Ships – Boats – boat component – or attachment – Collapsible
Patent
1997-09-30
1999-10-12
Basinger, Sherman
Ships
Boats, boat component, or attachment
Collapsible
114363, 114347, 297 25, 29742346, 297 19, B63B 706, A47C 900
Patent
active
059641789
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a design system for building folding boats with flexible hull skins, and more particularly to a lightweight, collapsible, easily transportable, easy-to-assemble canoe, with a structurally secure skeleton and a built-in flotation. In addition, the present invention also relates to a canoe chair or seat that is generally flat-folding, portable, adjustable, ergonomically designed, multi-position, and multi-function which adapts to sitting and kneeling positions, and which can be adjusted for use as a portage yoke.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Boats with skin or skin-like hulls have been made and used from before recorded history in North America and other areas of the world. In North America, these range from the usually umbrella-or hemispherically-shaped bull boats of the Plains Indians, constructed from buffalo skins stretched over a framework of saplings, or the skin of moose stretched over a rowboat-like framework of small trees by Indians of Athabascan stock in Northwestern Canada, to kayaks made from walrus skins stretched over whale rib bones by Eskimos of the polar regions. Folding boats have been patented on both the North American and Eurasian Continent for more than a century. Although at least one commercially successful folding canoe is on the market, most commercially successful folding watercraft are kayaks.
Open canoes and kayaks represent the extreme ends of a range or continuum of hull forms. The open canoe's hull is open all along the top, while the hull of the kayak completely envelopes the craft except for the cockpit opening of the paddler. In the middle of this range, canoes and kayaks are difficult to distinguish from each other. Since the middle of this century, some canoes have been fitted with a cover or a deck of rigid material, as an integral part of the canoe, making them difficult to distinguish from kayaks. This is particularly true of slalom racing canoes and kayaks.
For an observer, the method of propulsion and posture of the paddler in the boat is the most reliable indication of whether the boat is a canoe or a kayak. The primary method of propulsion of a canoe is by a single-bladed paddle with the canoeist either sitting erect with feet flat on the floor ahead of the paddler or tucked beneath or beside the paddler's seat. The primary method of propulsion of a kayak is through use of a double-bladed paddle with the kayaker sitting close to or on the floor of the kayak with feet and legs extended in front. A solo canoeist may choose to use a double bladed paddle at times with increased paddling comfort and effectiveness on flat water, but conversely, it is anatomically difficult to use a single-bladed paddle and be effective at propelling a kayak.
Rowboats present a different type of craft primarily in the way in which they are propelled. They are equipped with oar-locks and use oars. However, many canoes are rigged for rowing as are some types of kayaks. So the distinction here is again one more of posture of the paddler or rower than the boat itself as to how to classify it.
Mimicking the general design of the native North American birchbark canoes, modern open canoes are structured using a watertight skin covering that can be either rigid, semi-rigid or flexible as one of the components of the hull. The definition of the hull is somewhat arbitrary but is presumed to be the entire structure exclusive of the seats, thwarts, gunwales, and other things which are detachable from the craft. It is normally considered to comprise two parts, a skeletal structure inside to create hull rigidity, and a covering over it to keep the water out, i.e., the skeleton and the skin. It may or may not contain longitudinal ribs called stringers in a folding canoe, and cross-ribs called formers in a folding canoe, depending on the stiffness, strength, and rigidity of the skin.
If the hull skin is pre-formed and of sufficient strength and stiffness, it may contain no skeleton. Examples of this are open canoes made of a heat formed laminate
REFERENCES:
patent: 1685599 (1928-09-01), Fletcher
patent: 1987851 (1935-01-01), Holman
patent: 1989146 (1935-01-01), Ogden, Jr.
patent: 2053755 (1936-09-01), Wilcox
patent: 2671231 (1954-03-01), Massicotte
patent: 2962732 (1960-12-01), Marz
patent: 2994891 (1961-08-01), Przyblski
patent: 3049731 (1962-08-01), Ertl et al.
patent: 3599257 (1971-08-01), Erickson
patent: 4030487 (1977-06-01), McEachran
patent: 4184281 (1980-01-01), Corby et al.
patent: 4290157 (1981-09-01), Jensen, Jr.
patent: 4503799 (1985-03-01), Masters
patent: 4768459 (1988-09-01), Cerkvenik et al.
patent: 5615634 (1997-04-01), Gonda
patent: 5622403 (1997-04-01), Gonda
LandOfFree
Collapsible boat with enhanced rigidity and multi-function chair does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Collapsible boat with enhanced rigidity and multi-function chair, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Collapsible boat with enhanced rigidity and multi-function chair will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-644912