US2972325A - Water ski tow rope guide - Google Patents

Description

1961 P. K. BELTMANN ETAL 2,972,325

WATER SKI TOW ROPE GUIDE Filed July 11, 1958 FIG mam mm ER V PHlLlP K. BELTMANN- FIG. 4.

ATTORNEY WATER SKI TOW ROPE GUIDE Philip K. Beltmann, 1496 Laurel Ave., and Edward J. Robb, 327 E. Morton St., both of St. Paul, Minn.

Filed July 11, 1958, Ser. No. 748,017

' 9 Claims. Cl. 114-235 This invention relates to an improvement in .water ski tow rope guide and deals particularly with an apparatus designed for attachment to the transom of a boat and which assists in preventing the water 'ski tow rope or the like from being tangled in the propeller of the boat.

During recent years the popularity of water skiing behind boats of one type or another has become increasingly popular. One of the difficulties which is often encountered lies in the fact that the tow rope often becomes entangled in the propeller of the boat motor at times when the water skier releases his hold upon the tow rope. For example, if the skier loses his balance and falls into the water or releases his hold upon the rope to land near shore, the pull upon the tow rope is suddenly released and the rope has a tendency to sink into the water. Also, about this time the pilot of the boat often greatly reduces the speed of the boat so as to circle back to the skier or to return to shore. If the rope sinks into-the water during this slowing operation when there is no particular pull uponthe tow rope, the rope often becomes entangled in the propeller, breaking or damaging therope and in some instances causing injury to the motor. It is an object .of the presentinvention to avoid this previous difliculty.

An object of the present invention lies in the provision of a guide arm pivotally attached to the transom of the boat on a substantially vertical axis and including at its outer extremity a loop or other rope guide through which the rope extends. The rope is attached to the boat at a point near the pivot axis of the arm and prefer- ;ably in a vertical plane through the pivot ,axis and parallel to the longitudinal axis ofthe boat. A spring is provided for normally urging this arm to a position transversely of the boat and the spring is capable of acting on the arm to move it into position transversely of the boat when the tow rope is not under the strain of towing a water skier. As a result, as soon as the water skier releases the tow rope, the guide arm swings laterally and acts'to guide the rope to a position on one side or the other of the rear'of the boat. As a result, in the event the rope sinks into the water, it will be well out of the path of the propeller thus preventing injury to -the rope and to the motor.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a guide 'arm pivotedto. the transom of a boat and including on its extremity a rope guide through which the rope extends. When there is no pull upon the tow rope or when the pull on the rope does not equal tate Pa en 1 that exerted ,by a water skier, the arm will swing, toward is illustrated in vertical position.

a position laterally of the boat or at substantially right angles to the direction of travel of the boat thus preventing injury to the rope. At the same time, when a pull is exerted upon the tow rope by a water skier during a water skiing operation, the arm is free to pivot to a position rearwardly of the boat or at an angle in either direction to the direction of travel of the boat.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a device of the type described including a reversible spring which may urge the arm in either direction as desired. When the spring is in one position, as would be the case when the mounting bracket were positioned to the right of center of the boat, the spring is capable of urging the arm to the right and away from the propeller which is normally at the center of the boat. If the bracket is mounted upon the left side of the transom, the spring may be inverted to urge the arm in the opposite direction.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure l is a sectional view through the transom of a boat showing the water ski tow rope guide attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the attachment illussrated in Figure 1. t

Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the mounting bracket, the position of the section being indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure l.

t Figure 4 is a sectional view through a portion of the mounting bracket, the position of the section being indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

In Figure 1 of the drawings, the transom 10 of a boat Under normal conditions, the transom 10 inclines upwardly and rearwardly and would therefore support the guide arm in a sub stantially horizontal position. With the transom shown vertical as in Figure l, the guide arm inclines upwardly and rearwardly.

The water ski tow rope guide is indicated in general by the letter A. In general, the guide includes a U-shaped frame 11 having spaced vertical sides 12 and 13 connected at their upper ends by a transverse connecting member 14. The upright member 12 is designed to extend inwardly of the transom of the boat while the other frame member 13 is designed to clamp against the outer snrface of the transom 10.

