Recreational watercraft with ballast system
AssigneeTulip Factory, LLC
InventorsMark Overbye, Abdul Hameed Khanzada
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Recreational watercraft and methods of operating recreational watercraft are described. Recreational watercraft can include an aluminum hull, a plurality of ballast tanks, a first surface defining a first opening that extends from an interior of a ballast tank of the plurality of ballast tanks to an exterior of the hull, a valve configured to selectively open or close the first opening, and a second surface defining a second opening that is fixed permanently open and extends from an interior of the ballast tank through a bottom portion of the hull to an exterior of the hull.
Claims17
A recreational watercraft, comprising:
- a hull;
- a ballast tank;
- a first surface defining a first opening that extends from an interior of the ballast tank to an exterior of the hull, wherein the first surface defining the first opening is configured to be above a surface of a body of water;
- a valve configured to selectively open or close the first opening;
- and
- a second surface defining a second opening that is fixed permanently open and extends from an interior of the ballast tank through a bottom portion of the hull to an exterior of the hull wherein the second surface defining the second opening is configured to be below the surface of the body of water.
A method of operating a recreational watercraft, comprising:
- providing a hull of a recreational watercraft housing a ballast apparatus, the ballast apparatus comprising:
- a first surface of a ballast tank defining a first opening that extends from an interior of the ballast tank through a side portion of the hull to an exterior of the side portion of the hull above a surface of a body of water;
- a valve configured to selectively open or close the first opening;
- and
- a second surface defining a second opening that extends from the interior of the ballast tank through a bottom portion of the hull to an exterior of the bottom portion of the hull below the surface of the body of water;
- operating the watercraft in the body of water with the valve in a first position such that the first opening is closed;
- causing the valve to change to a second position such that the first opening is open, whereby a volume of ballast water is received from the body of water by the ballast tank via the second opening, and wherein a corresponding volume of air exits the ballast tank via the first opening;
- and
- causing the valve to return to the first position such that the first opening is closed and the volume of ballast water is retained in the ballast tank.
A recreational watercraft, comprising:
- a bow and a stern;
- a port side and a starboard side;
- a hull having an interior and an exterior;
- a first ballast apparatus, a second ballast apparatus, and a third ballast apparatus, wherein each of the first ballast apparatus, the second ballast apparatus, and the third ballast apparatus includes:
- a ballast tank affixed to the interior of the hull;
- a first surface defining a top opening that extends from an interior of the ballast tank to the exterior of the hull;
- a valve configured to selectively close the top opening;
- and
- a second surface defining a bottom opening that extends from an interior of the ballast tank through a bottom portion of the hull to an exterior of the hull;
- and
- a first control element configured to control operation of the first ballast apparatus, a second control element configured to control operation of the second ballast apparatus, a third control element configured to control operation of the third ballast apparatus, and a fourth control element configured to control operation of the first ballast apparatus, the second ballast apparatus, and the third ballast apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.