Abstract: A weed deflector for a water intake formed in the lower unit of an outboard motor or stern drive of an inboard outboard engine. The weed deflector includes a fin with a leading edge disposed between a fin base and a tip. A mounting plate fixes the fin base to the lower unit (or stern drive) up flow of the water intake in either a horizontal or vertical orientation. The cross sectional form of the fin induces turbulence in the water flow adjacent to the water intake thereby reducing the ability of debris from obstructing the water intake.