Pivoting Rear Boat Extensions for Adjustable Wake Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Propeller-driven boats face challenges in generating optimal wakes and waves for various water sports, as existing designs often produce either small, clean wakes suitable for water skiing or large wakes for wakeboarding and wakesurfing, but struggle to adapt to different sport requirements due to limitations in ballast and hull design.
Innovation Solution
The development of rear boat extensions that can be attached to or integrated with the transom of boats, featuring pivotable plates and contoured surfaces to manipulate wake size and shape, including recesses and sloped sections to displace water and control prop wash, allowing for adjustable configurations to suit different water sports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If boats use planing hulls to produce small and clean wakes for water skiing and knee boarding, then wake quality is improved, but wake size is limited and cannot accommodate sports requiring larger wakes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the transom and rear hull section adjustable rather than fixed. The transom can be raised or lowered relative to the hull, and the rear hull section can be extended or retracted, allowing the boat to dynamically change its wake-generating characteristics to suit different water sports requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the rear hull into separate adjustable sections including the transom and rear hull section that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows different parts of the wake-generating structure to be adjusted independently to optimize wake characteristics for specific sports
2Shape
If boats are weighted to displace large amounts of water to produce large wakes and waves for wake boarding and wakesurfing, then wake size is improved, but boat complexity and ballast management become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes physical parameters of the hull structure itself rather than relying on ballast weight. By adjusting the transom angle and extending the rear hull section, the boat changes its displacement characteristics and wake-generating geometry directly, eliminating the need for complex ballast systems
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the wake-generating function from the ballast system and relocates it to the hull structure. The adjustable transom and rear hull section directly generate the desired wake shape and size through their geometry and position, removing the need for separate ballast weights and their associated complexity
3Ease of manufacture
If boats use fixed transom designs, then manufacturing is simplified, but adaptability to different water sports requirements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The transom is designed with dynamic adjustability, allowing it to be raised or lowered relative to the hull. This dynamic capability enables the same transom structure to serve multiple water sports requirements without requiring multiple fixed designs, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving versatility
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable transom and rear hull section create a universal system that can generate optimal wakes for multiple different water sports including water skiing, knee boarding, wake boarding, and wakesurfing. A single boat configuration can adapt to various sports requirements through mechanical adjustment rather than requiring different boat designs
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These extensions enable boats to produce cleaner wakes and waves, minimize prop wash, and control exhaust, providing versatility to accommodate various water sports by adjusting wake size and shape, enhancing the overall water sports experience.
Implementation Method 1
the sloped or curved sections of the bottom surface may serve to push water toward respective outboard sides of the boat to manipulate the size and/or shape of the wake produced by a boat
Implementation Method 2
a rear boat extension attached to, or configured to be attached to, a transom of the boat... the plate is pivotable about an axis of the hinge up toward and down away from the transom
Data Source
AI summary
Rear boat extensions for boats and boats having such are provided. The rear boat extensions described herein are generally suitable for boats comprising a transom and a plate that is pivotally mounted via a hinge near a bottom edge of the transom, such that the plate is pivotable about an axis of the hinge upwardly toward and downwardly away from the transom. In some embodiments, the rear boat extensions described herein may include a bottom surface including a recess and one or more sloped or curved sections disposed on either side of the recess. The recess is disposed at a front end of the rear boat extension and configured to accommodate pivoting of the plate beneath the bottom surface of the rear boat extension. The sloped or curved sections disposed on either side of the recess serve to push water toward respective outboard sides of the boat to manipulate the size and/or shape of the wake produced by the boat.