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External inflatable drop stitch stability system for boats

a technology for stability systems and drop stitching, which is applied in the field of watercraft, can solve the problems of affecting the stability of boats, and occupying interior space for round air tubes, so as to prevent tube deflection and maintain strength and rigidity

Inactive Publication Date: 2014-07-24
TEAM SCARAB
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a system for stabilizing hard boats with inflatable tubes. The system uses high-pressure tubes that are attached to the boat and inflated to seal to its sides. A nose cone covers the bow of the tube to keep it in place and maintain strength. The system can be easily removed or replaced, and it allows for better control of the boat's stability. The D-shaped tubes can be mounted at different positions along the boat's length and can influence its performance. An air fill valve is mounted on the top of the tube. The technical effect of this invention is to improve the stability and control of hard-sided monohull boats.

Problems solved by technology

Inflatable boats offer increased stability and buoyancy over a conventional monohull boat, but result in higher cost and a higher degree of complexity to manufacture.
The round shaped air tube takes up interior space and requires complicated tooling to cradle the tube as well as complicated attachment to the boat by gluing or bolting systems.
These inflatable boats or RIB's are an original design and are not available as an aftermarket kit to convert existing hard sided boats to take advantage of increased stability and buoyancy.
Larger motors are problematic in that they are more expensive to operate and are quite heavy for smaller boats.
Another problem with smaller monohull boats is the instability created when a passenger is loaded or unloaded in to or out of the boat, or during movement within the boat.
Such instability can lead to a passenger falling out of the boat and drowning.

Method used

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  • External inflatable drop stitch stability system for boats
  • External inflatable drop stitch stability system for boats
  • External inflatable drop stitch stability system for boats

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Embodiment Construction

[0010]FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the external inflatable drop stitch stability system 10 for boats 12 of the present invention. The stability system 10 includes a pair of high pressure drop stitch D-shaped tubes 14 (only one is shown) mounted on either side 16 of a monohull boat 12 by aluminum, plastic or stainless steel extrusions 18 that are attached by thru bolts 20 into the side of the boat. The D-tubes are secured by the insertion of two bolt ropes 22 extending into the extrusions. FIG. 1 depicts the extrusions, bolts and bolt ropes along the top of the D tube, however a second set of extrusions, thru bolts and bolt rope would be positioned along a bottom surface of the D tube which is obscured by the water line. An air fill valve 24 is positioned on an upper surface of the D tubes for inflation of the D tubes for a seal to the sides of the hull.

[0011]A nose cone 26 is positioned on the bow end of the D tube to lock the system in place and deflect water from entering the front of...

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Abstract

An inflatable stability and fender system including high pressure drop stitch D-shaped tubes mounted on a hard sided monohull of a boat or on the side of a dock by extrusions, thru bolting and boat ropes for sealing engagement with the monohull of the boat or the dock.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)[0001]This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 754,480 filed Jan. 18, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]Small watercraft, especially outboard powered boats, are used for fishing, motoring, waterskiing and recreational boating. Some are inflatable boats with round shaped air tubes or RIB's, hard sided boats with round air tubes or expensive tubes built with a combination of foam and air bladders. Inflatable boats offer increased stability and buoyancy over a conventional monohull boat, but result in higher cost and a higher degree of complexity to manufacture. The round shaped air tube takes up interior space and requires complicated tooling to cradle the tube as well as complicated attachment to the boat by gluing or bolting systems. These inflatable boats or RIB's are an original design and are not available as an aftermarket kit to convert ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B63B39/00
CPCB63B39/00B63B43/14B63B2043/145B63B2059/025
Inventor SMITH, LAWRENCE C.
Owner TEAM SCARAB