US2683268A - Wheeled device for launching and beaching small boats - Google Patents

Description

July 13, 1954 e. H. STRAYER WHEELED DEVICE FOR LAUNCHING AND BEACHING SMALL BOATS Filed April 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheer l GEUEGE H STKA yi i g ttorneg y 1954 G. H. 'STRAYER 2,683,268 WHEELED DEVICE FOR LAUNCHING AND BEACHING SMALL BOATS Filed April 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Snventor 650E6 5 H Patented July 13, 1954 OFFICE WHEELED TDEVICE FDR LAUNCHING AND BEACHI-NG SMALL BOATS George H. Strayer, Erie, Pa.

Application April 17, 1950, Serial No. 156,394 1 Claim. (01. 9 1) 1 ."llhisfinvention relates generally to means for making a boat portable on land and it relates more particularly to removable wheeled mem-.

bers for attachment to a small boat .for launching and beaching the boat.

All. devices .of this character, made in accordance with the teachings of the prior art, and with which I am familiar, merely comprise a wheeled :axle or buggy sepia-rate from the boat. With these prior devices, when beaching a boat .it has been necessary to get out of the :boat, get a wheeled buggy from storage on the beach, and place it under the rearportion'of the boat. .It is only with great difficulty that the boat is removed from the water inasmuch as two men must work in water that is generally waist deep with such :a'device. The boat tends to slip on these prior ibuggies which adds to' the diillcu'lty of beaching a boat. Likewise, when a boat is floated with these :prior devices, it is necessary to go into comparatively deep water to remove the carrying buggy from :under the boat and place it in safe storage on the beach. It is necessary to beach these prior boat carrying buggies as they are too bulky and-heavy tocarry in'a small boat.

It is, accordingly; an object of my invention to overcome the above and other difficulties in wheeled devices for launching and beaching a boat and "it is more particularly an object of my invention to provide a wheeled device for launching and beachingaboat which is simple in construction, economical in cost, economical in manutacturejeflicient inoperation and easy to install and remove. 7

Another object of my invention is to provide wheels for beaching or floating a boat which may be installed and removed 'from inside the boat.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wheeled device for a small boat whereby the boat may 'bebeached or launched-by one man.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wheeled device for 'beaching and launching a boat which may be removed by a person in the boat and. carried in the boat.

Another object -oi my invention is to provide a wheeled device 'for launching and beaching a boat which is "extremely light and buoyant .and which may therefore 'be carried in the boat as a lifepreserver.

Another object of my invention :is to provide a novel arrangement and construction of detachable wheels for-a boat for beaching and launching same.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wheeled device for beaching and launching a boat which permits one man to beach and launch .the boat without getting Wet, in most instances. {Other objects of my invention will become evident from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a boat with one wheel bracket removed;

Fig. .2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing my novel wheeled brackets assembled;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view showing the connection attaching one of my wheeled brackets to a boat;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational View of a modified form of wheeled bracket attached to the side of a boat;

Figs. '5 and 6 are side .elevational views of the wheeled bracket shown in Fig. 4 assembled on the side of a boat with a brace member for bracing same; and.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of another form of my novel wheeled bracket.

Fig. .8 is a cross sectional View taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, I show in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive a conventional fiat bottom boat I which may be propelled by oars or a motor. Plates 2 are secured to the inner sides 3 of the boat bysu ita'ble fastening members 4. The plates '2 have apertures through which extend a tubular member 6 which is welded to the plates 2 at 5. The tubular member 6 has inserts to in the ends thereof with a square bore for receiving the square ends "8 of right angled brackets 9. The right angled brackets 9 have outwardly extending shafts 'l 93 upon which are mounted wheels I I having balloon tires 42 disposed thereon. A metal such as aluminum used for making the brackets '9 and the Wheels H is extremely light so that the 'ball'oontires l2 make the wheeled brackets 9 buoyant in water. The square ends 8 of the brackets 23 have outwardly extending, opposed, recessed spring catch members 13 for engaging diametrically extending pins 14 in the tubular shaft 6. The spring members l3 have outwardly flared lips it so that they pass directly over the pins 44 to a locked position by merely being inserted in the square bored inserts 6a in the ends of the tubular member :6. Conversely, the square :ponti'ons =8 :of the brackets 9 may be withdrawn from the inserts ea in the ends of the shaft 6 by merely pulling outwardly on the bracket 9 whereby the spring members 43 will expand outwardly and be released from the pins M in the shaftt.

In operation, when the boat approachesa shore or beach and it is desired to beach the boat, it is merely necessary to insert the square stub shaft ends '3 of the brackets .9 in the inserts 6a in the 'from the registered apertures.

ends of the shaft 6 with the brackets 9 extending vertically downwardly as shown in Fig. 2. Ihe bow of the boat is then run to the edge of the Water so that the operator can get out of the bow of the boat onto the beach without getting wet. The bow of the boat is then tilted upwardly and pulled whereupon the tires 52 engage the bottom, if they have not already done so, and the boat is easily pulled ashore and transported to a storage place. The shaft 6 is placed at the balance point lengthwise of the boat. If an outboard motor is used on the boat, this is taken into consideration in locating the balance point on the boat. A boat may be easily pushed or pulled to any point on the beach with my novel device.

