A bracket for mounting a thruster to a boat includes a horizontal neck portion, an upper mounting support portion, a support plate portion that extends downward from the upper mounting support portion, and an enclosure portion. The support plate portion and the rear of the upper mounting support portion form a transom-facing surface in a plane that is at a non-right angle relative to a horizontal plane. The transom-facing surface is angled such that the bottom of the support plate portion is further to the rear of the thruster bracket than the top of the upper mounting support portion in order to match the angle of the transom of a boat to which the thruster bracket is mounted. A thruster is mounted to the thruster bracket at a level where the thruster will be out of the water when the boat is moving fast and up on plane, and will be in the water when the boat is moving very slow.

A bracket for mounting a thruster to a boat includes a horizontal neck portion, an upper mounting support portion, a support plate portion that extends downward from the upper mounting support portion, and an enclosure portion. The support plate portion and the rear of the upper mounting support portion form a transom-facing surface in a plane that is at a non-right angle relative to a horizontal plane. The transom-facing surface is angled such that the bottom of the support plate portion is further to the rear of the thruster bracket than the top of the upper mounting support portion in order to match the angle of the transom of a boat to which the thruster bracket is mounted. A thruster is mounted to the thruster bracket at a level where the thruster will be out of the water when the boat is moving fast and up on plane, and will be in the water when the boat is moving very slow.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to devices adapted to enhance propulsion (i.e., propulsion enhancing devices) of watercraft such as, for example, personal watercraft and the like. To this end, a propulsion enhancing device in accordance with the disclosures made herein may be attached to or integral with (e.g., formed unitarily with a housing thereof) a propulsion unit of a watercraft. The propulsion unit generates a stream of water that provides for propulsion of the watercraft. A propulsion enhancing device in accordance with the disclosures made herein includes internal structures that enhance velocity and/or volumetric attributes of a stream of water generated by the propulsion unit by transforming non rotational flow at the inlet of the propulsion enhancing device to rotational flow at the outlet of the propulsion enhancing device.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to devices adapted to enhance propulsion (i.e., propulsion enhancing devices) of watercraft such as, for example, personal watercraft and the like. To this end, a propulsion enhancing device in accordance with the disclosures made herein may be attached to or integral with (e.g., formed unitarily with a housing thereof) a propulsion unit of a watercraft. The propulsion unit generates a stream of water that provides for propulsion of the watercraft. A propulsion enhancing device in accordance with the disclosures made herein includes internal structures that enhance velocity and/or volumetric attributes of a stream of water generated by the propulsion unit by transforming non rotational flow at the inlet of the propulsion enhancing device to rotational flow at the outlet of the propulsion enhancing device.

A bracket for mounting a thruster to a boat includes a horizontal neck portion, an upper mounting support portion, a support plate portion that extends downward from the upper mounting support portion, and an enclosure portion. The support plate portion and the rear of the upper mounting support portion form a transom-facing surface in a plane that is generally at a right angle relative to a horizontal plane, within a small range of angles. The transom-facing surface can angled to match the angle of the transom of a boat to which the thruster bracket is mounted. A thruster can be mounted to the thruster bracket at a level where the thruster will be out of the water when the boat is moving fast and up on plane, and will be in the water when the boat is moving very slow.

A bracket for mounting a thruster to a boat includes a horizontal neck portion, an upper mounting support portion, a support plate portion that extends downward from the upper mounting support portion, and an enclosure portion. The support plate portion and the rear of the upper mounting support portion form a transom-facing surface in a plane that is generally at a right angle relative to a horizontal plane, within a small range of angles. The transom-facing surface can angled to match the angle of the transom of a boat to which the thruster bracket is mounted. A thruster can be mounted to the thruster bracket at a level where the thruster will be out of the water when the boat is moving fast and up on plane, and will be in the water when the boat is moving very slow.

A driving unit for an electric tunnel thruster. Such driving unit includes an electric motor, a controller and a support for mounting the electric motor and its controller on a tunnel of the tunnel thruster. The electric motor and the controller have separate housings and are mounted separately from each other to the electric motor support that is also a heat conductive radiator element for cooling the controller, and at least one heat radiating surface of the controller is contacted to at least one heat-absorbing surface of the electric motor support.

A driving unit for an electric tunnel thruster. Such driving unit includes an electric motor, a controller and a support for mounting the electric motor and its controller on a tunnel of the tunnel thruster. The electric motor and the controller have separate housings and are mounted separately from each other to the electric motor support that is also a heat conductive radiator element for cooling the controller, and at least one heat radiating surface of the controller is contacted to at least one heat-absorbing surface of the electric motor support.

An outboard motor includes an outboard motor body that, when located in a full trim-in position, an upper connecting pin is located in a lower limit position below a tilt shaft. When the outboard motor body is in a full tilt-up position, the upper connecting pin is located in the upper limit position above the tilt shaft. The upper connecting pin rotates around the tilt shaft at a first rotation angle from the lower limit position to a horizontal position at the same height as the tilt shaft. The upper connecting pin rotates at a second rotation angle around the tilt shaft from the horizontal position to the upper limit position. The second rotation angle is larger than the first rotation angle.

An outboard motor includes a duct, a propeller, a central shaft, and a plurality of fins. The duct includes a circular hole. The propeller is located in the circular hole. The propeller includes a boss and a plurality of blades radially extending from the boss. The central shaft rotatably supports the propeller. The plurality of fins radially extend from the central shaft and connect the central shaft and the duct. The plurality of fins define an airfoil profile.