A clamping screw 15 extends through the frame mem ber 12 and is pivotally connected at its extremity to a bearing plate 16 designed to bear against the inner surface 17 of the transom 10. The clamping screw 15 is provided with an enlargement 19 at its forward end through which a cross bar 20 extends. The clamping screw 15 may be tightened and loosened by rotation of the cross bar 20 and corresponding rotation of the clamping screw 15.

A clamping plate or cross head 21 is slidable between the parallel frame members 12 and 13. The clamping plate 21 is vertically slidable between the frame members 12 and 13 and preferably includes projecting lips 22 at opposite corners of the generally rectangular plate so as to prevent rotation of the plate. The plate 21 is pivotally connected to a clamping screw 23 which extends through the connecting member 14 of the frame 11. The clamping screw 23 is provided With an enlargement 24 at its upper extremity designed to accommodate a cross bar 25 by means of which the clamping screw may be rotated relative to the clamping plate 21. The opening in the cross member 14 of the frame through which the clamping bolt 23 extends is threaded to permit the raising and lowering of the clamping plate 21. In a similar manner, the opening 26 in the frame member 12 through which the clamping screw 15 extends is threaded to permit the bearing plate 16 to be moved toward or away from the transom 10. V V i An upper bracket plate 27 is secured to the rear frame member 13 to extend rearwardly therefrom preferably at an acute angle thereto so that the plate 27 will be substantially horizontal when the transom inclines upwardly and outwardly in the usual manner. A similar longer bracket plate 29 also projects rearwardly from the frame member 13 in parallel relation to the plate 27 and spaced substantially below the plate 27. As indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the plates 27 and 29 are provided with arcuate outer edges 30 and 31 respectively for a purpose which will be later described. v

A guide arm indicated in general by the numeral 32 includes a substantially horizontally extending portion 33 and a right angularly extending pivot portion 34 extending through apertures 35 and 36 respectively in the bracket plates 27 and 29. The upper end of the pivot portion 34 of the guide arm is threaded to accommodate a nut 37 which overlies the upper bracket plate 27 and holds the parts assembled. A collar 39 is provided on the pivot portion 34 of the guide arm below the lower bracket 29 so as to prevent vertically axial movement of the pivot portion 34.

As indicated in Figure 4 of the drawings and as also shown in Figure 1, the upper bracket plate 27 is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed downwardly projecting studs 40 and 41 on opposite sides of the pivot aperture 35. A torsion spring 42 encircles the pivot portion 34 of the arm 32 between the bracket plates 27 and 29. Each end of the spring 42 is similarly constructed, the upper end including a substantially tangentially extending portion 43 and an upwardly directed right angularly extending extremity 44 which extends substantially parallel to the axis of the pivot portion 34. The lower end of the spring 42 is similarly provided with a tangentially extending portion 45 and a right angularly extending downwardly projecting portion 46 which extends substantially parallel to the axis of the pivot 34. The tangentially extending portions 43 and 45 are of sufiicient length to clear the rounded outer ends 30 and 31 of the bracket plates 27 and 29.

The lower extremity 46 of the spring 42 is designed to extend against the horizontally extending portions 33 of the arm 32 to urge this arm toward a position extending laterally of the boat or substantially parallel to the transom 10. The tangentially extending portion 43 of the upper end of the spring engages one of the lugs 40 or 41 to hold the spring 42 at the proper tension. In the particular arrangement illustrated, the spring 42 is in a position to swing the horizontal portion 33 of the arm 32 in a counterclockwise position as illustrated in Figure 2. The spring may be reversed for urging the arm in the opposite direction. This is accomplished by removing the nut 37, withdrawing the pivot portion 34 of the arm from the bracket plates, inverting the spring 42 and positioning the upper end of the spring to provide the proper tension to swing the horizontal portion 33 of the arm 32 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2.

The outer extremity of the arm 32 is provided with a rope guide. In the particular arrangement illustrated, the arm portion 33 is bent at right angles as indicated at 47 and is bent to provide a loop or eye 49 of proper internal diameter to accommodate the tow rope such as the rope 50. An eye bolt or other anchoring means 51 is preferably attached to the frame member 13 below the level of the arm 32 and substantially in the plane of the pivot portion 34 of the arm 32 which extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boat.

