US2971207A - Water ski - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 14, 1961 F. E. ElcHoLTz WATER SKI Filed June 2, 1958 United States Patent WATER SKI Frank E. Eicholtz, San Diego, Calif., assgnor to George J. Leach, San Diego, Calif.

Filed June 2, 1958, Ser. No. 739,143

2 Claims. (Cl. 9-310) This invention relates to an improved water ski.

In the conventional water ski the thickness is limited by the weight of the ski and there is a tendency of the ski to bow at the point of application of weight of the user, creating a highly undesirable drag.

It is an object of this invention to provide a ski wherein the bottom of the center section is always a iiat plane eliminating center drag.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ski wherein the sections in front of or to the rear of the central section are flexible to prevent drag on particularly sharp turns.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ski having the desired flexibility at the desired places which is not subject to fatigue and hence returns to its original position.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent from the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ski embodying this invention. p

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1.

The ski is formed of a wooden sheet of substantially uniform thickness throughout its length and of the conformation desired, being curved upwardly adjacent the tip of the ski. The sheet 10 is sandwiched between fiberglass sheets 12 and 14 which cover lthe upper and lower surfaces of sheet 10. The ibreglass sheets 12 and 14 are bonded to wooden sheet 10 and are impregnated with suitable resin such as urea, resorcinol or apoxy and are applied under tension so that when the ski is iexed it will return to its original condition.

Positioned above the central section of the ski is an island formed of a tapered wooden sheet 16 bonded to fiberglass sheet 14 and covered by an additional resin impregnated fiberglass sheet 18 which covers the entire upper surface of the ski. The wooden sheet 16 includes a forwardly extending portion and a rearwardly extending portion, joined by a smooth arcuate portion, the forwardly extending portion being considerably shorter than the rearwardly extending portion. This provides a properly balanced ski having the desired characteristics of flexibility. Sheet 14 conforms to the island sheet 16 and lies between same and sheet 10. The island forms a support for the ski binding 20, having the usual stationary front or toe receiving section 22 and the movable rear or heel engaging member 24 and an additional loop 26 and roughened surface 28 for one-ski skiing.

In this embodiment the wooden sheet 16 tapers for- Eil@ wardly and rearwardly in thickness and occupies approximately the central one-third 0f the ski. The 'thickness and length of the island can be varied to meet the ilexibility requirements of the ski and function to hold the central section of the ski rigid while permitting flexing of the tips to eliminate center drag. The thickness and taper of the island will vary according to the requirements of the ski. Thus a ski constructed to support a man weighing two hundred pounds, for example, may be formed with sheet 10 one-fourth inch thick and island 16 tive-eigh-ths inch thick maximum. The island then tapers forwardly and rearwardly until it joins sheet 1), the length of the taper and its rate will vary with ultimate ilexibilty requirements of the ski. The thickness relationship between sheet 10 and island 16 may vary somewhat, however, when the thickest part of island 16 is less than one-eighth inch thick its effect becomes negligible.

A suitable iin 30 may be secured to the underside of the ski adjacent the rear to permit control during use.

While what hereinbefore has been described as the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is readily ap parent that alterations and modifications can be resorted to without `departing from the scope of this invention and such alterations and modifications are intended to be included Within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A water ski comprising a wooden sheet of substantially uniform thickness throughout its length, a resin impregnated fiberglass sheet bonded to the under surface of said wooden sheet, a second wooden sheet occupying approximately the middle one-third of the ski and having portions tapered towards each tip of the ski, a second resin impregnated fiberglass sheet bonded to the under surface of the second wooden sheet and the adjacent upper surface of the first wooden sheet forming an island adjacent the central section of the ski, and a further resin impregnated fiberglass sheet covering the remaining upper surface of said lirst wooden sheet and the upper Surface of said second Wooden sheet.

2. A water ski comprising a wooden sheet of substantially uniform thickness .throughout its length, a resin impregnated fiberglass sheet bonded to the under surface of said wooden sheet, a second wooden sheet occupying approximately the middle onethird of the ski and having portions tapered towards each tip of the ski, the tapered forwardly extending portion being considerably shorter than the tapered rearwardly extending portion, the tapered front and rear portions being joined by a smooth arcuate portion, a second lresin impregnated berglass sheet bonded to the under surface of the second wooden sheet and tothe adjacent upper surface of the rst wooden sheet forming an island adjacent the central section of the ski, and a further resin impregnated fiberglass sheet covering the remaining upper surface of said first wooden sheet and the upper surface of the second wooden sheet, said first and last mentioned fiberglass sheets being under tension to return said ski to its original position upon exing of same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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