Propulsion unit for water craft

An improved propulsion unit especially adapted for use in combination with a water craft,

• which water craft is adapted for flotation upon a body of water and is capable of movement in directions lying in a plane substantially parallel to the surface of said body of water, and
• which water craft includes a hull having a substantially horizontal and longitudinally planar bilge portion, which bilge portion has an interior surface and an exterior surface residing below the surface of said water,
• and for moving said water craft in selective directions, said propulsion unit comprising:
• a. first means carried by said portion of said hull for providing a propulsive force in a direction which is normally non-propulsive to said water craft, said first means comprising:
• i. a duct having an inlet port for receiving water from said body of water, and a discharge port, said duct being generally in the shape of an inverted u and having an inlet section, an outlet section, and an intermediate section;
• ii. impellent means for moving said water through said duct and forceably ejecting said water as a stream of water from said discharge port, said impellent means including:
• an impeller residing within said duct intermediate said inlet port and said discharge port;
• drive means located to the rear of said impeller for imparting rotary motion to said impeller;
• and
• a driven shaft rotatably journaled in said duct and having an internal end residing within said duct and coupled to said impeller, and having an external end projecting rearward from said duct and coupled to said drive means;
• and
• iii. spout means adjacent said discharge port for directing said stream of water as a jet in a direction which is normally non-propulsive to said watercraft, said inlet port and said discharge port projecting through said substantially horizontal bilge portion of said hull;
• and
• b. second means for receiving said propulsive force and selectively redirecting said force to propel said watercraft in a selected direction, said second means comprising:
• i. a nozzle residing below the exterior surface of said hull and having an inlet for receiving said stream of water from said spout means and having an outlet for discharging said stream of water in a direction to impart movement to said watercraft, said nozzle being rotatable about an axis of rotation which is substantially parallel to the direction in which said stream of water is discharged from said spout means:
• and
• ii. steering means for controllably rotating said nozzle about its axis of rotation, said steering means comprising:
• a lower steering shaft having a first end fixidly coupled to said nozzle and having a second end, said lower steering shaft extending along the axis of rotation of said nozzle;
• an upper steering shaft angled laterally and having a first end flexibly coupled to the second end of said lower steering shaft and having a second end projecting exteriorly of said duct;
• and
• a rotatable steering handle fixidly coupled to said second end of said upper shaft and residing exteriorly of said duct.