GB2024751A - Improvements in and relating to boats - Google Patents

Abstract

A mechanism is described by which the rudder bar and rudder of a kayak or similar craft can be turned to port or starboard by simply moving the left or right foot laterally along the footrest (10). The mechanism comprises a plate (26) pivotally mounted about a central pivot (22) which is supported by a bracket (16) attached to the footrest (10). Control lines (40, 42) are attached to opposite ends of the plate (26) which is symmetrically cut away along its rearwardly facing edge on opposite sides of the central pivot (22), to provide two concave depressions (44, 46). The ends (48, 50) of the plate (26) are not cut away in this manner and the plate is dimensioned so that these ends (48, 50) extend over and behind the footrest (10). By aligning the cutaway regions (44, 46) of the plate with the positions along the footrest normally occupied by the canoeist's feet, so the canoeist can bring his foot into contact with one or other of the two ends (48, 50) by simply moving his foot laterally outwards along the footrest. A spring (not shown) can be provided to return the plate or the rudder to the straight-ahead position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in and relating to boats This invention concerns a rudder bar control by which a rudder of a kayak or similar craft can be controlled by the feet.

A kayak or similar craft conventionally comprises a generally hollow elongate shell having an aperture in its upper side for the body of the canoeist (or two apertures where it is a two-seater kayak) with a seat located below the aperture and a footrest situated in advance of the seat. The footrest is situated at a distance from the seat such that the canoeist can stretch his legs almost straight out in front of him and push against the footrest so as to more securely locate himself within the aperture in the kayak.

Where a seat-back is provided, the canoeist pushes himself against the back of the seat which assists him in obtaining strong leverage on the paddle.

By providing a pivoted rudder at the rear end of the kayak, the direction of movement of the craft can be controlled by the canoeist and it is known to provide a pivoted member either in place of the footrest or in addition to the footrest which can be pushed by a forward and backward movement of the feet either in one direction or the other about a vertical pivot axis, the ends of the pivoted member being attached to oppositely directed radius arms from the axis of pivoting of the rudder via inextensible cables or wires so that when the foot-operated pivoted member is pushed around the pivot axis in one direction, the rudder is tilted to port and when pushed in the opposite direction around its pivot by the other foot the rudder is tilted to starboard.

The disadvantage of this known design is that in order to obtain the pivoting movement of the foot-operated control member the canoeist must relieve the pressure which he otherwise exerts on the footrest so as to allow him to pivot his foot from the ankle and push the appropriate end of the foot-operated member about its upright pivoting axis.

The result is that the canoeist loses some of the stability associated with the normal sitting position within the kayak when he wishes to change direction using the rudder since he is no longer able to push on the footrest with the same force as before.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative and improved foot-operated control for operating a rudder of a kayak or similar craft which does not suffer from this disadvantage.

According to the present invention a foot-operated rudder bar control comprises an elongate plate member pivotally mounted on the footrest, the rearwardly facing edge of the elongate plate mem ber being cut away on either side of the pivot point so that the rearwardly facing edge is located forwardly ofthefootrest bar on opposite sides of the pivot point and the bar includes two end regions which extend rearwardly to protrude over and beyond the footrest bar (when the plate member extends generally transversely to the fore to aft direction of the kayak, the rearwardly facing edge of the plate member between the cut away regions and the said end regions constituting inclined surfaces for engagement by the edges of the feet of the canoeist, lateral movement of one or other of the feet only being needed to produce the pivoting movement of the plate member.

The invention therefore allows the canoeist to keep both feet on the footrest bar at all times and to steer by simply moving one or other of his feet laterally to engage the inclined plane presented by the rearwardly facing inner edge of the appropriate end region of the pivoting plate memberto cause the latter to pivot one way or the other.

If the craft is to be steered to the starboard side, it is merely necessary to move the right foot lateraliy to starboard and engage the right-hand end of the plate member which will cause it to be displaced in a generally anticlockwise manner about the pivot point. By keeping the left foot approximately midway between the pivot point and the end of the footrest bar, so the pivoting movement of the plate member does not bring the protruding end region of the left-hand end of the plate member into contact with the left foot and the resulting pivoting movement of the radius arm on the rudder assembly at the rear of the craft causes the rudder to be tilted to starboard so as to cause the boat to move to starboard.

Moving the right foot back to the mid position removes the pressure on the inclined plane presented by the rearwardly facing edge of the plate member and the rudder will be centred by the natural action of the passage of the craft through the water. This in turn will centre the plate member relative to the footrest bar.

Steering to port is achieved by moving the left foot outwardly in a similar manner to that described for the right foot.

To assist in centring the rudder after the left or right foot has been moved back to the mid position for the foot, spring means may be provided which is adjustable to centre the rudder or the pivoting plate member or both.

Where the footrest is a wooden rectangular cross section strut which extends transversely across the interior of the craft, the support for the pivot for the plate member may comprise a bracket or block of wood attached to the forwardly facing edge of the rectangular cross section wooden bar.

Where the footrest is in the form of a circular section tube the mounting for the pivot conveniently comprises a U-shaped bracket adapted to be secured around the footrest tube approximately midway along its length from one side of the craft to the other with the two limbs of the U-section facing forwardly within the craft and having aligned holes through which a pivot pin can be passed and secured.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the centre section of a tubular footrest which is partially cut away and shows an alternative pivot mounting bracket.

