Hand-powered watercraft

GB2611288BActive Publication Date: 2025-02-19STEPHEN MACFARLANE
View PDF 3 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
GB2021013509
Authority / Receiving Office
GB · GB
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-09-22
Publication Date
2025-02-19
Estimated Expiration
2041-09-22

Smart Images

  • Figure 00000001_0000
    Figure 00000001_0000
  • Figure 00000001_0001
    Figure 00000001_0001
  • Figure 00000002_0000
    Figure 00000002_0000
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

A hand-powered watercraft comprising: a watercraft body comprising a hatch opening 2 having a peripheral rim 3, a hatch lid 4, and an O-ring 7, having a ring length and a cross-section, the cross-sect
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a hand-powered watercraft, particularly, but not exclusively, kayaks, such as sea-kayaks. Background Many hand-powered watercraft, such as sea-kayaks, have hatches providing access to a closed off, watertight, section of the watercraft. The hatches often include an opening in the main body surrounded by a hatch rim which is upstanding on the main body of the seakayak and a hatch lid which closes the opening. The hatch rims are bonded to a flat surface of the main body which alters the deck shape, can compromise volume, and cause snagging when rescuing. Hatch lids are often made from rubber and plastic bonded together and seal over a lip on the hatch rim by distorting the hatch lid. Over time, wear and UV degradation cause the lid to loosen and leak, therefore requiring a complete hatch lid replacement and requiring the disposal of an item that is not of homogenous materials. Summary There is provided a hand-powered watercraft comprising: a watercraft body comprising a hatch opening defined by a peripheral rim, a hatch lid, the hatch lid comprising a cover portion and a peripheral wall extending from the cover portion, and an O-ring, having a ring length and a cross-section, the cross-section being deformable and incompressible, and wherein the hatch lid is configured to close the hatch opening, and in the closed configuration, an engaging portion of the lid wall engages an engaging portion of the rim of the hatch opening via the O-ring thereby deforming the O-ring cross-section around the ring length, and wherein (i) the O-ring is positioned around the engaging portion of the rim on an outer surface of the rim and has a rest diameter measured across the cross-section of the O-ring from an inner edge of the O-ring to an outer edge of the O-ring when the O-ring is engaged by the rim, but not the lid, and the hatch lid further comprises a lip, the lip extending radially inward from an inner surface of a portion of the peripheral lid wall that is further from the cover portion of the hatch lid than the engaging portion of the lid wall, the lip forming an inner lip perimeter of the lid, or [ii] the O-ring is positioned around the engaging portion of the lid on an outer surface of the lid wall and has a rest diameter measured across the crosssection of the O-ring from an inner edge of the O-ring to an outer edge of the O-ring when the O-ring is engaged by the lid, but not the rim, and the peripheral rim further comprises a lip, the lip extending radially inward from an inner surface of a portion of the rim that the O-ring must pass to reach the engaging portion of the rim when the lid is moved to the closed position, the lip forming an inner lip perimeter of the rim, and the inner lip extends radially inwards by at least 5% of the rest diameter of the O-ring. In this way, when the lid is in the closed configuration, the engaging portion of the lid and the rim deforms the O-ring evenly around the ring length. In order to move between the open configuration and the closed configuration, the lip passes over the O-ring. However, because the inner lip perimeter is smaller than the minimum outer perimeter of the O-ring, the lip cannot pass over the entire ring length of the O-ring at once. Instead, the lip can only pass over a portion of the O-ring at a time, so the lid may only be opened by pulling a first end of the lid to sequentially deform the O-ring along the length. Similarly, to close the lid, one end of the lid is first pushed over the rim and then the rest of the lid is pushed into place to sequentially move the lid over portions of the ring length. This prevents the lid being pulled off of the hatch opening via hydraulic action as this will act on the whole lid and not on only one end of the lid as is required to open the hatch. A seal is formed between the lid wall and the rim, via the O-ring. The O-ring is deformed in order to create the watertight seal which means that the lid and rim do not need to be substantially deformed. This means that there is less wear to the lid and rim and so they are less likely to be damaged over time. The O-ring may be removable. In this way it may be easily replaced if it becomes damaged. The O-ring may be a rubber O-ring, for example, 70 Shore EDPM rubber. An inner surface of the lid and / or rim is considered to be a surface facing the centre of the hatch opening when the lid is in the close configuration. An outer surface of the