Back to results
US 4,048,685 AGranted
Trailable houseboat
OwnerWilliam A. Gailinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
OwnerWilliam A. Gailinventor
Estimating the term…
A trailable houseboat is disclosed combining a travel trailer module and pontoons which are positioned along the roof of the trailer module cabin for land use. Such pontoons are supported by a power operated mechanism so that they can be moved from the highway position to a launch position, in which they extend along the sides of the cabin at a level sufficiently low to permit floating of the boat but sufficiently high to allow the boat to be rolled on its wheels. After launching, the trailer module is raised with respect to the pontoons to increase the freeboard and to raise the road wheels up out of the water. Folding decks are positioned adjacent to the ends of the cabin for highway use and extend between the ends of the pontoons in the water configuration. Folding walkways are also provided for water use to cooperate with the ends of the pontoons and the decks to provide a large level deck system completely around the cabin. The pontoons are shaped to nest with the cabin so that the height of the trailer module is not substantially increased in the highway configuration, even though the pontoons have a depth at their ends to provide substantial freeboard in the water configuration. In the highway configuration, the ends of the pontoons project below the roof line of the cabin to lower the center of gravity. The pontoons and the cabin are all provided with positive buoyancy for safety and strength by utilizing closed cell foam. A single hydraulic actuator is connected to move the pontoons between the three positions and to raise and lower the decks. The raised ends of the pontoons provide accessible storage space.
A trailable boat comprising a main body including a cabin and road wheels, a pair of pontoons mounted on said body for movement between a raised road position along the roof of said cabin and a lowered water position adjacent to opposite sides of said cabin, said pontoons extending beyond the ends of said cabin and having end portions of a first depth, said pontoons in said water position operating to float said main body with said wheels substantially out of the water and the floor of said cabin substantially above the water while the end portions of said pontoons provide an upper deck surface substantially above the water, said pontoons providing a central portion of reduced depth proportioned to fit over said cabin whereby said pontoons in said road position extend above said roof by a height substantially less than first depth, said end portions projecting below the level of said roof by a distance at least substantially equal to the depth of said central portion when said pontoons are in said road position.
A trailable boat comprising a generally rectangular cabin structure, a pair of elongated pontoons mounted on said cabin and providing forward and rearward end portions projecting beyond the ends of said cabin and central portions co-extensive with said cabin, said pontoons being movable between a raised trailing position in which they extend along the roof of said cabin and a water position in which they extend along adjacent to the sides of said cabin and substantially below the floor thereof, said central portion having a first depth and said end portion having a second depth substantially greater than said first depth, said pontoons in their raised position extending above the roof a height substantially no greater than said first depth, said end portions in said water position extending up to substantially the height of said cabin floor while said central portions are substantially below said cabin floor, folding walkways substantially level with the upper surface of said end portions bridging said central portions when said pontoons are in said water position, and folding decks bridging between said forward portions and rearward portions respectively, said walkways cooperating with said end portions and folding decks to provide a substantially level deck system spaced substantially above the central portions of said pontoons when in said water position.
A trailable boat comprising a main body including a cabin and road wheels, a pair of pontoons mounted on said body for movement between a raised road position along the roof of the cabin, an intermediate launch position in which the bottoms of the pontoons are along side said cabin above the bottoms of the wheels and in which the pontoons are operable to float said boat with the cabin above the water and said wheels within the water, and a lowered water position in which said boat floats with the main body and said wheels substantially out of the water and the floor of the cabin substantially above the water, power means operable to move said pontoons between said intermediate position, said raised road position and said lowered water position, said body being provided with a T shaped track adjacent to each corner of said cabin, and said pontoons provide support beams connected to said tracks for pivotal movement between said road position and launch position and for linear movement along said tracks when said pontoons move between said launch position and said water position, the connection between said beams and said tracks for said linear movement along said tracks being provided by C shaped slide runners.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.