Recreational Watercraft Panel Drop Down Boarding Point
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Solution Overview
Problem
Recreational watercraft designs often lack efficient boarding points, limiting accessibility and safety, especially for water sports enthusiasts and individuals with mobility issues, due to traditional hull structures that do not allow for open platform passenger decks with multiple access points.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a panel drop-down boarding point system on recreational watercraft, hingedly attached to the hull and operated by telescopic pistons, which can be easily opened and closed, providing a retractable ladder for safe and easy ingress and egress, and optionally located on multiple sides of the vessel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional hull structures are used, then structural integrity is maintained, but accessibility and safety for boarding are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The hull side is segmented by introducing a removable panel that can be detached to create an opening. This panel acts as a separate component that can be easily removed and reattached, allowing the hull structure to transition between closed and open states without compromising overall structural integrity. The panel itself becomes a modular element that facilitates boarding while maintaining the simplicity of the traditional hull design when closed.
2Ease of operation
If multiple boarding points are added, then accessibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The removable panel system serves multiple functions: it acts as part of the hull structure when attached, creates a boarding opening when removed, and can be repositioned to create multiple boarding points at different locations. This universal component replaces the need for separate, dedicated boarding mechanisms at each access point, thereby improving accessibility without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If open platform passenger decks are implemented, then multiple access points are enabled, but structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The panel is designed and pre-configured to maintain structural integrity when attached to the hull. The reinforcement elements are incorporated into the panel design beforehand, ensuring that when the panel is installed, it provides both the opening function and the structural support needed. This preliminary preparation allows the panel to serve as both an access mechanism and a structural component simultaneously.
4Reliability
If retractable ladders are provided, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The removable panel acts as an intermediary element between the hull and the external environment. When removed, it creates a controlled opening that can accommodate safety features like retractable ladders. The panel itself serves as the interface that manages the transition from the enclosed hull to the external boarding area, allowing safety mechanisms to be integrated without directly modifying the hull structure.
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
Enhances accessibility and safety by allowing multiple boarding points, facilitating easier entry and exit for all users, including those with disabilities, and providing a secure platform for water sports, while maintaining the structural integrity and luxury features of the watercraft.
Implementation Method 1
The panel drop down boarding point can include one or more telescopic pistons configured to move the panel between a closed position overlapping the bow side and an open position
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure includes recreational watercraft including a drop down boarding point. One example includes a hull, an open platform passenger deck, and a plurality of sides, continuous from the hull. The watercraft includes a panel drop down boarding point, hingedly attached horizontally to the hull, for ingress and egress of persons to the watercraft. The panel drop down boarding point includes a first surface interior to the watercraft when the panel drop down boarding point is closed, a second surface, opposite to the first surface and exterior to the watercraft when the panel drop down boarding point is closed, and an aperture formed between the first surface and the second surface and having an opening in an end surface of the panel drop down boarding point. The aperture is sized and shaped to house a retractable ladder and for the ladder to extend out through the opening.