lid and / or rim is considered to be a surface facing away from the centre of the hatch opening. The hatch rim and hatch lid may be rigid. The hatch rim and hatch lid may comprise a composite, such as carbon fibre, fibreglass, kevlar, aramids and / or organic materials. The use of a material such as a composite means that the hatch lid and rim do not deform or bend when the lid is opened or closed, thereby leaving only the O-ring to be deformed during when the hatch is in the closed configuration and when moving the lid into and away from the closed configuration. This means that the O-ring suffers most if not all of the wear related to the operation of the hatch. As the O-ring can be easily replaced, this means maintenance of the hatch is quick and easy. The watercraft body may comprise a hull and optionally a deck. The peripheral rim may be a continuous curved rim. The peripheral rim may have a conic shape, a round shape, an oval shape. The hatch opening defined by the peripheral rim may have a flat shape, or may have a three-dimensional shape, matching the shape of the surrounding deck. The peripheral lid wall may be a continuous curved wall and may have a conic shape, a round shape, an oval shape. The cover portion of the lid may have a flat shape, or may have a three-dimensional shape, matching the shape of the surrounding deck. The hatch rim may extend away from the inside of the watercraft body. The deck may further comprise a moat surrounding an exterior surface of the hatch rim for receiving the peripheral wall of the hatch lid. The O-ring may have a rest cross-section when it is engaged by none or one of the lid wall and the rim and a deformed cross-section when it is engaged by both the engaging portion of the lid wall and the engaging portion of the rim. In the rest state, the O-ring may be under a slight tension of less than 5% to hold it in place around the rim or lid. For example, a 175mm internal diameter O-ring may be on a surface of 177 to 179mm diameter. This is the stretch of the 0 ring, and the deformation may be less than 5%. The rest cross-section is a different shape from the deformed cross-section, and the area of the deformed crosssection may be equal to the area of the rest cross-section. Equal to may include areas within 5%, or within 1% of one another. The rest cross-section may be round, for example circular. The deformed cross-section may have a smaller diameter, measured from an inner side of the O-ring to an outer side of the O-ring, than the rest diameter. A percentage deformation may refer to a % change in diameter of the O-ring measured from an inner edge to the outer edge. The deformation of the O-ring in the closed configuration may be between 0.1% and 15% and may be between 1% and 10%. The deformation caused by passing the lip over the O-ring may be over 5%, for example 10%, 15% or 20%. The watercraft may further comprise an O-ring groove in the lid wall and / or the rim. The O-ring may be located at least partly in the O-ring groove. The O-ring groove may comprise the engaging portion of the surface of the lid wall or the rim. The O-ring groove may comprise a groove around an outer surface of the rim. The groove may be a continuous groove encircling the hatch opening. An inner surface of the lid wall may engage the O-ring when the hatch is closed. The lip may extend radially inwards by less than 2mm, or less than 1mm for example, by 0.9mm, 0.7mm or 0.5mm. The lip may extend radially inwards by 15% or less of the rest diameter of the O-ring. The lip may extend from an end of the lid wall farthest from the cover portion of the hatch lid. In use, when the lid closes the hatch opening, the lip passes over the O-ring and deforms the O-ring to a greater extend than the deformation when the lid is in the closed position. This means that the lid cannot be pulled from the hatch opening vertically as may occur due to forces from the environment. A user may pull the lid from the hatch opening starting at a first end, so that only a small part of the O-ring is over-deformed at any moment during opening of the lid. The O-ring groove may comprise a groove around an outer surface of the lid wall. The groove may be a continuous groove around the lid wall. An inner surface of the rim may engage the 0-ring when the hatch is closed. The lip may be continuous around the rim. The lip may extend from an end of the rim. The lip may extend radially inwards by less than 2mm, or less than 1mm for example, by 0.9mm, 0.7mm or 0.5mm. The lip may extend radially inwards by 15% or less of the rest diameter of the O-ring. The groove cross-section may be rectangular or isosceles trapezoid shaped or round, for example. The groove may have a width. The width may be measured in a direction away from the inside of the watercraft body when the lid is in the closed configuration. The groove width may be less than 120% or less than 110% of the diameter of the O-ring. For example, the width may be 7.5mm for a 7mm diameter O-ring. This may enable the grove and lid to deform the O-ring cross-section on more than two opposing sides, thereby increasing the resistance created for opening and closing. This may allow use of a small lip. The groove cross