A method of controlling steering loads on a marine propulsion system of a marine vessel is provided. The marine vessel has at least two sets of marine drives, each set having at least an inner marine drive and an outer marine drive, and a steer-by-wire steering actuator is associated with each set of marine drives. The method includes determining a maximum required actuator pressure on each steer-by-wire steering actuator, and determining a pressure reduction amount based on the maximum required actuator pressure. A link toe angle has been determined based on the pressure reduction amount. A mechanical link connecting each inner marine drive to the respective outer marine drive is adjusted to achieve the link toe angle.

Combination of marine vessel and outboard motor, wherein at least one outboard motor is attached in a predetermined position to the transom of the marine vessel, the motor being mounted so as to translate according to a path with at least one motion component having an orientation parallel to the direction of the transverse axis of the hull and/or parallel to the transom of said hull and alternatively towards one or the other side of the hull.

A marine propulsion device controller includes a main operator that starts engines of all propulsion devices collectively with a simple operation and increases the degree of freedom of layout on a panel on which the main operator is disposed. The main operator is provided in common for all of the propulsion devices. The main operator receives a first operation and a second operation consecutively after receiving the first operation. All remote control ECUs are activated in response to receiving the first operation. The main operator outputs a collective start command to simultaneously start all the engines of the propulsion devices in response to receiving the second operation. Each remote control ECU starts the corresponding engine based on the collective start command.

In an outboard motor equipped with a V-type four-cycle engine provided with a left bank extending leftward and obliquely rearward and a right bank extending rightward and obliquely rearward, a drive shaft is perpendicularly disposed in the outboard motor body so as to transmit a driving force from the engine to a propeller disposed below the engine, and center positions of the left side exhaust passage and the right side exhaust passage are positioned forward than the drive shaft in a front-and-rear direction in an advancing direction of the outboard motor.

A method for positioning two or more trimmable marine propulsion devices coupled to a transom of a marine vessel includes identifying two propulsion devices located one on each of a port side and a starboard side of a centerline of the transom and spaced symmetrically with respect to the centerline. The two propulsion devices are defined as a first set and are associated with a first target trim position. The method also includes defining a second set of propulsion devices and associating the second set with a second target trim position. When in auto-trim mode, each propulsion device in a set of propulsion devices is actuated to its target trim position only if the actual trim positions of all propulsion devices in the set differ from the target trim position by at least a given amount. The propulsion devices may be actuated individually in response to a user sync command.

A hybrid marine drive unit mounted to a transom. The drive unit includes a drive housing mounted on the transom, a propelling unit rotatable about a vertical axis and mounted to a lower surface of the drive housing, and a transmission with at least a vertical drive shaft located in the drive housing and extending into the propelling unit. The vertical drive shaft is arranged transmit drive torque from at least one of multiple sources of drive torque. The vertical drive shaft is operably connected to a first source of drive torque arranged within the drive housing, and the vertical drive shaft is operably connected to a horizontal output shaft extending into the drive housing through the transom. The horizontal output shaft is connectable to a second source of drive torque.

An outboard motor for attachment to a hull of a marine vessel includes a lower case including a propeller shaft to rotate a propeller, and an upper case including a drive shaft to transmit a power to the propeller shaft. The lower case is selected from among different types of lower cases to be attached to the upper case, and the upper case and the lower case are connected by an intermediate structure.

A hull behavior control system for controlling behavior of a hull of a marine vessel includes a memory and at least one controller coupled to the memory. The at least one controller is configured or programmed to control a steering that changes the traveling direction of the marine vessel, obtain a water surface shape around the marine vessel, estimate movement of a wave based on the water surface shape, and when it is determined that the hull rides the wave whose movement has been estimated, control the steering so as to reduce an influence of the wave on the hull.

A propulsion control system for a marine vessel includes a plurality of propulsion devices steerable to propel the marine vessel, at least one proximity sensor that determines a relative position of the marine vessel with respect to an object, wherein the at least one proximity sensor has a field of view (FOV). A controller is configured to identify a trigger condition for expanding the FOV of the at least one proximity sensor and control thrust and/or steering position of at least one of the plurality of propulsion devices to expand the FOV of the at least one proximity sensor by inducing a roll movement or a pitch movement of the marine vessel.

A ground effect craft having a ground effect wing, a plurality of sponsons, and a control system is disclosed. The ground effect wing may include a fore ground effect wing and an aft ground effect wing. The ground effect wing may generate a stabilizing moment on at least one sponson to stabilize the ground effect craft. The plurality of sponsons may be dynamically coupled to the body. The plurality of sponsons may be dynamically coupled to each other. The dynamic coupling may permit the sponsons to move relatively independent of the body and each other, thereby stabilizing the ground effect craft. The ground effect craft may include a stabilizing wing.