It is felt that the operation of the apparatus will be clear from the foregoing description. The bracket 11 is placed over the transom 10 and adjusted to the proper elevation by means of the clamping screw 23. T he clamp 15 is then tightened to hold the bracket securely in adjuste d "position on the traiis'om 10. If the bracket is used on a boat powered by an outboard motor, which is normally located centrally of the transom, the bracket 11 may be mounted either on the right or left side of the transom laterally of the motor housing. The spring 42 is positioned to swing the guide arm 32 either to the right or to the left corresponding to the side of the boat on which the bracket is mounted. While the length of the arm 32 may be varied, this arm is normally of proper lerigit h so that the guide loop 49 is normally positioned outwardly or laterally of the transom and substantially parallel thereto.

As the boat gathers speed to pull the skier over the surface of the water, and the tow line becomes taut, the pull by the water skier on the tow line swings the horizontal portion 33 of the guide arm in alignment with the rope. The spring 42 fiexes to permit the arm to swing to either side of center depending upon the location of the water skier relative to the boat. As soon as the water skier releases the tow rope, the spring 41 will pivot the rear portion 33 of the arm toward substantially right angular relation to the direction of movement of the boat. As a result, the guide loop 49 swings thetow rope to one side of the rear of the boat, therefore greatly decreasing the possibility of permitting the tow rope to become entangled in the motor propeller while the boat is circling either to pick up the water skier or to return to a starting place. Usually, in water skiing operations, it the skier falls orloses his balance, he releases the tow rope atidswiins in the water until the boat circles at slow speeds drawing the handle of the tow rope through the water toward the swimming skier until the skier may grasp the rope and get into position to be drawn to the surface of the water by movement of the boat. During such movements, the guide arm tends to protect the tow rope from injury due to becoming entangled in the motor propeller and also preventing consequent injury to the motor itself. 7 V 7 In accordance with the patent statutes, we have described the principles of construction and operation of our improvement in water ski tow rope guide, and while we have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. In combination with the transom of a boat, a tow rope guide for said boat including a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, an arm pivotally supported by said bracket for pivotal movement about a substantially 7 vertical axis, resilient means normally urging said arm to extend transversely of the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a rope guide on the end of said arm. 4 i

2. In combination with the transom of a boat, a rope guide for said boats having a tow rope attached to the rear thereof, the rope guide including a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, an arm pivotally supported by said bracket, the axis of pivot of said arm being substantially in a vertical plane through the point of connection between the rope and the boat and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boat, means normally urging said arm to extend transversely of the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a rope guide on the end of said arm through which said rope may extend.

3. The construction described in claim 2 and in which the pivotal connection between said arm and said bracket is substantially above the point of connection between the rope and the boat.

4. The construction described in claim 2 and in which the rope guide comprises a loop on the end of said arm through which the rope may extend.

5. In combination with the transom of a boat, a tow rope guide for said boat including a bracket designed to extend over said boat transom, means for clamping said bracket to the boat transom, an arm pivotally supported by said bracket for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis, means normally urging said arm to extend transversely of the longitudinal axis of the boat, a rope guide on the end of said arm opposite said pivotal attachment with the bracket, and means substantially aligned with said pivot axis to which the tow rope may be anchored. v

6. The construction described in claim 5 and including vertically movable clamping means on said bracket for adjusting the vertical height of said bracket relative to the transom.

7. In combination with the transom of a boat, a tow rope guide for said boat including a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, a pair of substantially aligned bearings in substantially vertically spaced relation on said bracket, a guide arm including a substantially horizontal portion and a substantially vertical portion extending through said bearings, said vertical portion of said arm being pivotally supported by said bearings, and a torsion spring on said vertical portion of said arm between said bearings, means holding one end of said spring from pivotal movement, the other end of said spring engaging said arm to urge said arm toward a position extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the boat and a guide means on said arm at a point spaced from said vertically extending portion thereof.

8. In combination with the transom of a boat, a rope guide for said boat including a bracket designed for attachment to said boat transom, a pair of substantially parallel bearing plates projecting rearwardly from said bracket, a guide arm including a substantially horizontal portion and a substantially vertical portion extending through said bearing plates, a spring encircling said vertical portion of said arm between said bearing plates, means on one end of said spring for holding said spring from rotation, and means on the other end of said spring engaging said horizontal portion of said arm to urge the arm toward a position extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of the boat, and a rope guide on the horizontal References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 655,575 Palmer Aug. 7, 1900 FOREIGN PATENTS 612,172 France July 26, 1926

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