text: referring first to fig1 the general environment in which the invention may be practiced is illustrated . an outboard motor , indicated generally by the reference numeral 11 , comprises the outboard drive in this embodiment . the term &# 34 ; outboard drive &# 34 ; is utilized to describe either an outboard motor or the outboard drive portion of an inboard / outboard drive . the outboard motor 11 includes a power head 12 from which a drive shaft housing 13 depends . a lower unit 14 is provided at the lower end of the drive shaft housing 13 and contains a propeller 15 that is driven in a known manner . a steering shaft ( not shown ) is fixed in a known manner to the drive shaft housing 13 and is journaled for steering movement about a generally vertically extending axis within a swivel bracket 16 . the swivel bracket 16 is , in turn , pivotally connected by means of a pivot pin 17 to a clamping bracket 18 . the pivot pin 17 permits tilting movement of the outboard drive 11 about the horizontally disposed axis defined by the pivot pin 17 for either trim adjustment or for pivotal movement of the outboard drive 11 to a tilted up out of the water condition as shown in phantom in fig1 . the clamping bracket 18 is affixed to a transom 19 of a watercraft 21 in a known manner . tilting movement of the outboard drive 11 is controlled primarily by means of a tilt cylinder assembly 22 while the trim condition of the outboard drive 11 is controlled primarily by a trim cylinder assembly 23 . the tilt cylinder assembly 22 and trim cylinder assembly 23 are both powered by means of fluid delivered by a fluid pump that is driven by a reversible electric motor 24 in a known manner . the structure of the outboard drive 11 and its tilt and trim arrangement as thus far described may be considered to be conventional . referring now in detail to fig2 the tilt cylinder assembly 22 includes a cylinder housing that is formed with a trunnion 25 that is pivotally connected to the clamping bracket 18 by means of a pivot pin 26 . the cylinder housing is divided into a pair of fluid chambers by a piston ( not shown ) to which a piston rod 27 is affixed . the piston rod 27 extends through the upper end of the cylinder housing and has affixed to it an eyelet 28 that is pivotally connected to the swivel bracket 16 by means of a pivot pin 29 . it should be readily apparent , therefore , that extension and retraction of the piston rod 27 will effect pivotal movement of the swivel bracket 16 relative to the clamping bracket 18 for pivoting the outboard drive 11 about the pivot pin 17 . the tilt cylinder assembly is a high speed , low force fluid motor and is normally employed for pivoting the outboard drive 11 from a trim up condition to a tilted up out of the water condition , which as has been noted is shown in phantom in fig1 . the trim cylinder assembly 23 is affixed to a bracket 31 that is carried by the clamping bracket 18 . like the tilt cylinder 22 , the trim cylinder 23 includes a cylinder housing that is divided into an upper and lower section by a piston ( not shown ). the cylinder housing of the trim cylinder 23 is , however , rigidly affixed to the bracket 31 . a piston rod 32 is rigidly affixed to the piston of the trim cylinder assembly 23 and normally bears directly against the swivel bracket 16 for effecting its pivotal movement . because the trim piston rod 32 reciprocates along a fixed axis while the swivel bracket 16 pivots about a spaced axis defined by the pivot pin 17 , there occurs relative movement which can cause wear , galling and noise . in accordance with this invention , an anti - friction thrust arrangement , indicated generally by the reference numeral 33 , is provided for transferring thrust forces between the piston rod 32 and the swivel bracket 16 . the thrust taking arrangement 33 includes a carrier member 34 which is , in the illustrated embodiments , a shaft that is received within an appropriate opening formed in a thrust receiving portion 35 of the swivel bracket 16 . a nut 36 cooperates with a threaded portion of the carrier member 34 for holding it in position . it should be noted that the carrier member 34 is disposed so that it is inclined downwardly and forwardly even in the lowermost trim down adjusted position as shown in the solid line view of fig2 . at the lower end of the carrier member 34 , it is provided with a recess in which an anti - friction roller in the form of a ball bearing member 37 is captured . the ball bearing member 37 is engaged within a conical shape recess 38 formed at the outer end of the piston rod 32 . the radius of curvature of the recess 38 is substantially greater than the radius of curvature of the ball 37 so as to minimize the relative movement therebetween while the piston rod 32 extends so as to effect pivotal movement of the outboard drive between its