sectional area may have straight sides, for example, the groove cross sectional area may be a rectangle. The groove may have a depth measured radially outward from a groove surface on the engaging portion of the rim or lid wall, to a surface of the engaging portion lid wall or rim. The groove depth may be less than 90% of the rest diameter of the O-ring. For example, the depth may be 5.2mm for an O-ring with a rest diameter of 7mm. The lid wall may have a similar shape to the rim. Similar in this context means mathematically similar, where the shape is proportionally the same, but may be larger or smaller. The rim may extend around an oval shaped hatch opening that is wider at a first, wide end than at a second, narrower end, such as an egg shape. The lid wall may extend around an oval shape that is wider at a first, wide end than at a second, narrower end, such as an egg shape. This shape ensures that the lid wall can only engage the rim in the correct orientation, reducing the chance of attaching the lid at an incorrect, and therefore potentially leaky angle. Further, the lid may be closed by engaging the narrower end of the lid first and then the wider end. The lid may be opened by disengaging the wider end of the lid first and then the narrower end. The cover portion may have an area larger than an area defined by the lid wall, such that it forms a flange outside of the lid wall. This flange may assist the user in gripping the lid to remove the lid from the hatch opening. The flange may have a width measured from an outer surface of the lid wall to an outer edge of the flange in a direction normal to the outer surface of the lid wall. The width of the flange may be greatest at the wide end of the lid. At its widest, the flange may be between 10 and 50mm wide. An exterior surface of the cover portion may have a non-planar surface profile which blends with a corresponding surface profile of the watercraft body around the hatch opening. The watercraft body may have an aerodynamic and / or hydrodynamic surface profile. When the hatch lid is in the closed configuration, the hatch lid may not protrude above a profile of the watercraft body. The profile may be a stern-bow profile. The watercraft body may comprise one or more recesses adjacent the hatch rim. The recesses may extend from a portion of the hatch rim, in a direction away from the hatch opening. A width of the recess may be measured along the portion of the hatch rim and may be at least 4cm. The recesses allow a user to slide their hand under the cover portion of the hatch lid when it is in the closed configuration to allow easy removal of the lid. A depth of the recess may decrease with distance from the hatch rim. The recess may meet a side of the deck. This forms a drain for water to leave the recess to avoid water build up in the recess. The hatch lid may float in water, for example fresh water and / or seawater. The hatch lid may comprise a void. The void may comprise a support structure, which may be a honeycomb shape.. This is especially advantageous as the lid will not be lost if dropped. The hatch lid may consist of a single material. The rim may be integral with the surrounding watercraft body. The rim may consist of the same material as the surrounding watercraft body. The use of one material and not several materials bonded or secured together makes end-of-use recycling simpler and more environmentally friendly. It also reduces leak points in the construction of the hatch. The hatch lid may comprise the same material as the rim. The watercraft may be comprise a monocoque. The monocoque may comprise at least part of the watercraft body which may include at least part of the deck, and at least part of the hull and the hatch rim. The watercraft may comprise a composite, such as carbon fibre, fibreglass, kevlar, aramids and / or organic materials and / or a plastic. Carbon fibre may comprise pre-impregnated (Prepreg) carbon fibre. The Prepreg may comprise epoxy resin. The hand-powered watercraft may be a kayak, a stand-up paddleboard (SUP), a sea kayak, a canoe, a row boat, surf-ski, dragon boat or any other type of hand-powered watercraft. A hand-powered watercraft is any watercraft that is primarily propelled by a user’s hands via, for example, an oar or paddle. In this application, hand-powered watercraft includes a watercraft primarily propelled by hand, for example a kayak or row boat, with an auxiliary propulsion means, for example a temporary sail. There is further provided a method of manufacture of a hand-powered watercraft as described above, the method comprising: forming the watercraft body and hatch rim, forming the hatch lid, and locating the O-ring on an engaging portion of the hatch rim or the hatch lid wall. Forming the watercraft body and hatch rim may comprise forming a plurality of sections, the sections each comprising a part of the deck and a part of the hull and one of the sections comprising the hatch rim. Forming the deck and hull and hatch rim may comprise forming the hatch rim integrally with at least a part of the deck. Forming the deck and hull and hatch rim may comprise forming a monocoque. Forming the deck and hull and hatch rim and / or forming the