US2522910A

US2522910A - Collapsible boat

Info

Publication number: US2522910A
Application number: US774008A
Authority: US
Inventors: Marvin D Wayne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-09-15
Filing date: 1947-09-15
Publication date: 1950-09-19
Anticipated expiration: 1967-09-19

Description

Sept. 19, 1950 M. D. WAYNE COLLAPSIBLE BOAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept 15, 1947 J s INVENTOR. Way/7e ATTORNEY Sept. 19, 1950 M. D. WAYNE 2,522,910

' COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Fi le d Sept. 15, 1947 a Shets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR.

570/10 0. I/ayme Sept. 19, 1950 M. D. WAYNE COLLAPSIBLE BOAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 15, 1947 a INVENTOR. Wary/)7 Q. M ay/M J ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Marvin D. Wayne, Galesburg, Mich. Application September 15, 1947, Serial No. 774,008

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in T collapsible boat.

, to facilitate erection of the boat.

Third, to provide a novel shell or skin for a collapsible boat which is provided with integral longitudinal slats for stiffening the shell and the boat and which may be folded longitudinally and rolled transversely into a small bundle when collapsed.

Fourth, to provide a cover for a collapsible boat with sectional longitudinal stiffening members and foldable reinforcing flaps having slats arranged to bridge the space between the stif-' fening members in the cover when the cover is extended.

Fifth, to provide a framework for a collapsible boat in which the vertical ribs, including the stem and stern frame, are permanently connected together by flexible belting to prevent loss or misplacement of any of the ribs and to facilitate erection of the frame with the ribs in properly spaced relationship.

Sixth, to provide a framework for a collapsible boat with flexible connecting members arranged to locate the several parts of the framework in proper erected position and to receive sectional gunwale members for stiffening the gunwales of the boat.

Seventh, to provide a collapsible boat in which the main longitudinal stiffenin members including the keel and gunwales are collapsible into short lengths so as to be conveniently packed and carried. 7

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the details and economies of my boat will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and claims. The drawings, of which there are three sheets, illustrate a preferred form of my boat.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my. boat in erected position, portions being broken away to illustrate details of the framework and stiffening members.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view A through the framework of my boat in partially erected position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the stern portion of the framework of my boat as viewed from the front of the boat.

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross sectional view along the line 44 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4A is a fragmentary cross sectional view along the line 4A-4A in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the stern of my boat in erected position and partially broken away to show details of construction thereof.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the inside of the shell of my boat and illustrating the arrangement of the longitudinal stiffening members on the shell.

Fig. 7 is'a fragmentary perspective view of boat in partially collapsed position.

' Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the connection between the ribs of my framework and the connecting keel belt.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary outside elevational view of the gunwale portion of the .frame of my boat and partially broken away to illustrate details of construction of my sectional gunwale.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the car lock assembly for my boat.

My boat is most practical when manufactured in relatively small sizes for the use of fisherman and sportsman but its construction is adaptable to any size of boat. In the drawings I have illustrated a small rowboat arranged to carry two passangers and provided with a center seat i and stern seat 2. The boat consists of an outer shell or skin 3 secured over a collapsible framework 4 which is held in rigid shape when erected by a folding sectional keel 5 and sec- 7 tional gunwales 6. Interleaved folding foot boards I are provided for the bottom of the boat and oar locks, generally indicated at 8, are arranged to receive cars for rowing the boat.

Considering first the construction of the framework of my boat attention is directed to Figs. 2, 3, 5 and '7 to 9. The principal'body forming members of my framework are a series of U-shaped ribs 9', a curved stem or prow member Hi and a stern frame- II. The ribmembers vary in size to provide the desired shape to the boat. They are connected at their centers by a keel belt l2 of flexible character permanently secured by the rivets I3 to the bottom of each rib. The forward end of the belt [2 extends forwardly along the front of the stem [0 and The belt i2 is of flexible character so as to be easily collapsed permittin the several frame members to be nested in a small bundle. The belt [2 is relatively non-elastic so as to limit the spacing between the ribs in their erected position and'I prefer to make the belt l2 of heavy fabric material.

The upper ends of the ribs 9 and stem II] are connected by a gunwale belt It of flexible material similar to the keel belt l2. belt [6 is of hollow tubular shape as is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5 and has secured thereto the downwardly opening pockets ll within which the upper ends of the ribs 9 are permanently secured by the rivets l8. The pockets I! are conveniently secured to the gunwale belt 36 by stitching before the gunwalebeltis sewed into tubular shape. The gunwale belt It extends continuously around the front of the stem l0 and is secured thereto by a strap or stirrup l9 (see Fig. 2). The rear ends of the gunwale belt l6 are folded around the back of the stern frame H and rivited thereto as at (see Fig. 5) so as to provide an open end to each side of the tubular belt.

