US3808998A

US3808998A - Boat with bow outdrive and vertically swingable bow plane

Info

Publication number: US3808998A
Application number: US00346818A
Authority: US
Inventors: G Molotzak
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-04-02
Filing date: 1973-04-02
Publication date: 1974-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 1991-05-07
Also published as: CA993731A

Abstract

A boat having the propulsion unit located adjacent the bow thereof with the boat hull having a wedge shaped bow and a transversely extending bow plane that is vertically swingable to facilitate planing of the boat and facilitate various specific uses of the boat. The bow plane, in effect, cuts off or slices through the top portions of waves to provide a boat which remains substantially in a stable attitude during its movement. Additional swingable planes are positioned alongside of the boat to facilitate control and stabilization thereof.

Description

United States Patent 1191 A Primary Exaniiner-Trygve M. Blix g [76] Inventor i gg fi x gg g Rldge Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A. OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson [22] Filed: Apr. 2, 1973 v 1211 Appl. No.: 346,818 [571 ABSTRACT A boat having the propulsion unit located adjacent the [52] U S Cl 114/66 5 R 1 14/0 5 R 114/126 bow thereof with the boat hull having a wedge shaped [51] B63b 1/22 bow and-a transversely extending bow plane that is [58] Fie'ld vertically swingable to facilitate planing of the boat 3 1 and facilitate variousspecific uses of the boat. The

bow plane, in effect, cuts off or slices through the top [56] References Cited portions of waves to provide a boat which remains substantially in a stable attitude during its movement. UNITED STATES PATENTS Additional swingable planes are positioned alongside glolmlak l ffl-fz z of the boatv to facilitate control and stabilization awara f 3,688,721 9/l972 Bennett ll5/1-6 thereo 3,467,345 9/1969 Windecker 9/6 X 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures EQE a m 24 58 68 72 ,4 I2 26 768 Q l t I I \\\J r it e A 7 I II I I l 2 5 36 36 /0 l 74 66 62 64 Molotzak BOAT WITH BOW OUTDRIVE VERTICALLY SWINGABLE BOW PLANE 2/1970 Tapp.. 114/05 R PATENTEHM 7 m4 SHEET 2 0F 3 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to boat structures and more particularly a boat having a bow outdrive, a wedge shaped bow, a vertically swingable bow. plane, additional adjustable planing devices and intake means associated with the bow plane to enable the boat to be adapted for various specific purposes and enable the boat to remain substantially in a stable attitude during movement in the water.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional boats employ a rear mounted propulsion unit associated with a control rudder and include a forwardly tapering hull. The operation, use and problems which exist with conventional boat structures are generally well known with one of the problems being the pitching or rolling movement of the boat when being propelled in the water due to wave action. Also, a substantial percentage of the power, used in propelling conventional boats is required to push the boat through the water which, in effect, requires that water be displaced from the path of the boat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has for its object the provision of a boat employing a propulsion unit oriented at the bow end of the boat hull.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boat in which a bow plane is'disposed forwardly of the boat hull and transversely thereof and supported from the boat hull for vertical swinging movement by the use of a suitable power mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a boat in accordance with the preceding objects in which a water intake is provided across the bow of the boat hull in association with the bow plane.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a boat construction in accordance with the preceding objects in which the hull is provided with longitudinally spaced planes along each side of the hull.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a boat construction which due to the particular construction of-the hull and location of the propulsion unit efficiently utilizes the power supplied to the propulsionunit and the assembly of components also provides a stable water vehicle capable of operating at relatively high speeds and capable of being utilized for various specific purposes.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become'subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 1 FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the boat illustrating the structural features thereof.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the construction of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the boat.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the bow portion of the boat illustrating the structural details thereof.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational viewof the boat illustrating another variation of the hull.

' FIG. 6 is aplan view of the construction of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now specifically to the drawings, the boat of the present invention is generally designated by reference numeral 10 and includes a hull 12 which includes a cabin structure generally designated by reference numeral 14. The cabin structure is defined by vertical side walls 16, amp deck 18 and transparent window areas or ports 20 including a forwardly facing windshield 22. This arrangement is primarily for use of the boat as a passenger vessel with it being pointed out that the hull and cabin structure may be modified to adapt the boat for various specific uses.

