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US 2004/0103836 A1Published application
Planing power boat
OwnerJerry Douglas Burkettinventor
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OwnerJerry Douglas Burkettinventor
Estimating the term…
The present invention over-comes the prior art deficiencies by, in part, defining a hull bottom that decreases the total resistance and thereby reduces the propulsion power needed to propel a boat of a certain weight to a given speed. The invention separates the functions of the planing process resulting in a hull with staged longitudinal steps wherein each step consists of a fully defined hull underbody with a chine and bow and stern. Each intermediate chine describes a supplemental planing surface which is designed to lift the hull dynamically and to position the hull on the next narrower step that supports the weight of the boat and creates the forces needed to further lift the hull to the next narrower chine in two or more stages depending upon the size and weight of the boat to lift the hull to the central planing surface to achieve the desired top speed. The hull for each step is described by its chine, hull bottom, deadrise angle, bow and stern dimensions optimized to the “ideal beam”(Ref. 7) to cover the range of speed of its stage of supplemental planing surfaces in the planing process by controlling the trim angle and vertical rise in the center of gravity. The hull bottom of each supplemental and central planing stage is separated by a vertical step extending longitudinally from bow to stern with the deadrise angle of the hull bottom of each step equal to or greater than the lower narrower hull stage below it. As a result the trim angle of the speed range for each stage can be optimized to fall in the range of 3.5 to 5 degrees to provide the least total resistance (Ref 5) (the combined wave making and friction resistance) over the range of operation for the hull of each stage and for the overall operating range covering all stages from rest to top speed. The number of supplemental planing surface stages, if more than one, will depend primarily upon the top speed to be attained and the overall length and width of the boat. An intermediate lower speed for long term operation as a cruising speed may be selected to dictate a staging point to assure optimized efficiency at this intermediate stage; such as, to optimize the efficiency at the cruise rating of the propulsion system for extended range (based upon the fuel tankage capacity).
A planing boat compromising a hull of greater length than breadth between its sides, means to drive the boat forward in substantially the direction of its greater length with the exterior bottom planing surfaces of its hull consisting of a series of two or more sequentially stacked chines with the widest chine formed by the hull side and the widest and uppermost hull bottom being joined to one or more ever narrower chines separated by vertically walled steps between each chine extending longitudinally from the transom to the bow whereupon when increasing speed the lift created by hydrodynamic forces acting on the hull causes the hull to rise until the widest and uppermost hull bottom's chine drys out by being clear of the spray and wake from the chine of the next narrower hull in stages to optimize the trim angle for each stage and depending upon the number of chine steps needed to cover the speed range from at rest until the speed is achieved whereupon the hull will be supported by the narrowest planning surface hull from that speed and above and with each stage of the planing sequence designed to operate at a trim angle at or near the 3.5 to 5 degree optimum range and the number of stages determined by the design top speed with the option of operating at long periods of time at any stage such as to match an engine rating intended for continuous operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.