and for concurrently operating said switch from one to the other of open and closed circuit positions in response to rotation of said key in said lock body in one direction, and for operating said switch from the other to said one circuit position and for concurrently releasing said bolt upon rotation of said key in the opposite direction, a steering cable extending from said head to said leg for transmitting steering movements thereto, a drive engine and a battery in said boat, said engine comprising an electrical component, and means connecting said component to said battery through said switch.