Claims
- 1. A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull, the improvement comprising, in combination:
- a spaced pair of pivoting booms, carried in vertically pivotable relation adjacent one end of the boat on opposite sides thereof, and a stabilizer for movably controlling the downwardly extending pivotal position of each boom and for holding said booms in desired downwardly extending pivotal positions, whereby said booms may point downwardly to stabilize said end of the boat against the shore, and for pivotally raising said booms toward the horizontal when their use is not desired, each of said booms being generally straight and substantially unbending.
- 2. The boat of claim 1 in which said pivoting booms define a free end, said free end carrying a rolling member to facilitate beaching and launching of the boat with the boom in use.
- 3. The boat of claim 1 in which said boom is extensible and contractible.
- 4. The boat of claim 2 in which said boom is extensible and contractible.
- 5. A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull and a deck, said deck carrying a pair of horizontally pivotal steering platforms for respectively receiving the front wheels of a vehicle carried on said boat, said pivotal platforms being operatively connected to a hydraulic power system, said hydraulic power system being operatively connected to a boat steering system, said hydraulic power system being exclusively powered by turning of the vehicle front wheels in said platforms, whereby the turning of vehicle front wheels mounted on said platforms causes corresponding turning of the boat steering system.
- 6. The boat of claim 5 which comprises a system for varying the positions of said steering platforms, to permit adjusting for different vehicles.
- 7. The boat of claim 5 in which said hydraulic power system is free of valves.
- 8. The boat of claim 5 in which said hydraulic drive system comprises hydraulic flow lines providing a hydraulic flow circuit through a pump and a hydraulic motor which is powered by pressurized fluid flowing in said circuit, said pump comprising an external-tooth gear pump capable of pumping fluid in said flow circuit in alternating, bidirectional flow, said motor having a drive shaft that rotates in either direction depending on the direction of said bidirectional flow, said hydraulic flow circuit also comprising a hydraulic fluid reservoir and a connected make-up pump to meter hydraulic fluid into said circuit.
- 9. The boat of claim 8 in which said pump and reservoir being small enough where the reservoir can hold no more than 1/4 of the total hydraulic fluid in the system.
- 10. A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull and a deck, said deck carrying at least one power drive roller for substantially lateral engagement with a drive wheel of a vehicle carried on said boat, said power drive roller being operatively connected to a hydraulic drive system, said hydraulic drive system being operatively connected to a boat propeller, whereby power from the vehicle drive wheel can be transferred to said boat propeller, and an axle support for carrying a portion but less than all of the weight of the vehicle which normally passes through said drive wheel.
- 11. The boat of claim 10 in which said deck carries a pair of horizontally pivotal steering platforms for respectively receiving the front wheels of a vehicle carried on said boat, said pivotal platforms being operatively connected to a hydraulic power transmission system, said hydraulic power system being operatively connected to a boat steering system, whereby the turning of vehicle front wheels mounted on said platforms causes corresponding turning of the boat steering system.
- 12. The boat of claim 11 in which said hydraulic drive system comprises hydraulic flow lines providing a hydraulic flow circuit through a pump and a hydraulic motor which is powered by pressurized fluid flowing in said circuit, said pump comprising an external-tooth gear pump capable of pumping fluid in said flow circuit in alternating, bidirectional flow, said motor having a drive shaft that rotates in either direction depending on the direction of said bidirectional flow, said hydraulic flow circuit also comprising a hydraulic fluid reservoir and a connected make-up pump to meter hydraulic fluid into said circuit, said pump and reservoir being small enough where the reservoir can hold no more then 1/4 of the total hydraulic fluid in the system.
- 13. The boat of claim 10 in which said power drive roller is positioned in a horizontally spaced relation to the location of the axle of a vehicle drive wheel positioned in engagement with said power drive roller.
- 14. A transversely expansible and collapsible boat which comprises: a hull, transverse, collapsible beams which extend straight across the width of the boat in expanded condition, said beams folding on pivoting joints in the collapsed condition of the boat; each of said pivoting joints comprising a plurality of first plates, positioned in stacked array with a plurality of second plates, the first plates being attached to a first beam section on one side of the joint, the second plates being attached to a second beam section on the other side of the joint, said plates all defining aligned apertures that together carry a hinge pin positioned at one side of said beam sections.
- 15. The boat of claim 14 in which one of said beam sections carries on L-shaped bracket which extends across said joint and engages the other beam section in said expanded condition for support thereof.
- 16. The method which comprises stabilizing a floating boat against a shore which comprises: extending at least one pivoting boom downwardly and forwardly in a rigid, fixed manner adjacent an end of said boat facing said shore, to bring an outer end of said boom into supporting contact with the shore to stabilize the position of said floating boat and to obtain an even keel during boarding and unboarding thereof.
- 17. The method of claim 16 in which a pair of said booms are used, one being positioned on each side of said boat adjacent one end thereof, said booms being and lowerable to raise the end of said boat by pressing downwardly on a boat ramp or beach.
- 18. The boat of claim 14 in which said boat defines water tight, open-bottom wheel wells, each wheel well carrying a hydraulically raisable and lowerable bogie wheel assembly, and a latch to hold said wheels in desired position.
- 19. A boat which comprises at least one floatable hull and a deck, said deck carrying at least one power drive roller for substantially lateral engagement with a drive wheel of a vehicle carried on said boat, said power drive roller being operatively connected to a hydraulic drive system, said hydraulic drive system being operatively connected to a boat propeller, whereby power from the vehicle drive wheel can be transferred to said boat propeller, and an axle support for carrying a portion but less than all of the weight of the vehicle which normally passes through said drive wheel, said hydraulic drive system comprising hydraulic flow lines providing a hydraulic flow circuit through a pump and a motor which is powered by pressurized fluid flowing in said circuit, said pump comprising an external-tooth gear pump capable of pumping fluid in said flow circuit in alternating, bidirectional flow, said motor having a drive shaft that rotates in either direction depending on the direction of said bidirectional flow, said hydraulic flow circuit also comprising a hydraulic fluid reservoir and a connected make-up pump to meter hydraulic fluid into said circuit.
- 20. The system of claim 19 in which said pump and reservoir being small enough where the reservoir can hold no more than 1/4 of the total hydraulic fluid in the system.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/389,587, filed Feb. 16, 1995 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,330.
US Referenced Citations (21)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
669001 |
Dec 1938 |
DEX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
389587 |
Feb 1995 |
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