Collapsible boat powered by a land vehicle
OwnerGeorge J. Hanzinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A trailer/boat is provided which is capable of being towed behind a recreation vehicle or the like, and then prepared without special equipment and launched in a manner capable of receiving the towing vehicle as cargo on the boat. The boat then may be powered and steered from the cab of the vehicle that it carries.
Claims20
A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull, the improvement comprising, in combination:
- a spaced pair of pivoting booms, carried in vertically pivotable relation adjacent one end of the boat on opposite sides thereof, and a stabilizer for movably controlling the downwardly extending pivotal position of each boom and for holding said booms in desired downwardly extending pivotal positions, whereby said booms may point downwardly to stabilize said end of the boat against the shore, and for pivotally raising said booms toward the horizontal when their use is not desired, each of said booms being generally straight and substantially unbending.
A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull and a deck, said deck carrying a pair of horizontally pivotal steering platforms for respectively receiving the front wheels of a vehicle carried on said boat, said pivotal platforms being operatively connected to a hydraulic power system, said hydraulic power system being operatively connected to a boat steering system, said hydraulic power system being exclusively powered by turning of the vehicle front wheels in said platforms, whereby the turning of vehicle front wheels mounted on said platforms causes corresponding turning of the boat steering system.
A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull and a deck, said deck carrying at least one power drive roller for substantially lateral engagement with a drive wheel of a vehicle carried on said boat, said power drive roller being operatively connected to a hydraulic drive system, said hydraulic drive system being operatively connected to a boat propeller, whereby power from the vehicle drive wheel can be transferred to said boat propeller, and an axle support for carrying a portion but less than all of the weight of the vehicle which normally passes through said drive wheel.
A transversely expansible and collapsible boat which comprises:
- a hull, transverse, collapsible beams which extend straight across the width of the boat in expanded condition, said beams folding on pivoting joints in the collapsed condition of the boat;
- each of said pivoting joints comprising a plurality of first plates, positioned in stacked array with a plurality of second plates, the first plates being attached to a first beam section on one side of the joint, the second plates being attached to a second beam section on the other side of the joint, said plates all defining aligned apertures that together carry a hinge pin positioned at one side of said beam sections.
The method which comprises stabilizing a floating boat against a shore which comprises:
- extending at least one pivoting boom downwardly and forwardly in a rigid, fixed manner adjacent an end of said boat facing said shore, to bring an outer end of said boom into supporting contact with the shore to stabilize the position of said floating boat and to obtain an even keel during boarding and unboarding thereof.
A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull and a deck, said deck carrying at least one power drive roller for substantially lateral engagement with a drive wheel of a vehicle carried on said boat, said power drive roller being operatively connected to a hydraulic drive system, said hydraulic drive system being operatively connected to a boat propeller, whereby power from the vehicle drive wheel can be transferred to said boat propeller, and an axle support for carrying a portion but less than all of the weight of the vehicle which normally passes through said drive wheel, said hydraulic drive system comprising hydraulic flow lines providing a hydraulic flow circuit through a pump and a motor which is powered by pressurized fluid flowing in said circuit, said pump comprising an external-tooth gear pump capable of pumping fluid in said flow circuit in alternating, bidirectional flow, said motor having a drive shaft that rotates in either direction depending on the direction of said bidirectional flow, said hydraulic flow circuit also comprising a hydraulic fluid reservoir and a connected make-up pump to meter hydraulic fluid into said circuit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.