.The stem member ID of the framework is curved to provide a vertical prow portion and a generally horizontal keel extension 2! which extends rearwardly over the center of the forward rib member .9 whenin erected position. The keel extension 2! carries a rearwardly opening channel bracket ,22 arranged to receive the forward end of the sectionalmain keel 5 and the main keel is notched along the under side of its forward end to have a rabbeted engagement with the keel extension 2|. The rear end of the keel extension 2] is longitudinallyandvertically slotted as at 23 (see Fig. 2) to receive the bolt 24 carried by the forward section of the .keel 5 to cooperate with the channel bracket 22 in preventing lateral displacement between the keel and stem Thebottom cross member [5 of the rear'frax n II is provided with a forwardly opening channel bracket 25 arranged to receive .the rear end of the keel 5. The rear end of the keel carries a depended lug 26 engageable with a slot in the lower flange of the channel bracket 25 to prevent lateral displacement of the keel member relative to the stern frame. I provide a pin on the forward end of the keel which is engageable in a hole in the web of the channel bracket to further interlock the keel and keel extension.

The upper cross member Zlof the stern frame pivotally supports the brace bars 28 which are arranged. to be swung inwardly and connected to a bolt 29 by the wing nut 30 when the frame is erected. The angle braces 28 may be of wood or metal construction but I prefer. to use wood braces with suitable metal attaching clips .on each end thereof. The angle braces 28 are provided with brackets 3| on their inner sides which are arranged to engage and support the rear edge of the rear seat 2. The rear seat may thus be made of two panels hingedly connected with one of the panels notched to fit over the keel 5 as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The keel 5 is of the-sectional jack-knife type having front and rear sections pivotally'secured between the spaced side pieces of' the center sec- 7 tion 32 so that the keel may befolded into a short body. When the keel is extended in the framework in the, manner illustrated in Fig. 2 it will stretch the keel belt [2 to taut position to prop- The gunwale gunwale.

4 erly locate the several frame members 9 and stem Ill and stern frame l 1.

After the framework has been erected on the keel 5, sectional gunwale members 33 having a relatively thin, slat like shape are pressed or pushed through the openings in the rear of the gunwale tubes l6 as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5. The rear ends of each slat 33 define vertical slots 3H for receiving inwardly turned flanges on the ends of the tongue clips 35 secured to the next succeeding section of the gunwale. A sufficient number of sections are pressed into each side of the gunwale tubes to form a complete gunwale along each side of the boat and complete the stiffening of the framework.

The cover or skin 3 for covering the framework is preferably madeof water proof canvas or fabric .of thedesired weight and is shaped to fit the framework with sufiicient material along the edges of the skin to'lap over the gunwales as at 36. A rear'fiap is provided at El and a pocket portion 38 is formed at the prow of the skin-to fit over and receive the upper end of the stem Ill. The side flaps 36 have'eyelets or rings 39 securely stitched thereto so thatalacing cord 40 may be passed through the eyelets and underneath lugs 41 secured to each of 'theribs '5. The lacing cord 4i thus serves to stretch the skin tightly over the framework. The rear flap 31 is provided with female snap fasteners designed to engage the lugs 42 secured to the inside of the upper cross member 2? of the stern frame. In order to stiffen the skin between the ribs of the framework I provide a series of longitudinal reinforcing slats 43 which I secure to the'inside of the skin by stitching them inside of pockets 44. In order that the skin may be collapsed 1 divided thereinforcing slats 43 longitudinally in three sections as is most clearly illustrated at #35 in Figs. 1- and 6. The

longitudinal reinforcing slats 43 are of course shaped and located on the skin to conform to the shape of the boat and support the skin between the transverse ribs 9. When the skin-is removed from-the frame it may be folded and rolled trans- 4-6 :are'provided with short, longitudinally extending slats '4'! which are stitched in pockets 48 on theflaps and arranged to lie between adjacent longitudinal slats 43 and bridge the folding section 45 of the skin. The slats 48 are long enough to have their-ends supported by the two adjacent ribs 9 so that the skin is longitudinally supported throughout its entire length. In collapsing the skin the flaps 46 are folded away from the sections 45 of the skin so that the entire skin may be folded as previously described.