hatch lid may comprise 3D printing or rotomolding. There is further provided a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions adapted to cause a 3D printer to print a hand-powered watercraft as described above. The methods and systems described above may be combined in any possible combination. The optional features described above are equally applicable to all of the described methods and systems and are not limited to the particular method / system with which they are described here. The essential features of any of the methods described may be optional features of any other method described. Further features and advantages of the aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the claims and the following description. Brief Description of Drawings Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrams, in which: - Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hatch, showing a hatch opening in a deck of a hand-powered watercraft and showing a part of a hatch lid on the hatch opening; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hatch of Fig. 1 showing the full hatch lid; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hatch opening of Fig. 1; Fig. 4A is a schematic sectional view of the hatch rim, O-ring and hatch lid of Fig. 1 in an open configuration; Fig. 4B is a schematic sectional view of the hatch rim, O-ring and hatch lid of Fig. 1 in a closed configuration; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a sea-kayak including the hatch of Fig. 1. Detailed Description Figs. 1, 2 and 3 show a deck 1 of a hand-powered watercraft, the deck having a hatch opening 2 through the deck, and the hatch opening being defined by a peripheral rim 3. Part of a hatch lid 4 is also shown in Fig. 1 in a closed configuration on the hatch opening. Fig. 2 shows the full hatch lid 4 in the closed configuration and Fig. 3 shows the hatch opening without the hatch lid 4. The hatch lid has a cover portion 5 and a peripheral wall 6 extending from the cover portion. O-ring 7 has a ring length and a cross-section, the cross-section being deformable and incompressible. The hatch lid 4 is configured to close the hatch opening 2. The rim 3 is a continuous curved rim and the peripheral lid wall 6 is a continuous curved wall. The hatch rim extends away from the inside of the kayak and the deck has a recess 8 surrounding the hatch rim for receiving the peripheral wall of the hatch lid. In the closed configuration as shown partly in Fig. 1 and fully in Fig. 2, the lid wall 6 engages the rim 3 of the hatch opening via the O-ring 7 to deform the O-ring cross-section around the entire ring length. Figs. 4A and 4B show the lid wall 6, rim 3 and O-ring 7 in more detail in a separated configuration in Fig. 4A and in the closed configuration in Fig. 4B. A seal is formed between the lid wall 6 and the rim 3, via the O-ring 7. The O-ring is deformed in order to create the watertight seal which means that the lid and rim do not need to be substantially deformed. The O-ring is removable. An engaging portion 9 of a surface of the lid wall 6 engages the O-ring in the closed configuration and an engaging portion 10 of a surface of the rim 3 may the O-ring. The O-ring 7 has a rest cross-section when it is engaged by the rim, but not the lid wall, as shown in Fig. 4A and a deformed cross-section when it is engaged by both the lid wall and the rim, as shown in Fig. 4B. The rest cross-section is a different shape from the deformed cross-section, and the area of the deformed cross-section is equal to the rest cross-section. The rest cross-section is roughly circular. The deformed cross-section has a smaller diameter D, measured from the inner side of the O-ring to an outer side of the O-ring, than the rest cross-section. The watercraft further has an O-ring groove 11 in the rim 3. The O-ring 7 is located in the O-ring groove 11. The O-ring groove includes the engaging portion 10 of the surface of the rim. The O-ring groove is a groove around an outer surface of the rim 3. The groove is continuous and encircles the hatch opening 2. The engaging portion 9 of the lid wall is on an inner surface of the lid wall. The hatch lid comprises a lip 12, the lip extending radially inward from the inner surface of the lid wall. The lip 12 is continuous around the peripheral lid wall and extends from a portion of the lid wall that is further from the cover portion 5 of the hatch lid 4 than the engaging portion 9 of the lid wall. The lip 12 extends from an end of the lid wall farthest from the cover portion 5 of the hatch lid. In use, when the lid 4 closes the hatch opening 2, the lip 12 passes over the O-ring 7 and deforms the O-ring to a greater extent than the deformation when the lid is in the closed position. This means that the lid cannot be pulled from the hatch opening vertically as may occur due to forces from the environment. A user may pull the lid from the hatch opening starting at a first end, so that only a small part of the O-ring is over-deformed by the lip 12 at any moment during opening of the lid. In other embodiments, the O-ring groove may be a groove around an outer surface of the lid wall. The groove may be a continuous groove around the lid