US 5,016,557 A · Modular rowing shell

Abstract

A modular sliding-seat rowing shell that is relatively inexpensive and that can be constructed to provide any of three rowing configurations. The shell includes a bow section, a stern section and a center section. The bow and stern sections have the same number (e.g., 2) of rowing stations, and the center section has twice as many (e.g., 4) rowing stations. At each of the rowing stations in all of the sections the beam of the shell is the same (e.g. 22 inches), and the sections are designed and constructed such that the bow section and the stern section may be connected directly to each other to form a shell having one conventional rowing configuration (e.g., a four-oared shell), and the central section can be connected between the bow and stern sections to form a shell having a second conventional rowing configuration (e.g., an eight-oared shell). Two eight-oared configurations may be joined by two jokes to form a shell having a third conventional rowing configuration (e.g., a sixteen-oared training shell).

Claims15

Dependent claims

A modular rowing shell having a keelson and a seat deck supporting a plurality of seat assemblies:

a bow section including N rowing stations;
a stern section including N rowing stations;
and
a center section including 2N rowing stations;
the beam of each of said sections at each of said stations being the same,
each of said stations including a said seat assembly, a rowing station framing assembly, and either a port outrigger attached to the port side of the respective station or a starboard outrigger attached to the starboard side of the respective station,
each of said framing assemblies, said port outriggers, and said starboard outriggers being substantially identical, and
each of said framing assemblies including a knee, a portion of said seat deck, and a portion of said keelson.

5 more elements

A modular rowing shell characterized in that:

it consists essentially of three section connected to each other end-to-end and forming a shell having eight rowing stations, one of said sections being a bow station having two rowing stations, a second of said sections being a center section having four rowing stations, the third of said sections being a stern section having two rowing stations, and said center section being positioned in alignment with and between said bow section and said stern section and being connected to each of said bow section and said stern section;
said center section may be disconnected from said bow section and said stern section, and said bow section connected directly to said stern section in alignment therewith to form a shell having four rowing stations;
the beam and draft of said shell are constant throughout that portion of the length of said eight rowing station shell that extends from the bow end of the forwardmost rowing station to the stern end of the aftmost rowing station;
each of said eight rowing stations includes either a port outrigger assembly attached to the port side of the respective station or a starboard outrigger assembly attached to the starboard side of the respective station,
each of said outrigger assemblies is arranged to support an oar for pivotal movement about a vertical axis,
all of the port outrigger assemblies are identical,
all of the starboard outrigger assemblies are identical, and
the distances from the said vertical axis of each of said outriggers to the nearest side of said shell are all the same.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Modular rowing shell

Life of this patent

Modular rowing shell

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15