Abstract: An outboard boat motor utilizes a universal coupling between the upper section of a mounting device that is attached to the hull of a boat and the lower section of the mounting device to which the motor and impeller are secured. The coupling permits universal lateral pivotal movement of one section relative to the axis of the other section and thus permits the submerged motor assembly to yield with an underwater obstruction is encountered. The universal coupling is formed in part by a coiled tension spring which is connected to the upper and lower sections of the mounting device for the boat motor through the use of convoluted members that are fixed to the sections and arranged between adjacent convolutions and at opposite ends of the spring.