wall. An inner surface of the rim may engage the O-ring when the hatch is closed. The rim may comprise a lip, the lip extending radially inward from an inner surface of the rim. The lip may be continuous around the rim. The lip may extend from a portion of the rim that is further from the inside of the watercraft body than the engaging portion of the rim. The lip may extend from an upper end of the rim. The upper end may be the end of the rim farthest from the inside of the watercraft body. The groove has a rectangular cross-sectional area 13 extending radially outward from the engaging portion 10 of the rim, to a surface of the engaging portion 9 of the lid wall when the lid is in the closed configuration. This is shown by dotted lines between the groove and the engaging portion 9 of the lid wall in Fig. 4B. The groove width is less than 120% of the diameter of the O-ring. The width is measured in a direction away from the inside of the watercraft body when the lid is in the closed configuration. The groove width is 7.5mm for the 7mm rest diameter of the O-ring. This enables the grove and lid to deform the O-ring cross-section on more than two opposing sides, thereby increasing the resistance created for opening and closing. The groove has a depth measured radially outward from the engaging portion 10 of the rim, to the engaging portion 9 of the lid wall. The groove depth may be less than 90% of the rest diameter D of the O-ring as shown in Fig. 4. In one example, the depth may be 5.2mm for an O-ring with a rest diameter of 7mm. The lid wall has the same shape as the rim and the lid wall 6 and the rim 3 have different sizes. The rim 3 extends around an oval shaped hatch opening 2 that is wider at a first, wide end 14 than at a second, narrower end, 15 as in an egg shape. The lid wall 6 also extends around an oval shape that is wider at a first, wide end than at a second, narrower end. This shape ensures that the lid wall 6 can only engage the rim 3 in the correct orientation, reducing the chance of attaching the lid at an incorrect, and therefore potentially leaky angle. The cover portion 5 has an area larger than the area defined by the lid wall, such that it forms a flange outside of the lid wall. The flange has a width measured from an outer surface of the lid wall to an outer edge of the flange in a direction normal to the outer surface of the lid wall. The width of the flange is greatest at the wider end of the lid. At its widest, the flange is between 10 and 50mm wide. An exterior surface of the cover portion 5 has a non-planar surface profile as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2 which blends with a corresponding surface profile of the deck around the hatch opening. The hatch lid 4 consists of a single piece of carbon fibre composite. The rim 3 is integrally formed with the carbon fibre composite deck 1. In other embodiments, other materials may be used. Fig. 5 shows a hand-powered watercraft 100 with a hull 30, deck 1, the deck having the hatch opening (2, not shown in Fig. 5) through the deck, and hatch lid 4. The watercraft 100 is a sea-kayak. The watercraft is formed of a series of five monocoques 31-35, each including part of the deck 1 and part of the hull 30 and one of the monocoques 33 also includes the hatch rim 3. The hatch opening and hatch lid form a sweetie hatch, positioned in front of the cockpit. In other embodiments, the hatch may be positioned in another location and / or further hatches may be included on the same watercraft. A method of manufacturing the kayak will now be described. It will be understood that alternative methods may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. The method includes forming the deck 1, hull 30 and hatch rim 3, forming the hatch lid 4, and locating the O-ring 7 on an engaging portion 9,10 of the hatch rim or the hatch lid wall. Forming the deck 1 and hull 30 and hatch rim 3 shown in Fig. 5 includes forming a plurality of sections 31-35, the sections each comprising a part of the deck and a part of the hull and one of the sections 33 comprising the hatch rim 3. Forming the deck and hull and hatch rim includes forming the hatch rim 3 integrally with at least a part of the deck 1. Each section 31 - 35 is formed as a monocoque. In other embodiments, forming the deck and hull and hatch rim and / or forming the hatch lid may include 3D printing or rotomolding. Although particular embodiments of the disclosure have been disclosed herein in detail, this has been done by way of example and for the purposes of illustration only. The aforementioned embodiments are not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the appended claims. It is contemplated by the inventors that various substitutions, alterations, and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. For example, in other embodiments, the kayak may be formed of other composite materials, and / or by other manufacturing methods such as 3D printing. In other embodiments, the kayak may be formed of plastic. The same principles may be applied to other watercraft such as other types of kayak, a stand-up paddleboard (SUP), a canoe, a row boat, surf-ski, dragon boat or any other type of hand-powered watercraft.

