AU764670B2

AU764670B2 - A boat hull

Info

Publication number: AU764670B2
Application number: AU54025/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Symen James Bergsma
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-10-16
Filing date: 1999-10-15
Publication date: 2003-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 2019-10-15
Also published as: AU5402599A

Description

AUSTRALIA

THE PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO:

LODGED:

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED:

ACCEPTED:

PUBLISHED:

RELATED ART: a. a NAME OF APPLICANT: ACTUAL INVENTOR: ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: SYMEN JAMES BERGSMA

APPLICANT

LORD COMPANY Patent Trade Mark Attorneys 4 Douro Place West Perth, Western Australia, 6005

AUSTRALIA.

"A BOAT HULL" INVENTION TITLE: DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO'S: Australian Provisional Patent Application Number PP6517 filed on October 16, 1998.

The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: The present invention relates to a boat hull.

Conventional boat hulls generally have a cross-sectional shape which begins as a Vshape at the bow and flattens out gradually towards the stern of the boat. It is known that a sharp V-shaped cross-section at the bow allows a boat to cut through choppy waters effectively and provides a smooth ride in these conditions. It is also known that a boat hull with a flat stern will allow a boat to travel at a higher speed for a given engine capacity due to the reduced drag. It will also provide better stability for the boat.

With conventional hull shapes, there is generally a compromise between the smoothness of the ride and the speed and stability of the boat. A conventional boat hull built with a sharp V-shaped cross-section at the bow for a smooth ride will generally result in a hull which is narrower at the stern and therefore is slower and less stable.

Multi-hull boats such as tri-hulls attemp to solve part of this problem by using multiple hulls each with a sharp V-shaped cross-section. This provides a smooth ride in rough waters with the addition of stability, however it still results in a larger required engine 15 capacity for a desired speed than a flat hulled boat.

The present invention seeks to overcome at least in part the aforementioned disadvantages.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a boat hull wherein a lower surface of the hull has a central fore and aft axis and. lower panels 20 extending laterally from a respective side of the fore and aft axis, wherein each lower *o panel is provided with at least one bending line extending from a rearmost point located S* adjacent the central axis of the boat hull, to a forwardmost point transversely offset from the central axis, so that each lower panel has at least first and second surfaces on opposite sides of the or each bending line, the second surface being located adjacent to the central axis and being sloped more steeply to the horizontal than the first surface which is located remote from the central axis.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figre 1 is a plan view of a hull in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the hull of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front view of the hull of Figure 1 the right side being cut away behind the line A-A and the left side being cut away in front of line A-A; Figure 4 is a rear upper perspective view of the boat hull of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a plan view of a further embodiment of a hull in accordance with the present invention; Figure 6 is a side view of the hull of Figure Figure 7 is a front view of the hull of Figure 5, the right side being cut away behind the line A-A and the left side being cut away in front of the line A-A; and S' 15 Figure 8 is a rear upper perspective of the boat hull of Figure Referring to the accompanying drawings there is shown a boat hull 10, including two side panels 12 and 14, two lower panels 16 and 18, two pontoon panels 20 and 22 and a transom panel 24.

The transom panel 24 is generally trapezoidal in shape with the shorter of its parallel 20 edges as a lower edge 25. The transom panel 24 also includes three triangular protrusions on the lower edge 25, two of these triangular protrusions 26 and 28 being

S..

S. located adjacent a respective end of the lower edge 25 and a third protrusion 23 being Slocated centrally on the lower edge 4 Each of the side panels 12 and 14 is provided with a first end arranged to be edgewise connected to vertical edges 27 of the transom panel 24 at an angle substantially perpendicular to the plane of the transom panel 24. The side panels 12 and 14 extend generally parallel to each other for a substantial portion of the length of the hull from the transom 24 after which they bend towards each other and are edgewise connected at a second end to form a bow 29 of the boat Upper and lower edges of the side panels 12 and 14 extend generally parallel to each other from the first end to a point substantially towards the bow 29 of the hull Further, each of the side panels 12 or 14 is tapered at the second end. The side panels S 10 12 and 14 are also provided with a rounded step 32 on a lower edge intermediate the first end and second ends.

Each lower panel 16 and 18 consists of a sheet provided with a single bend 26, to be referred to as the bending line, to form first and second surfaces 28 and 30. The first S: surface 28 is arranged to be substantially horizontal and adjacent to the respective side 15 panel 12 or 14. Each lower panel 16 and 18 is arranged to be edgewise connected to the lower edge of the respective side panel 12 or 14 along the tapered surface at its second end. To the rear of the rounded step 32, the lower panel 16 or 18 is attached to ooo i an interior surface of the respective side panel 12 or 14 above the lower edge of the side panel 12 or 14 such that the parallel portion at the first end of the side panel 12 or 14 extends below the lower panel 16 or 18.