The oar locks 8 illustrated in'Fig. 10 consist of an upper bar 49 which'is secured to the gunwale by the U-shaped hooks 50. The upper bar 49 carries an angle fixture 5i on which the socket 52 is formed for receiving the pin of the oar. A bolt 53 extends downwardly from the upper bar 49 to a lower bar 54 arranged to engage the under side of any two adjacent lugs 4| on the rib members 9 to draw the oar lock tightly down on the The ends of the lower bar .54 are notched as at 55 to fit between the adjacent ribs 9.

I havethus described a highly practical commercial embodiment of my boat and it should be understood that I intend this description as an example only and not as definitive of the limits of my invention. Obviously the details of the connections between my frame members and V gunwale belts could be altered without departing from the theory of my invention and my framework could be used with a modified form of skin or the skin could be used on a modified form of framework.

Having thus described my inventionwhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l 1. A collapsible boat including a framework anda skin, said framework comprising a plurality of different sized U-shaped rib members, a rigid stern frame, a rearwardly curved stem, a

v keel belt of flexible relatively inelastic character permanently connected to the underside of the center of said ribs and the front of said stem and rear of said stern frame, a tubular flexible gunwale belt having pockets secured to the sides thereof, said pockets being permanently secured to the tops of said ribs, said belt being secured to said stem and said stern frame, interlocking sectional gunwale slats disposed in said gunwale belts "and a folding keel member interlockingly engaging said stem and said stern frame to extend said keel belt and frame, said skin comprising a 2 said skin and bridge said folding sections of said skin between adjacent ribs of said framework. 2. A collapsible boat including a framework and a skin, said framework comprising a plurality of U-shaped rib members, a rigid stern frame,

, a rearwardly curved stem, a keel belt of flexible character permanently connected to the center of said ribs and the front of said stem and rear of said stern frame, tubular flexible gunwale belts permanently secured to the tops of said ribs, to

said stem and to said stern frame, said tubular belts being open at the rear ends thereof, sectional gunwale slats disposed in said gunwale belts and being removable through the open ends of said belts, and a folding keel member interlockingly engaging said stem and said stern frame to extend said keel belt and frame, said skin comprising a fabric body shaped to fit around said frame, a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing slats secured to the inside of said skin, said reinforcing slats being divided in longitudinal sections along transverse folding lines of said body, and reinforcing flaps secured to said skin and arranged to fold across the folding lines of said body, said reinforcing flaps having other slats secured thereto to lie between adjacent reinforcing slats in said skin and bridge said foldring sections of said body between adjacent ribs of said framework.

3. A collapsible boat including a framework and a skin, said framework comprising a plurality of U-shaped rib members, a rigid stern frame, a rearwardly curved stem, a keel belt of flexible character permanently connected to the center of-said ribs and the front 'of said stem and rear of said stern frame, tubular flexible gunwale belts permanently secured to the tops of said ribs, to

said stem andto said stern frame, said tubular V belts being open at the rear ends thereof, sectional gunwale slats disposed in said gunwale belts and being removable through the open ends of said belts, and a folding keel member interlockingly engaging said stem and said stern frame to extend said keel belt and frame, said skin comprising a fabric body shaped to fit' around said frame and a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing slats secured to the inside of said skin, said reinforcing slats being divided in longitudinal sections along transverse folding lines of said body.

4. A collapsible boat including a framework and a skin, said framework comprising a plurality of U-shaped rib members, a stern frame, a stem, a keel belt of flexible character permanently connected to intermediate portions of said ribs and to said stem and to said stern frame, tubular flexible gunwale belts permanently secured to the tops of'said ribs to said stem and to said stern frame, sectional gunwale slats disposed in said gunwale belts and a folding keel member interlockingly engaging said stem and said stern frame to extend said keel belt and frame, said skin comprising a fabric body shaped to fit around said frame, a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing slats secured to said skin, said reinforcing slats being divided in longitudinal sections along transverse folding lines of said body, and reinforcing flaps secured to said skin and arranged to fold across the folding lines of said body, said reinforcing flaps having other slats secured thereto to lie between adjacent reintubular flexible gunwale belts permanently secured to said ribs to said stem and to said stern frame, sectional gunwale slats disposed in said gunwale belts and a folding keel member interlockingly engaging said stem and said stern frame to extend said keel belt and frame, said skin comprising a fabric body shaped to fit around said frame and a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing slats secured to said skin, said reinforcing slats being divided in longitudinal sections along transverse folding lines of said body.