Claims

1. A hand-powered watercraft comprising:a watercraft body comprising a hatch opening defined by a peripheral rim,a hatch lid, the hatch lid comprising a cover portion and a peripheral wall extending from the cover portion, andan O-ring, having a ring length and a cross-section, the cross-section being deformable and incompressible, andwherein the hatch lid is configured to close the hatch opening, and in the closed configuration, an engaging portion of the lid wall engages an engaging portion of the rim of the hatch opening via the O-ring thereby deforming the O-ring cross-section around the ring length, andwherein(i) the O-ring is positioned around the engaging portion of the rim on an outer surface of the rim and has a rest diameter measured across the cross-section of the O-ring from an inner edge of the O-ring to an outer edge of the O-ring when the O-ring is engaged by the rim, but not the lid, and the hatch lid further comprises a lip, the lip extending radially inward from an inner surface of a portion of the peripheral lid wall that is further from the cover portion of the hatch lid than the engaging portion of the lid wall, the lip forming an inner lip perimeter of the lid, or[ii] the O-ring is positioned around the engaging portion of the lid on an outer surface of the lid wall and has a rest diameter measured across the crosssection of the O-ring from an inner edge of the O-ring to an outer edge of the O-ring when the O-ring is engaged by the lid, but not the rim, and the peripheral rim further comprises a lip, the lip extending radially inward from an inner surface of a portion of the rim that the O-ring must pass to reach the engaging portion of the rim when the lid is moved to the closed position, the lip forming an inner lip perimeter of the rim, andthe inner lip extends radially inwards by at least 5% of the rest diameter of the O-ring.

2. A hand-powered watercraft according to claim 1, wherein the hatch rim and the hatch lid are rigid.

3. A hand-powered watercraft according to claim 2, wherein the hatch rim and hatch lid comprise a composite.

4. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the watercraft further comprises an O-ring groove in the lid wall and / or the rim, the O-ring being located in the O-ring groove.

5. A hand-powered watercraft according to claim 4, wherein the O-ring groove comprises a groove around an outer surface of the rim.

6. A hand-powered watercraft according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the groove has a depth measured radially outward from a groove surface of the rim, to a surface of the lid wall when the lid is in the closed configuration and the groove depth is less than 90% of the rest diameter of the O-ring.

7. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the lip extends radially inwards by 15% or less of the rest diameter of the O-ring.

8. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the lip extends from an end of the lid wall farthest from the cover portion of the hatch lid.

9. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the rim extends around an oval shaped hatch opening that is wider at a first, wide end than at a second, narrower end.

10. A hand-powered watercraft according to claim 9, wherein the lid wall extends around an oval shape that is wider at a first, wide end than at a second, narrower end.

11. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the cover portion has an area larger than an area defined by the lid wall, such that the cover portion forms a flange outside of the lid wall.

12. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the hatch lid consists of a single material.

13. A hand-powered watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the rim is integral with the watercraft body.

14. A watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the watercraft comprises a composite.

15. A watercraft according to any preceding claim, wherein the hatch lid is configured to float in water.

16. A watercraft according to any preceding claim wherein the hatch lid comprises a void.

17. A method of manufacture of a hand-powered watercraft according to any of claims 1 to16, the method comprising:forming the watercraft body and hatch rim,forming the hatch lid, andlocating the O-ring on an engaging portion of the hatch rim or the hatch lid wall.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein forming the watercraft body and hatch rim comprises forming the hatch rim integrally with at least a part of the watercraft body.

19. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions adapted to cause a 3D printer to print a watercraft according to any of claims 1 to 16.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Kavak gas cabin cover

    CN201334102Y

  • Double seal kyack hatch

    US20150259039A1

  • A hatch and method of fixing a hatch

    WO1996016863A1