Figure 1 shows a wooden rectangular cross section footrest bar 10 attached at opposite ends to the port and starboard reinforcing struts 12 and 14 within a kayak (not shown).

At the centre of the bar 10 is located a bracket 16 which is secured in position by means of two screws 18 and includes a vertical circular hole 20 through which a pivot bolt 22 can pass. The latter is secured in position by a wing-nut 24 and holds captive on the bracket 16 a curved plate member 26 which constitutes the rudder control bar. Between the latter and the bracket 16 is located a washer 28.

At opposite ends of the control bar 26 are apertures 30 and 32 and as shown at the right-hand end in Figure 1,a bolt 34 passes through each of the apertures 30 and 32 and is secured in position by means of a wing-nut 36. A washer 38 is clamped between the wing-nut and the upper face of the plate 26 and one end of a rudder line shown in dotted outline at 40 is attached to the bolt 24 and one end of a second rudder line 42 is attached to the other bolt (not shown) which is secured in aperture 30 at the opposite end of the control bar 26.

The two lines 40 and 42 extend to the rear of the craft and are attached to opposite ends of a radius plate or radius arms (not shown) on the pivot of the rudder at the rear of the craft and the length of the lines 40 and 42 is adjusted so that the rudder is in a fore to aft attitude when the plate 26 extends generally transversely across the craft and is therefore perpendicular to the fore to aft direction of the craft.

The rearwardly facing edge of the plate 26 is cut away at 44 and 46 so that when in the transverse position, the canoeist can place his two feet against the footrest bar with the soles of his shoes in the two cutaway regions 44 and 46 so that there is no tendency for the feet to push the plate 26 either one way or the other about the pivot bolt 22.

On the other hand outward lateral movement of one foot or the other will engage the rearwardly curving end 48 (in the case of the left foot) and 50 (in the case of the right foot) and this lateral movement of one foot or the other will produce appropriate pivoting of the plate member 26 if the canoeist keeps his heel against the footrest bar 10.

The pivoting of the plate member 26 is thus achieved without having to move the feet in a forward or backward direction about the ankle joint and the canoeist can keep both feet at all times firmly placed against the footrest bar 10 which is a distinct advantage particularly when paddling in a race or in strong currents etc.

Although not shown one or more springs may be provided to return the plate member 26 to its central transverse position or one or more similar springs may be provided at the rear to centre the pivoting rudder or springs may be provided at both positions.

The plate 26 may be formed from wood or from a plastics material or from metal. Preferably the rearwardly facing curved edge particularly in the regions 48 and 50 is smooth to allow a sliding action between the edges of the feet of the canoeist and the plate member.

Where the footrest bar is in the form of a circular section tube as shown in Figure 2 and denoted by reference numeral 52, the bracket 16 may be replaced by a U-shaped member 54 having a securing hole 56 which aligns with a similar hole (not shown) in the wall of the tube 52 through which a bolt can be passed for securing the bracket to the tube and two aligned holes 58 and 60 are provided in the limbs of the U-shaped bracket through which the pivoting bolt 22 can be pushed and secured in position.

It will be appreciated that the plate member 26 may alternatively be in the form of a bar or tube adapted to be attached to the pivot bolt 22 by means of a suitable aperture or apertures the ends of which are curved around in a rearward direction as as to present inclined surfaces similar to those of 48 and 50 of the plate member 26. The advantage of the invention is achieved irrespective of the shape of the plate member 26 provided that only the end regions of the member extend over the footrest bar 10 at opposite ends of the bar and in between the centre of the bar and the ends thereof the canoeist can place his feet firmly against the footrest without bringing any undue pressure to bear on one side or other of the operating plate member 26.

Claims (5)

1. A rudder bar control for a kayak or similar craft comprising an elongate plate member pivotally mounted on the footrest of the craft, the plate member having a rearwardlyfacing edge which is cut away on either side of the pivot point so as to provide a first region on each side thereof which is forward of the footrest bar and two end regions which extend rearwardly to protrude rearwardly behind the footrest bar when the plate member occupies a position which is generally transverse to the fore to aft direction of the kayak, the rearwardly facing edge of the plate member between the two cut away regions and in the said end regions constituting inclined surfaces for engagement by the edges of the feet of the canoeist, lateral movement of one or other of the feet only being needed to produce a pivoting movement of the plate member, and means connecting the plate member or a member associated therewith to the rudder (or a member acting on the rudder) to transmit pivoting movement of the plate to the rudder.

2. A rudder bar control as claimed in claim 1 further comprising spring means operating so as to centre the rudder or the plate member or both, so that the rudder is automatically returned to the straight-ahead position.

3. A rudder bar control as claimed in claim 1 or 2 further comprising a support for a pivot for the plate member, said support comprising a bracket or block attached to or forming part of a wooden bar forming the said footrest.

4. A rudder bar control as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the footrest is in the form of a circular section tube and a mounting for the pivot for the plate member comprises a U-shaped bracket secured around the footrest tube approximately midway along its length from one side of the craft to the other with the two limbs of the U-section facing forwardly within the craft and having aligned holes through which a pivot pin forming the pivot for the plate is passed and secured.

5. A rudder bar control constructed arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.