US 4,907,934 AGranted

Variable rate boat loader

OwnerBrice R. Holladayinventor

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Abstract

A variable rate boat loader includes a frame having transverse front, rear-powered and rear-pivot rollers. Two pulleys are mounted on the boat gunwales between the boat's bow and center of gravity. Two winch lines are connected at one end to the powered roller in laterally spaced position. Each line extends forward atop the vehicle, upward around the front roller, and back over the frame and lengthwise of the boat to the pulleys. The lines extend through the pulleys, forward to the frame, over the pivot roller to be supported thereby, and down to the stern of the boat. The lines are supportingly connected to the stern of the boat. This arrangement provides a doubled mechanical advantage in lifting the boat from the ground up to the level of the frame. From this level, as the effective load being lifted decreases, the mechanical advantage decreases while the lifting speed increases. The winch lines automatically bind the boat to the front roller and pivot roller when the boat is fully loaded.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A boat loader/carrier for loading a boat onto a top of a vehicle, wherein the boat in its unloaded initial position has a first end thereof located at a distance spaced apart from an end of the vehicle and a second end thereof located adjacent the end of the vehicle, the boat having a center of gravity positioned between the first and second ends, the loader/carrier comprising:

a continuous winch line;
winch means mounted atop the vehicle for pulling in the winch line;
pulley means attached to the boat at a point between the first end of the boat and the center of gravity thereof for engaging a first bite of the winch line;
a winch line connector mounted at the second end of the boat for detachably connecting the winch line thereto;
and
support means mounted atop the vehicle at the end thereof for supporting a second bite of a winch line;
and
the winch line extending continuously from the winch means atop of the vehicle lengthwise of the boat through the pulley means and back to the support means and thence to the winch line connector at the second end of the boat, such that operation of the winch means to pull in the winch line raises the first end of the boat toward the end of the vehicle with a doubled mechanical advantage until the pulleys rise above the elevation of the support means and thereafter raises the first end at reduced mechanical advantage less than the doubled mechanical advantage.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.