Snowmobile conversion kit for amphibious service
OwnerKenneth James MacDonaldinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A kit for conversion of a snowmobile for use as a personal watercraft by replacement of the skis with steerable flotation ‘device’ and addition of outrigger flotation ‘device’ to suspend the track in the water while providing flotation to the chassis, along with the flotation provided by the steerable flotation ‘device’. The kit installs to the snowmobile without removing the track or engine drive, and without interference with operator control systems. Wheels may be included in keels of some hulls to allow for ease of access and egress from water to land.
Claims14
A conversion kit to convert a tracked recreational snow vehicle into a personal watercraft for accommodating a passenger, the vehicle having a front, a rear, two sides, a track, a steering system, vehicle suspension, a tunnel having two sides and a plurality of holes, and at least one ski, the conversion kit comprising:
- a. At least one front flotation device to replace the at least one ski to provide buoyancy to the front of the vehicle as well as to provide steering while the vehicle is in motion;
- b. A set of rear flotation devices for mounting to the vehicle, the rear flotation devices being mountable rearward of the at least one front flotation device, to provide buoyancy to the rear of the vehicle while leaving at least a portion of a lower part of the track in contact with the water when the vehicle is waterborne, in order that the track is operable to power the vehicle's motion through and over the water;
- and
- c. mounting brackets and at least one arm for the rear flotation devices, the mounting brackets being attachable to the tunnel via the holes using the at least one arm, the at least one arm having attached thereto the set of rear flotation devices, the rear flotation devices being parallel to each other and aligned longitudinally with the front-to-rear axis of the vehicle, and the at least one arm being threaded through the track and the vehicle suspension before being attached to the rear flotation devices and the vehicle near the bottom of the tunnel, and the distance between the tunnel and the bottom of the rear flotation devices is adjustable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.