US3548428A - Circular pleasure boat - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 22, 1970 c. E. EADES cIRcuLAR PLEASURE BOAT Filed Jan. 15, 1969 /NVENTOR CARL. E. EADES United States Patent O 3,548,428 CIRCULAR PLEASURE BOAT Carl E. Eades, Fortuna, Calif. (P.O. Box 701, Ferndale, Calif. 95540) Filed Jan. 15, 1969, Ser. No. 791,238 Int. Cl. B63c 1/00; B63h 1/14 U.S. Cl. 9-1 4 Claims ABSTRACT oF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to boats and more particularly to a substantially cup-shaped boat hull.

This boat is intended to enhance the pleasure of water sports and is formed in circular cup-like fashion for accommodating a plurality of users in a relatively safe manner. The boat includes facilities for mounting a small outboard type motor for moving the boat and manipulating the boat so that the boat will spin or rotate about its vertical axis. Furthermore, the configuration of the boat permits its use in relatively shallow waters adjacent the shore. Airtight compartments, forming the seats and reinforcing ribs, add to the buoyancy of the boat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The boat hull is substantially cup or dish-like in general configuration having a flat bottom integrally joined to an arcuately upwardly projecting wall. Hollow reinforcing ribs are radially formed on the inner wall and bottom surface of the hull. An airtight peripheral seat extends around the inner wall surface of the hull while a stabilizing air chock surrounds the outer peripheral wall. Central upstanding Vertical walls form a well opening through the bottom of the hull which supports an outboard motor, or the like. Hydraulic rams, mounted on the hull bottom, are connected with a wall supported transom to raise and lower the motor within the Well.

The principal object of Ithis invention is to provide a circular boat hull for enjoying water sports.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the boat illustrating the relative position of an outboard motor by dotted lines;

FIG. 2 is a perspective View of the boat when inverted;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, partially in elevation, taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and diagrammatically illustrating a motor driven pump for actuating hydraulic rams; and,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3 illustrating the relative position of an outboard motor by dotted lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AEMBODIMENT Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral indicates the boat, as a whole, which is cup or dish-like in general configuration and is preferably formed of molded fiber glass material having a substantially flat-like bottom 12 integrally joined to an arcuate side wall 14. The upper edge of the side wall 14 terminates in an annular outstanding flange 16. The depending surface of the bottom 12 is provided with a pair of parallel spaced-apart reinforcing ridges 18. The bottom 12 is provided with a central aperture or opening 20 and integral upstanding walls 22 are connected with the bottom 12 around its edges forming the opening .20 to form a well 24 coextensive with the vertical height of the boat. A circular seat is formed by a substantially right angularly shaped section deiining a horizontal seat surface 30 and a vertical seat supporting surface 32 respectively joined to the inner surface of the hull wall 14 upwardly of its juncture with the bottom 12. The seat forms a hollow airtight area or chamber 34 which adds to the buoyancy of the boat. The hull is provided with a false bottom 25 overlying, in spaced relation, the bottom 12. The inner surface of the hull is provided with a plurality of hollow airtight integral ribs 26 substantially triangular in cross section projecting radially outward from the well walls 22 between the bottom 12 and the false bottom 25, under the seat and terminating upwardly in the plane of the flange 16. A similarly shaped air chock 36 is connected with and surrounds the perpihery of the outer surface of the wall 14 to form an airtight chamber 38 spaced downwardly of the flange 16 for the purpose of stabilizing the hull.

A pair of upstanding substantially U-shaped channels 40 are connected in parallel spaced-apart relation to one of the well forming walls 22. The legs of the U-shaped channels 40 face toward each other. A transom 42 extends between and is slidably received by its respective end portions between the legs of the channels 40. A pair of hydraulic cylinders 44 are mounted on the false bottom below the transom 42. Each of the hydraulic cylinders have a piston 46 which is connected with the transom 42 so that the transom may be moved vertically. The hydraulic cylinders 44 are operated by a pump P driven by a motor M connected with a source of electrical energy such as a battery B. The motor, pump and battery may be positioned between the false bottom 25 and the hull bottom 12, if desired, or within the air space 34 formed by the seat.

The transom 42 supports an outboard type motor 48, indicated by the dotted lines in FIGS. 1 and '4. The motor 48 has a depending drive shaft 50 connected with a propeller 52 so that when the transom is lowered, by operating the cylinders 44, the propeller is disposed below the depending surface of the hull bottom 12. The motor 48 is normally provided with a handle 54 for rotating the motor drive shaft `50 and changing the position of the propeller S2. By turning the motor 48 from right to left by means of the handle 54 a spinning action will be imparted to the boat hull 10 so that it rotates about its vertical axis as a result in the change in the direction of thrust of the propeller 52. When approaching a shoreline, or the like, the hydraulic cylinders 44 are operated in the other direction to raise the transom 42 and position the propeller 52 within the bottom end portion of the well 24.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations Without defeating its practicability, therefore, I do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein.

I claim:

1. A pleasure boat, comprising: a substantially dishshaped hull having a flat bottom portion, said bottom having a central opening, an upstanding wall integrally connected to the bottom edges forming the opening and defining a well, outboard motor mounting means secured to the wall forming the Well, said means including channel-like supports secured to the wall forming the well and projecting upwardly thereabove, a transom extending horizontally between said supports, pressure operated cylin- 4 ders for raising and lowering said transom, and motor spaced relation wtih respect to the plane formed by its driven pump means for operating said pressure cylinders. upper rim.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1 in which said boat References Cited hull is further characterized by radially projecting ribs UNITED STATES PATENTS extending outwardly of the well wall on the inner surface 5 3,335,436 8/1967 Sharp 9 1(.5)

of said hull.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 and a seat support FOREIGN PATENTS extending around the inner periphery of said hull between 1,027,385 4/1966 Great Britain 9-1(5) its u er limit and said bottom, said seat havin a dependiiibg wall forming an airtight chamber. g 10 TRYGVE M' BLIX Primary Exammer 4. Structure as specified in claim 3 and an air chock U S CL X R secured to the outer periphery of said hull in downward 115 41

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