A carrying tray facilitates installation of a latching assembly on a cowl of a marine drive. The carrying tray comprises a plurality of latching device cavities configured to retain a plurality of latching devices in a spaced-apart orientation that positions each respective latching device with respect to its mounting position on the cowl so that the respective latching device can be directly installed onto the cowl without tangling or damaging the flexible connectors, and an actuator retainer that retains an actuator in a position with respect to its mounting position on the cowl so that the actuator can be directly installed onto the cowl without tangling or damaging the flexible connectors.