Boat speed minimisation system
OwnerHoward Charles Pietschinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A trolling plate which, together with a supporting and deployment mechanism, is fixed to and strutted from an outboard motor without the need for engineering modifications or the use special tools; said trolling plate being pivotably deployable into the water in the zone immediately downstream of the propeller of the outboard motor to substantially block the efflux from said propeller and thereby reduce its propulsive effort; said deployment being effected in a universally variable way by means of a suitable actuator; control means of said actuator and/or said deployment mechanism incorporating means to permit the immediate retraction of said trolling plate should it impact an obstruction or should the power of said outboard motor suddenly be increased.
Claims13
A trolling plate assembly comprising:
- an attachment plate shaped to mount on a boat motor having a propeller;
- an electric actuator;
- a trolling plate pivotally attached to the attachment plate and attached to the electric actuator such that the trolling plate is movable between an extended, substantially vertical position adjacent the propeller and a retracted, substantially horizontal position in response to movement of the electric actuator;
- and
- an automatic speed control system for a boat that compares an instantaneous boat speed to a previously entered speed command signal and deploys said trolling plate to a greater or lesser extent by driving the electric actuator in accordance with a speed-control algorithm and a difference between the instantaneous boat speed and the previously entered speed command signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.