6. A frame for a collapsible boat comprising, a plurality of U-shaped ribs graduated in size to determine the shape of the boat, a stem having a rearwardly turned keel extension, a stern frame, a keel belt of non-elastic flexible material secured to the center of said ribs to determine the maximum spacing of said ribs, the rear of said keel belt being secured to the back of said stern frame, the front of said keel belt being secured to the front of said stem and arranged to underly said keel extension, nonelastic flexible gunwale belts of tubular construction extending along the tops of said ribs and stern frame and secured to said stem below the top thereof, pockets secured to the inside of said tubular belts and permanently receiving the upper ends of said ribs, the rear ends of said belt being secured to said stern frame and dc zfiningiopenings thereat, sectional gunwale' members ,having interlocking engagement between 'thex sections thereof and ,positioned in said tubular belts, lugs;v projecting from the insides of said ribs below the topsthereof and-adaptedto engage ailacing cordto securea skin to: said frame, a vertically folding keel having interlocking engagement with' said stern frame and the rear of said keel extension, and braces-extending from the sides of said stern frame and're- -movably secured'to the top of said keel forframe, a keel belt of non-elastic flexible material secured to the center of said ribs to determine the maximum spacing of said ribs, the rearof said keel belt being secured to the back of said stern frame, the front of said keel belt being secured to the front'of said stem and arranged to underly saidkeel extension, non-elastic flexible gunwale belts of tubular construction extending along the topsof said ribs and stern frame and secured to said stem below the top thereof, pockets secured to the inside of said tubular belts and permanently receiving the upper ends of said ribs, the rear ends of said belt being secured to said stern frame and defining openings thereat, sectional gunwale members having interlocking engagement between the sections thereof and positioned in said tubular belts, a vertically folding keel having interlocking engagement with .,a keel belt of non-elastic flexible material secured to said ribs to determine the maximum spacing of said ribs, the rear of said keel belt being secured to said stern frame, the front of said keel belt being secured to said stem, a flexible gunwale belt of tubular construction extending along the tops of said ribs and stern frame,

, and secured to said stem, pockets secured to said tubular belt and receiving the upper ends of said ribs, the rear ends of said belt being secured to said stern frame, sectional gunwale members having interlocking engagement between the sections thereof and removably positioned in said tubular belt and a folding keel having interlocking engagement with said stern frame and the rear of said keel extension.

9. Aframe for a collapsible boat comprising, a plurality of U-sh-aped ribs, a stem having a rearwardly turnedkeel extension, a stern frame, a

plurality of belts of flexible material secured to said ribs to determine the maximum spacing of said ribs, the rear of said belts being secured to said stern frame, the front of said belts being secured .to said stem, one of said belts being of tubular construction, one end of said tubular belt defining an opening thereto and a sectional longitudinal stiffening member having interlocking 8 engagement between thesections thereof and re- .movably positioned in said tubular belt.

10. A; skin for covering the frame of a collapsible-boat comprising a body of waterproof fabric shapedtoaconform to the shape of said frame, a

pocket formed at the top of the prow of said :body and arranged to receive the stem of said .frame,-- aplurality of transversely spaced longitudinally extending pocket forming pieces stitched to the inside of said body, said pocket forming pieces being divided into longitudinal sections alongtransverse folding lines of said body, sectional longitudinal slats permanently secured in said pocket forming members, reinforcing flaps secured to the inside of said body-andarranged to be folded across the folding lines thereof, reinforcing slats permanently stitched in said reinforcing flaps and arranged. to lie between transversely adjacent slats in, said body and bridge the space between adjacent longitudinal sections of said longitudinal slats.

11. A skin for covering the frame of a collapsible boat. comprising a body of fabric shaped to conform to the shape of said frame, a plurality of transversely spaced longitudinally extending pocket forming pieces secured to the inside of said body, said pocket forming pieces being divided into longitudinal sectionsalong transverse folding lines of said body, sectional longitudinal slats secured in said pocket forming members, reinforcing flaps secured to the inside of said body and arranged to be folded across the folding lines thereof, reinforcing slats secured in said reinforcing flaps and arranged to liebetween transverse- 1y adjacent slats in said body and bridge the space between adjacent longitudinal sections of said longitudinal slats.

12. A skin for covering the frame of a collapsible boat comprising a body of waterproof sheet material shaped to conform to the shape of said frame, a plurality of transversely spaced longitudinally, extending pocket forming pieces secured'to said body, said pocket forming pieces being divided into longitudinal sections along transverse folding lines of said body, sectional longitudinal slats secured in said pocket forming members, reinforcing flaps secured to the inside of said body and arranged to be folded across the folding lines thereof, reinforcing slatssecured in said reinforcing flaps and arranged to lie between transversely adjacent slats in said body and bridge the space between adjacent longitudinal sections of said longitudinal slats.

MARVIN D. WAYNE.

7 REFERENCES CITED ,The following references are of record in the file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS