Abstract: A water deflector or splash guard for diverting water away from the powerhead and bracket assemblies of an outboard motor during operation of a boat. The splash guard includes a flat planar head portion extending forwardly of the gearcase and a body portion extending rearwardly of the head portion comprising a pair of spaced apart fin members disposed on opposite sides of the gearcase. In one form, the splash guard is substantially U-shaped and is mounted between the anti-ventilation plate and spray plate of an outboard motor exteriorly of the outer surface of the gearcase. In another form, the splash guard includes an integral tail section and is mounted by being sandwiched between the gearcase and drive shaft housing.

Abstract: A marine propulsion unit (10) has a depending gearcase (12) with one or more water inlet openings (22) in the sides of the gearcase for supplying water to a water pump (20), and an auxiliary water inlet opening (32) at an anti-ventilation plate (30) above the propeller (14) for supplying additional water to the water pump (20). The water passage (42, 50) from the auxiliary water inlet opening (32) to the water pump (20) has a portion (44, 52) extending downwardly below the level of the auxiliary water inlet opening (32) and communicating with the side water inlet openings (22). When the side water inlet openings (22) are below the water line and the auxiliary water inlet (32) is above the water line, water is received in the downwardly extending portion (44, 52) of the second passage (42, 50) and blocks air from flowing from the auxiliary inlet opening (32) to the water pump (20), to prevent engine overheating.

Abstract: A water deflector or splash guard for diverting water away from the powerhead and bracket assemblies of an outboard motor during operation of a boat. The splash guard is mounted on the bottom of a transom bracket assembly, and includes a flat planar body having a pair of rearwardly extending spaced fins that define a central opening for receiving the lower unit of the outboard motor. The splash guard also includes a pair of downwardly angled tab members extending rearwardly from the body and disposed between the fin members to aid in deflecting water and provide a central recess for accommodating the drive shaft housing and swivel bracket of the outboard motor as well as a notch for accommodating the grounding wire of the motor.