The hull 12 includes a forwardly projecting how 24 that is generally wedge shaped in configuration as indicated by the configuration in FIGS. 2 and 3 with the bow including a substantially vertically straightforward edge or prow 26 and an upwardly inclined top wall or deck 28 which joins with the cabin immediately below the windshield 22 as illustrated in F 16.4.

Disposed forwardly in the cabin and forwardly of the windshield 22, the bow 24 is provided with a transverse partition or bulkhead 30 through which a drive assembly 32 extends for driving association with an outdrive unit generally designated by the numeral 34 which depends below the bottom of the hull and includes a propeller 36 disposed in trailing relation to a vertical housing 38 which represents conventional outdrive structure except that the housing 38 has been reversed so that the propeller 36 and housing 38 are oriented toward the aft end of the boat. The drive assembly includes a suitable motor or prime mover of any desired construction and horsepower with this outdrive unit being substantially conventional except that the orientation of the housing 38 and propeller have been reversed. The specific details of the drive assembly 32, motor 40-and outdrive unit together with the control mechanism 42 therefor are not disclosed in detail-inasmuch as these components are conventional except that the outdrive unit is located adjacent the bow of the boat so that the boat is being pulled rather than being pushed as in conventional propeller driven boats. Disposed forwardly of the bow 24 is a bow plane generally designated by numeral 44 and which includes a bottom wall 46 and a top wall 48 converging forwardly to a transverse pointed front edge 50. The plates or

walls

46 and 48 are connected by side plates 52 with the hollow interior thereof being filled with foam plastic material 54 in order to maintain buoyancy even though the skin of the bow plane 44 may be ruptured or broken. The bow plane 44 is pivotally supported from the bow 24 by a transverse hinge shaft or rod 56 to enable vertical swinging movement of the 'bow plane 44 in relation to the bow 24 and suitable power means such as a hydraulic piston-and cylinder arrangement 58 may be provided between the bow and the bow plane to vertically elevate and lower the front edge of the bow plane 44. Various power devices including mechanical apparatuses may be employed for raising and lowering the front edge 50 of the bow plane.

Three

planing devices

60, 62 and 64 are mounted along each side of the boat hull and are supported for pivotal movement about transverse. axes defined by three shafts or rods 66 which are connected to arms 68 and 70 respectively with the arms 68 controlling movement of the

planes

60 and 62 and the arm 70 controlling movement of the plane 64. The arms 68 are interconnected by a rod-like structure or the like 72 and a suitable power device may be provided for moving the

planes

60 and 62 in unison in which the planes each have generally a horizontal lower surface and upwardly inclined forward and rear surfaces connected together at an apex thus defining a generally triangular configuration with the major portion of the triangular configuration being disposed rearwardly of the transverse shaft 66. The plane 64 is oppositely arranged and all of the planes may be actuated by suitable power mechanisms for pivoting the planes to facilitate stability, steering control and braking of the boat.

For protecting the planes, the hull is provided with a rail 74'along each side thereof with the ends of the rails 74 being inclined inwardly as at 76 and connected fixedly to the hull to provide protection for the planes and for the hull. The width of the hull may be substantially constant throughout and the width of the cabin may be substantially less than the hull as illustrated in FIG. 2. The portion of the hull which is engaged with the water is substantially flat and forms a continuation of the bottom wall 46 of the bow plane 44 when in its horizontal attitude. The hull construction may be of any suitable materials and may include a hollow area 78 to assure buoyancy with, of course, the entire closed area of the hull defining a buoyant enclosure.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a modified form'of the boat in which the cabin 14 is shortened thus leaving a substantial portion of the hull 12 open to provide a cargo space or the like. In this arrangement, the bow plane 44' and the forward portion of the hull 12 is provided with passageways 80 in the hull which diverge forwardly and communicate with recesses 82 in the top wall 48' of the bow plane 44. This enables the bow plane to be used as a skimmer or collecting device with rides up on top of the ice and tries to break downwardly through the ice. Since the ice normally is inthe form of an arch, that is, following the curvature of the earth s surface, it is easier tobreak by elevating it from its undersurface rather than trying to compact it from its upper surface. v

The horizontal bow plane effectively cuts off or cuts through the top of the waves thus providing a stable boat which greatly facilitates its use as a passenger carrying device as well as various cargoes which are damaged due to the boat pitching, rolling and the like.

