Watercraft
AssigneeYamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorKeijiroh Ikeda
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A small personal watercraft having a number of features, such as a pair of rear-view mirrors which form a ventilating function for ventilating the engine compartment. The watercraft has a straddle-type motorcycle-like seat on which passengers may sit in straddle/tandem fashion and an engine. The major portions of its exhaust system are disposed beneath this seat. The exhaust system is centralized in the watercraft to maintain side-to-side balance, and a portion of the seat is removable for accessing the engine. Various grab-handle arrangements are also incorporated for assisting riders to maintain their stability or for assisting in entry of the watercraft from the body of water in which the watercraft is operated using a foldable ladder mounted on a rear deck to the rear of the seat.
Claims45
A watercraft comprised of a hull defining an engine compartment containing an internal combustion engine for powering said watercraft, said hull including a deck area providing a passenger's area containing a control for the watercraft and operable by an operator in said passenger's area, at least one rear-view mirror mounted on said deck area in proximity to said rider's area, said rear-view mirror including an outer housing containing a mirror and extending outwardly from said deck area, an air inlet in said outer housing, and conduit means for conveying ventilating air between said outer housing and said engine compartment for ventilation of said engine compartment.
A watercraft comprised of a hull having an under surface defining a tunnel, a jet propulsion unit supported in said tunnel and comprised of a downwardly facing water inlet portion through which water is drawn by an impeller journalled in an impeller portion to the rear of said water inlet portion, and a bottom plate extending transversely across the lower portion of said tunnel to the rear of said water inlet opening and defining in part a transversely extending step on the under side of said hull, and means communicating said tunnel with said step so that air can be drawn under said hull for reducing the flow resistance of said hull.
A watercraft comprised of a hull having an under surface with a tunnel formed at the rear end thereof, a jet propulsion unit positioned within said tunnel and having a forwardly positioned, downwardly facing water inlet opening through which water is drawn by an impeller journalled for rotation within an impeller portion formed rearwardly of said water inlet opening, a first plate spanning said tunnel and at least in part closing the underside thereof beneath said jet propulsion unit, a second plate extending forwardly of said first plate and defining a water inlet in registry with said jet propulsion unit water inlet opening and otherwise closing the underside of the forward portion of said tunnel, and a support block carried by said second plate and supporting at least in part said jet propulsion unit.
A watercraft comprised of a hull, a passenger's compartment formed by said hull in the deck portion thereof and having a raised, longitudinally extending seat portion adapted to accommodate at least a pair of riders seated in straddle tandem fashion, an engine compartment formed at least in part beneath said seat, an engine contained within said engine compartment for driving a propulsion unit for powering said watercraft, an exhaust manifold for receiving exhaust gases from said engine, a first expansion chamber for receiving exhaust gases from said exhaust manifold and disposed substantially beneath said seat portion, a water trap device disposed within said hull to the rear of said engine and beneath said passenger's compartment, conduit means interconnecting said first expansion chamber with said water trap device for delivering exhaust gases thereto, and means for discharging the exhaust gases from said water trap device to the atmosphere.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.