When it is desired to launch the boat, assuming my novel brackets 9 are attached, it is wheeled to the waters edge and then pushed into the water until the bow of the boat reaches the shoreline. In most instances, the shoreline will slope off enough at this point to free the tires l2 on the wheels H from the bottom. The operator then gets into the bow of the boat without getting wet and the boat is floated. The boat is then rowed or paddled to deeper water. Th operator then reach-es over the side and pulls the square ends 8 of the brackets 9 from the inserts 6a in the shaft 6 and the brackets 9 with the wheels I l are carried in the boat. The buoyant tires I2 may be used as life preservers in case of an emergency.

In Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, I show a modified .form of my invention wherein a bracket 20 is attached by suitable fastening members 2! to the inside of the side 22 of a boat. The bracket 20 .has an outwardly extending boss 26 with a vertically extending aperture 24 therethrough for receiving a leg 25 of an inverted U-shaped bracket 26-. The leg 25 of the bracket 26 has a transversely extending aperture for registration with a transversely extending aperture 28 in the boss 23 of the bracket 20. through the registered apertures in the leg 25 and boss 23 of the bracket 20, respectively, to lock the leg 25 of the bracket 26 in the aperture 24 in the boss 23 of the bracket 26. member 38 is mounted on the gunnel 8! of the side 22 of the boat to support the bracket 26. The outer depending leg 32 of the bracket 26 has an outwardly extending shaft 39 for mounting a wheel 34 with a balloon tire 35. The bracket 26 is well supported and will carry al1 normal sized small boats with motors attached thereto; however, in some instances, I have found it preferable to brace the bracket 26. In this instance,

I secure one hooked end of a diagonally extending brace 31 to a bracket 66 attached to the forward part of the gunnel 31 of the side 22 of the boat and the other hooked end is detachably hooked in an aperture 38 in the leg 32 of the bracket 26.

The operation of the wheeled bracket shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 is the same as for the wheeled bracket 9 shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. With the bracket shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, there is no chance for the attaching parts and sockets to be corroded as attachment is on the inside of the boat. It will be apparent that it will only be necessary to register the aperture in the leg 25 of the bracket 26 with the transversely extending aperture 28 in the boss 23 of the bracket 28 and extend a pin 29 therethrough to secure the bracket 26 to the side of the boat. To remove the bracket 26 from the boat after the boat is floated, it is only necessary to pull the pin 29 The brace 31 is A pin 29 is extended- A bearing acsaees merely one with hooked ends so that it may be easily disposed in place and removed. The bearing member 30 may be removable or it may be one which opens for removal of the bracket 26.

In Fig. 7, I show a right angled wheeled bracket 40 with a rectangular shaped upper end 4! secured by brackets 42. The bracket 40 may be used where a boat is decked over either at the bow or on each side amidships thereof.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that I have provided novel wheeled members for attachment to a boat for launching the boat from a beach and for beaching the boat, which may be placed in an operative position and detached from inside the boat while the boat is afloat, which are buoyant and which may be carried in the boat for use as a life preserver, which permit one man to launch and beach a small boat without getting wet, and which are very simple to install and detach.

When my novel wheeled brackets are attached to a boat, the bow thereof may be attached to an automobile or the like for transportation over land. The balloon tires take up much of the impact from travel over rough roads. A wheeled bracket 40 as shown in Fig. 7 may be attached for travel.

Various changes may be made in the specific embodiment of m invention without departing from the spirit thereof or from the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A wheeled device for transporting a boat comprising an open ended tubular member adapted to be disposed transversely of a boat with the ends thereof coincidental with the outer sides of a boat, brackets having a stub shaft portion for insertion into the ends of said tubular member, wheels carried by said brackets, means for securing said stub shafts of said brackets in the ends of said tubular member against rotation, and snap connecting means for detachably securing the stub shafts of said brackets in the ends of said tubular member, the ends of said tubular member each having a polygonal bore and a pin extending transversely thereof, said stub shaft portions on said brackets being polygonal in shape corresponding to the polygonal shape of said bore and the ends of said stub shafts bein split to define snap spring members for connection with the transvers pins in said tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 443,260 Preston Dec. 23, 1890 1,154,287 Butcher Sept. 21, 1915 1,374,994 Faik Apr. 19, 19 1 1,560,983 Gibbs et al. Nov. 10, 1925 1,642,502 Krasberg Sept. 13, 1927 1,837,278 Matthews Dec. 22, 1931 1,946,497 Little Feb. 13, 1934 2,115,864 Livermon May 3, 1938 2,294,109 Donaldson Aug. 25, 1942 2,410,570 Davis Nov. 5, 1946 2,422,930 Rutledge June 24, 1947 2,424,641 Swanson July 29, 1947 2,455,048 Du Brie Nov. 30, 1948 2,489,414 Holmes Nov. 29', 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,743 Great Britain May 1, 1914 265,091 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1950

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