Personal watercraft
AssigneePolaris Industries Inc.
InventorsErik Rogers, Michael T. Yobe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hybrid personal watercraft combines features of pontoon boats and deck boats, in a cost-effective and versatile package. The watercraft includes port and starboard sponsons which combine a pair of outboard flotation cavities. A space below the deck and above the hull bottom creates at least one, and potentially up to three additional flotation cavities, which may also be used as storage areas accessible by an access door in the bow of the watercraft and/or a set of hatches in the deck. The watercraft may be efficiently produced assembled from polymer materials, such as thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO).
Claims24
A personal watercraft comprising:
- a hull bottom having a fore portion and an aft portion;
- a port sponson and a starboard sponson each fixed to the hull bottom and extending from the fore portion to the aft portion, the port sponson including a port groove extending forwardly from an aft edge thereof, and the starboard sponson including a starboard groove extending forwardly from an aft edge thereof;
- and
- a deck fixed to the port sponson and the starboard sponson, the deck spaced above the hull bottom, the deck extending from the fore portion to the aft portion such that the hull bottom, the port sponson, the starboard sponson and the deck cooperating to define a flotation cavity, and the deck including a port key sized to be slideably received within the port groove and a starboard key sized to be slideably received within the starboard groove.
A method of assembling a personal watercraft, the method comprising:
- assembling a pair of sponsons to port and starboard sides of hull bottom;
- assembling a pair of longitudinal stringers to the hull bottom, such that each of the pair of longitudinal stringers is disposed between, and spaced from, the pair of sponsons;
- fixing the pair of sponsons and the pair of longitudinal stringers to the hull bottom;
- and
- assembling a deck to the pair of sponsons by supporting port and starboard edges of the deck upon port and starboard supporting ledges respectively formed on the pair of sponsons, and sliding the deck along the port and starboard supporting ledges to engage a pair of keys formed in an aft portion of the deck with a correspondingly shaped pair of grooves formed in respective aft portions of the pair of sponsons.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.