With the bow drive and the adjustable bow plane, any,

tendency of the boat to pitch is eliminated.

In order to further stabilize the boat while underway and to facilitate the maintenance of a desired course, the bottom surface of the hull 12 includes longitudinally extending depending flanges or ribs 13 located at each side and along the centerline. The side flanges are the passageways 80 being communicated with pumps 84 or the like so that material collected through

thepassageways

82 and 80 may be pumped into a storage tank or to any other desired location. Otherwise, the boat construction illustrated in FlGS. 5 and 6 is the same as that illustratedin FIGS. 1-4.

The boat may be used as a skimmer for removing oil or.otherfloa ting debris on thesurface of the water by adjusting the edge of the bow plane to a position approximately one-half inch below the water level so that during forward movement of the boat, material floating on the surface of the water will pass through the passageways into the pumps for disposal wherever desired such as a tank barge or the like. The various hydraulic, mechanical or pneumatic actuating mechanisms can be automatically controlled for varying the orientation thereof for automatically stabilizing the boat. When the boat is to be used as an ice breaker, the bow plane may 'be elevated to form a wave in front of the boat which in the. form of angled members while the center flange is in the form of T-shaped member. Also, application of the driving force to the front of the boat serves to facilitate planing of the hull thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of use of the power supplied to the boat for driving the propeller or propellers. The stability of the boat also enables it to be employed as a landing platform for aircraft or the like in which event a relatively large platform would be supported from the hull with a number of boats being connectible to provide a runway for aircraft. Also, the boat construction of this invention may be effectively used as a tanker with the transverse symmetrical construction of the. hull enabling efficient use of the hull for carrying liquids.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A boat comprising a hull including a forward bow of wedge-shaped configuration and having a vertical apex disposed forwardmost, a bow plane including a substantially flat bottom and a. rearwardly and upwardly inclined upwardly facing surface portion, said how plane including a continuous and substantially straight forward edge disposed forwardly of said apex for horizontally parting and laterally outwardly displacing water in front of the hull, means mounting the bow plane from the hull for vertical swinging movement to enable variation in the angular orientation of the surface portion and variation in the elevational position of the forward edge of the bow plane.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with propulsion means mounted on the hull adjacent the bow for pulling the boat hull in relation to the water.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with a plurality of water planes mounted along each side of the hull for adjustment about transverse axes to vary the planing characteristics of the hull.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with water intake means incorporated into said hull and bow for skimming material off the surface of the water.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said how plane includes water passages in the inclined sur- 6 transverse width of the bow plane being at least equal to the transverse width of the hull.

8. The structure as defined in claim 7 wherein said hull is provided with a downwardly opening well adjacent the bow with the well being disposed rearwardly of the apex of the bow, a'propulsion unithaving a propeller type drive unit partially disposed in said well and depending below the hull for propelling the hull through the water from the bow end thereof.

Claims

1. A boat comprising a hull including a forward bow of wedgeshaped configuration and having a vertical apex disposed forwardmost, a bow plane including a substantially flat bottom and a rearwardly and upwardly inclined upwardly facing surface portion, said bow plane including a continuous and substantially straight forward edge disposed forwardly of said apex for horizontally parting and laterally outwardly displacing water in front of the hull, means mounting the bow plane from the hull for vertical swinging movement to enable variation in the angular orientation of the surface portion and variation in the elevational position of the forward edge of the bow plane.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said bow plane includes water passages in the inclined surface portion communicating with the water intake means in the bow.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said bow plane is a hollow member filled with foam type plastic buoyant material.

7. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the bottom of the bow plane is substantially in alignment with the bottom of the hull, said bow plane having a rear edge disposed rearwardly of the bow apex with the central portion of the rear edge of the bow plane having a V-shaped notch receiving the apex of the bow, the transverse width of the bow plane being at least equal to the transverse width of the hull.

8. The structure as defined in claim 7 wherein said hull is provided with a downwardly opening well adjacent the bow with the well being disposed rearwardly of the apex of the bow, a propulsion unit having a propeller type drive unit partially disposed in said well and depending below the hull for propelling the hull through the water from the bow end thereof.