Marine craft steering assembly
AssigneeRichmond Marine Limited
InventorMichael J. Ingham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A marine craft steering assembly comprises a rudder stock mountable on a craft for steering movements; a rudder blade mounted on the stock to partake of steering movements therewith and to swing relatively to the stock to a raised position if the blade encounters an obstruction. The blade is biased to its raised position, and a manually operable device, which may be a tiller, is cooperable with the blade for resisting swinging of the blade lower portion to the raised position and for swinging the blade from its raised position to its lowered position. The stock is releasably pivotally mountable on a craft hull and is locked in mounted position thereon by the aforesaid manually operable device movably mounted on the stock.
Claims19
A marine craft steering assembly comprising a rudder stock adapted to be mounted on a marine craft for substantially horizontal steering movements;
- a rudder blade mounted on said stock with a lower portion of said blade projecting below said stock, the mounting of said blade on said stock constraining said blade to partake of the steering movements of said stock and enabling said blade to swing in one direction to move said lower portion rearwardly and upwardly relatively to said stock and in the opposite direction to move said lower portion downwardly and forwardly relatively to said stock, whereby said blade may yield and swing in said one direction to move said lower portion rearwardly and upwardly to a raised position if said lower portion encounters an obstruction when said assembly is in forward motion in the water;
- biasing means mounted on said stock and biasing said blade to swing the latter in said one direction to move said blade lower portion rearwardly and upwardly to said raised position to clear the obstruction;
- and manually operable means cooperable with said blade for swinging the latter in said opposite direction to move said blade lower portion to a lowered position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.