Marine drive units

Claim 1

In a marine drive unit for transmitting drive between an inboard engine of a vessel and a propeller thereof, which comprises: a first casing adapted to be mounted on the transom of the vessel and rotatably mounting a horizontal lay shaft which extends transversely of the fore-and-aft axis of the vessel; an input shaft adapted to be drivingly connected to the inboard engine and extending in the fore-and-aft direction; a pair of first drive transmitting elements mounted rotatably, and in spaced relation, on said lay shaft and in constant mesh with a driving element carried by the input shaft so as to contra-rotate with respect to one another; a second drive transmitting element fast with said lay shaft; a power leg shaft extending orthogonally with respect to said input shaft and said lay shaft and having a drive element in constant mesh with said second drive transmitting element; a second casing through which the power leg shaft extends, the second casing being pivotal with respect to said first casing about said lay shaft and rotatable about the axis of the power leg shaft; a propeller drive shaft mounted in the second casing and drivingly connected to the power leg shaft; clutch means selectively operable to drivingly connect one or the other of said first drive transmitting elements to the lay shaft to transmit rotational drive from the input shaft to the propeller shaft in a desired rotational sense, the clutch means comprising a clutch member mounted on the lay shaft for reciprocation between the first drive transmitting elements and complementary clutch elements provided on said first drive transmitting elements and co-operable with said clutch member; the improvement which comprises: a pair of bearing members which are located within the first casing and each of which rotatably supports one end of the lay shaft, the bearing members being releasably secured in the casing to permit removal of the lay shaft, carrying the first and second drive transmitting elements and the clutch means, upon release of the bearing members, and two asymmetric mountings for the bearing members in the casing, which are provided with fasteners for securing the bearing members, and which receive the fasteners, bearing members and lay shaft with the lay shaft, first and second drive transmitting elements and clutch means locatable in either of two asymmetric positions, whereby the lay shaft assembly can be reversed end for end, as a unit, by releasing and then resecuring the bearing members.