trim down position as shown in the solid line view of fig1 and its fully trimmed up position as shown in the phantom line view of this figure . it should be noted that the thrust taking arrangement 33 also transfers the forward driving thrust from the swivel bracket 16 to the clamping bracket 18 for powering the outboard motor in a forward direction . hence , it is important that the thrust taking arrangement 33 be such that it can absorb high forces and also that it will last a long time . because of the downward opening of the cavity in which the ball 37 is received , water is not as likely to accumulate at the base of this cavity . also , the ball member 37 may be easily replaced through removal of the nut 36 and the carrier member 34 and replacement of the carrier member 34 and ball 37 with new elements . in the described embodiment , the trim cylinder 23 and tilt cylinder 22 have been described as hydraulic cylinders . it is to be understood , however , that the invention can be equally as well utilized in conjunction with arrangements wherein either one or both of these cylinders are mechanical elements for effecting reciprocating movement of the rods 27 and 32 , such as screw jacks or the like . in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , the anti - friction thrust taking member 34 was comprised of a ball 37 that cooperated with a concave surface 38 of the piston rod . however , other forms of anti - friction thrust taking members may be employed and such an alternative construction is shown in fig3 and 4 and is identified generally by the reference numeral 51 . in this embodiment , the anti - friction thrust taking connection 51 includes a carrier member 52 that is affixed to the swivel bracket 16 in a manner similar to that of the embodiment of fig1 and 2 . for that reason , this connection has not been illustrated . in this embodiment , a cavity 53 is formed in the lower end of the carrier member 52 and receives a cage 54 of a roller bearing assembly 55 . the roller bearings 55 are disposed to rotate about axes that are parallel to the axis of the pivot pin 17 for the tilting movement of the swivel bracket 16 . the piston rod 32 of the trim cylinder 23 is provided with an arcuate surface 56 that directly engages the roller bearings 55 for transferring the thrust between the trim cylinder 23 and specifically its thrust delivering member 32 ( the piston rod ) and the swivel bracket 16 . it should be readily apparent that this embodiment has many of the same advantages as the embodiment of fig2 in that the cavity 53 is downwardly facing and hence moisture will not accumulate within it . in addition , the roller bearings 55 will provide long life , reduce noise and also reduce wear . still another embodiment of the invention is shown in fig5 and 6 wherein the anti - friction thrust taking arrangement of this embodiment is identified generally by the reference numeral 71 . in this embodiment , a carrier member 72 is affixed to the swivel bracket 16 in the same manner as in the previously described embodiment . the carrier member 72 is formed with a downwardly facing opening 73 in which a cage 74 of a ball bearing assembly comprised of a plurality of ball bearings 75 is provided . the ball bearings 75 are trapped between the cage 74 and an outer cage or thrust plate 76 that is engaged directly by an arcuate end 77 of the piston rod 32 . the outer member 76 is provided with a pair of pin projections 78 that are received wthin complementary shaped openings formed in the inner cage 74 so as to fix the cages 74 and 76 together but to pemit the cage 76 to move relative to the cage 74 in a vertical direction . a pair of coil compression springs 79 encircle the pins 78 and act between the cages 76 and 74 so as to resist this relative movement . when the piston rod 32 extends or contracts , the frictional forces between its curved end portion 77 and the inner cage 76 will cause the two elements to tend to move together in the same vertical direction . the ball bearings 75 permit this movement with minimum friction and resistance while the springs 79 tend to maintain the elements in a centralized position . hence , there will be even less wear with this embodiment than with the previously described embodiments while it retains all of the advantages as previously described . it should be readily apparent from the foregoing description that a number of embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , each of which provides a highly effective arrangement for reducing wear and galling between the trim thrust member and the outboard drive while at the same time minimizing the likelihood of corrosion adversely affecting this connection and reducing servicing requirements . although a number of embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , as defined by the appended claims .