The second surface 30 extends downwardly from the first surface 28 towards a central axis 34 of the hull 10. The bending line 26 is the junction between the first and second surfaces 28 or 30. The bending line 26 is arranged to run from a point on each lower panel 16 and 18 adjacent the second end of the respective side panel 12 or 14, to a point on the lower panel 16 and 18 adjacent the central axis 34 of the boat on the lower edge of the transom panel 24.

The bending line 26 is arranged so that the rear end of the second surface 30 is in alignment with the respective edge of the central triangular protrusion 23 on the transom panel 24.

The lower panels 16 and 18 are joined together along the axis 34 at an edge of each second surface 30 such that the join forms the keel of the boat 36. The lower panels 16 and 18, when joined together form a lower surface of the hull of the boat having a *...triangular protuding central portion which tapers down from the bow 29 of the boat to 10 the transom 24. The lower surface of the boat hull 10 is therefore substantially Vshaped in cross-section at the bow 29 and substantially flat in cross-section at the stern.

The pontoon panels 20 and 22 are elongate panels arranged to be edgewise connected Son a first edge to the parallel section of the respective side panel 12 or 14 and the rounded step 32. The pontoon panels 20 and 22 are arranged to be edgewise o connected on a second edge to the first surface 28 of the respective lower panel 16 or 18. The pontoon panels 20 and 22 and the parallel portions of the respective side panels 12 and 14 together form triangular cross-sectioned downwardly extending pontoons which extend forward from the transom panel 24 to the rounded step 32.

While the shape of the boat hull has been described in terms of the panels which comprise it in this embodiment, it will be appreciated that it may be possible to form the same shape using fewer or more panels.

Figures 5 to 8 show an alternate embodiment of the present invention where like numerals denote like parts. In this embodiment the bending line 26 runs from a point on each lower panel 16 and 18 adjacent the second end of the respective side panel 12 or 14 to a point on the axis 34 on the lower edge of the transom panel 24. The central triangular protrusion 23 on the lower edge 25 of the transom panel 24 is in this case no longer required.

In this embodiment, the first surface 28 of each lower panel 16 and 18 is edgewise connected to the lower edge of the respective side panel 12 and 14. Further, the first surface 28 of the lower panels 16 and 18 slopes downwardly from the bending line 26 to the respective side panel 12 and 14. The pontoon panels 20 and 22, in this embodiment are also not required because the sloping panels 28 perform a similar :10 function.

It would'also be within the scope of the present invention for the bending line 26 to o:o-.run along a curved path rather than a straight line as shown in the present embodiment. The curve may be either convex or concave in either the horizontal or vertical plane or both. Further, it would be possible for each lower panel 16 and 18 to have more than one bending line 26, such as two. In this case, each lower- panel 16 and 18 would include a third surface intermediate first and second surfaces 28 and "i Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A boat hull wherein a lower surface of the hull has a central fore and aft axis and lower panels extending laterally from a respective side of the fore and aft axis, wherein each lower panel is provided with at least one bending line extending from a rearmost point located adjacent the central axis of the boat hull, to a forwardmost point transversely offset from the central axis, so that each lower panel has at least first and second surfaces on opposite sides of the or each bending line, the second surface being located adjacent to the central axis and being sloped more steeply to the horizontal than the first surface which is located remote from the central axis.

2. A boat hull in accordance with claim 1, wherein each lower panel includes one bending line, the rearmost point of each bending line being located adjacent the central axis on a lower edge of a transom panel of the boat hull.

3. A boat hull in accordance with claim 2, wherein the transom panel includes a triangular protrusion extending downwardly from a central point of the lower edge such that downwardly extending edges of the triangular protrusion are edgewise connected to respective rear edges of the second surface.

4. A boat hull in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein an edge of each first surface remote from the central axis is joined to a respective side panel above a lower edge of the side panel along a portion of the side panel adjacent the transom panel.

A boat hull in accordance with claim 4, wherein pontoon panels are edgewise connected on a first edge to the lower edge of the respective side panel along the portion adjacent the transom panel and a second edge is joined to the adjacent first surface such that each pontoon panel and portion of the respective side panel forms a pontoon.

6. A boat hull in accordance with claim i, wherein each lower panel includes one bending line, the rearmost point of each bending line being located on the central axis of the boat hull coincident with a lower edge of the transom panel.

7. A boat hull in accordance with claim 6, wherein each first surface slopes w S downwardly from the respective bending line and an edge of each first surface remote from the central axis is edgewise connected with a lower edge of a respective side panel.

8. A boat hull substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. •20 DATED THIS 15 th DAY OF OCTOBER 1999. SYMEN JAMES BERGSMA By his Patent Attorneys 25 LORD AND COMPANY PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA