Engine mount

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6482056
  • Patent Number
    6,482,056
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, August 17, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 19, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
An adjustable engine mount for a pontoon boat makes it possible to adjust the relative position of an outboard engine relative to the waterline of the boat. The mount has an elongated, tapered, four-sided body which is attached to the bottom of the hull of the boat by a pair of spaced apart, elongated mounting rails. The body is a substantially U-shaped, continuously changing cross section with an engine-mounting wall located adjacent the stern of the boat. The bow end of the body is pivotably attached to the mounting rails. The stem ends of the rails have a plurality of vertically disposed bolt holes. The vertical position of the body can be adjusted by selecting which vertically disposed bolt holes in the rails to use.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention pertains to mounts for outboard engines. More particularly, the invention pertains to adjustable mounts intended for use with pontoon boats.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Pontoon boats include a pair of elongated pontoons which support a platform spanning between the pontoons. An outboard engine or outboard motor (terms used interchangeably) is supported from the platform at a position intermediate the pontoons at a rear of the boat.




An engine mount is connected to an underside of the platform. The engine mount comprises an elongated hollow body or trough which extends longitudinally and rearwardly of the rear end (stern end) of the platform. The body is exposed to the water beneath the boat. The engine mount is substantially closed except for a top opening at a rear of the boat. A fuel tank is held within the body, accessed through the top opening. The outboard motor is bolted to the rear wall of the body. The prior known mount is non-adjustably fixed to the platform. No range of vertical adjustment for the outboard engine is provided by the mount.




The present inventors have recognized that it would be desirable to provide a vertical adjustability at the engine mount such that outboard engines could be optimized for depth below waterline. Additionally, the present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a vertical adjustability at the engine mount so that a variety of commercially available outboard engines can be attached to the boat, and the boat tuned to the engine by adjusting the depth of the motor beneath the waterline.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An adjustable engine mount is provided that includes a tapered, elongated body which is couplable to, and vertically adjustable relative to, the hull of a watercraft. The body has a first, smaller end oriented toward the bow of the watercraft and a second, wider end positioned adjacent to the stem of the craft. An engine-mounting wall or mounting plate is attached to the second end of the body. An outboard motor or outboard engine can be attached to the mounting plate. By vertically adjusting the body with respect to the hull, the elevation of the outboard motor with respect to the watercraft or with respect to the waterline, can be adjusted. The adjustment can be utilized to optimize performance of an outboard motor. The adjustment provides flexibility for the use of different model outboard motors on the watercraft.




In one aspect of the invention, the body is substantially hollow and extends rearwardly from a back edge of the watercraft, defining a top opening. An elongated fuel tank can be placed within the body to be connected by a fuel line to the outboard motor. By having an elevation-adjustable body, access for installing and removing the fuel tank is improved. The body can be lowered to provide more clearance for maneuvering the fuel tank partially beneath the back edge of the watercraft.




In another aspect, the body can be formed with a multi-sided, generally U-shaped cross section. The planar sides are tapered and extend smoothly without protrusions between the ends.




Two exterior elongated rails or supports, rigidly coupled to the craft, extend axially therealong and provide support for the body. The body is attached to the rails at a plurality of longitudinal positions between the bow end and stem end of the craft.




In another aspect, the rails, at the stem end, can include a plurality of spaced apart bolt holes or, alternately, protrusions. The stern end of the body can be releasably locked into a selected vertical position by using bolts that extend through the holes, or alternately by using holes which receive the protrusions.




An engine can be coupled to the mounting plate. The mounting plate will in turn support the engine at the vertical position relative to the craft.




In yet another aspect, the body can be formed with four planar tapered sides. Two of the sides extend generally parallel to one another along and beneath the craft. In this embodiment, the mounting plate extends between the parallel sides generally perpendicular thereto.




In a further aspect of the invention, the braces can include a bottom flange having a downturned lip which acts as a splash guard to help prevent water from splashing into the engine mount body.




Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a watercraft utilizing the engine mount of the present invention, wherein an outboard motor is not shown for clarity of view of the engine mount;





FIG. 2

is a sectional view taken generally along line


2





2


of

FIG. 1

, with an outboard motor installed;





FIG. 3

is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along lines


3





3


of

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 4

is a perspective view of a body portion of the engine mount of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is an elevational view of one of two retainer plates, to be attached to portions of the body portion shown in

FIG. 4

;





FIG. 6

is a perspective view of one of two braces which are each attached to a region of the body portion of

FIG. 4

;





FIG. 7

is an enlarged elevational view of the engine mount of

FIG. 1

, separated from the watercraft; and





FIG. 8

is an enlarged, fragmentary, top perspective view of a stern end of the mount separated from the watercraft, as shown in

FIG. 7

; and





FIG. 9

is an enlarged, fragmentary, rear perspective view of the watercraft shown in FIG.


1


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.





FIG. 1

illustrates a watercraft


20


. The watercraft


20


includes a platform


26


supported on parallel pontoons


30


,


32


. For simplicity, the platform is shown as a plain floor surrounded by a railing, but the platform could be adapted to provide seating for people, or storage for cargo, or structure for a houseboat, as only a few examples. Mounted to the platform


26


, between the pontoons


30


,


32


, is an elongated engine mount


36


. The engine mount


36


includes a trough-like hollow body


40


, closed at a rear end (stem end) by an engine-mounting wall or plate


44


. An outboard motor is coupled to the wall


44


as described below. The body


40


is connected intermittently along its length to support rails


50


,


52


. The support rails


50


,


52


are connected intermittently along lengths thereof to an underside of the platform


26


. The engine mount


36


extends rearwardly of a back edge


56


of the platform


26


, defining a top opening


58


.





FIG. 2

illustrates the engine mount


36


beneath the watercraft


20


. The rail


52


is connected to the body


40


by five bolted connections


62


,


64


,


66


,


68


,


70


. An end plate


74


substantially closes a front end (bow end) of the mount body


40


. A motor plate


80


supports an outboard motor


82


. The motor plate


80


is bolted to the engine-mounting wall


44


using bolts


83


. The mounting wall


44


includes a top channel portion


45


which reinforces the top free edge of the wall


44


and also provides a guiding retainer for a fuel line, control cables or other like devices. Two inside reinforcing channels


44




a


,


44




b


are disposed facing against the inside surface of the mounting wall


44


. The lower channel


44




a


is welded to the body


40


. The upper channel


44




b


can be held to the wall


44


by the bolts


83


which penetrate through the wall


44


and a respective channel


44




a


,


44




b


. The channels


44




a


,


44




b


provide additional strength to the wall


44


.




The bolted connection


62


includes a bolt


62




a


penetrating a circular hole


62




b


. The connections


64


,


66


include bolt


64




a


,


66




a


each penetrating through a slot


64




b


,


66




b


respectively, which allows for rotation of the body


40


about the bolted connection


62


during adjustment. Although three connections


62


,


64


,


66


are shown, it is also encompassed by the invention to use a different number of connections such as one or more than three, depending on the requirements of a particular design.




The bolted connections


68


,


70


, include bolts


68




a


,


70




a


, that penetrate through two holes selected from a plurality of holes


69


, spaced at different elevations. The holes


69


are arranged along a circle having its center point at the connection


62


. With the connections


62


,


64


,


66


loosened, and before the bolts


68




a


,


70




a


are installed, by pivoting the body


40


about the connection


62


, different holes


69


can be selected to change or adjust the elevation of the mounting wall


44


. In this regard the elevation of the motor


82


can be changed as shown dashed in FIG.


2


.




After adjustment, all the connections


62


,


64


,


66


,


68


,


70


can be tightened. Although two bolts


69




a


,


70




a


are shown, a different number of bolts can be used such as one or more than two, depending on the requirements of a particular design. Although a plurality of holes


69


are shown, it is also encompassed by the invention that the holes


69


are replaced by a curved slot arranged on a circular path having its center on the connection


62


.




The connections


68


,


70


are illustrated in FIG.


3


. The bolts


68




a


,


70




a


are inserted through two selected holes of the plurality of holes


69


. The rails are substantially channel-shaped in cross-section, having a continuous top flange


86


, a web


87


and a bottom flange


88


. The rails


50


,


52


are connected to the deck


26


by a plurality of longitudinally spaced bolted connections


84


, extending through the top flange


86


of the rails, respectively. Alternatively, the rails can be connected to the deck by brackets and/or by welding. The bottom flange


88


has a downturned end portion or deflector lip


92


which acts as a splash guard. The deflector lip


92


helps to keep water out of the engine mount body


40


. The body


40


includes retainer plates


96


which have hexagonal holes for receiving, and restricting rotation of, hexagonal bolt heads


98


of the fasteners


68


,


70


. Thus, the bolts can be loosened from the outside without the need to grip the bolt heads


98


with a tool to prevent rotation of the bolt heads.




The retainer plates


96


are each respectively welded to inside surfaces of sidewalls


106


,


108


of the body


40


. The retainer plate


96


is also preferably composed of aluminum and is 0.250 inches thick. The sidewalls


106


,


108


are connected to angled bottom walls


112


,


114


. Together, the walls


106


,


108


,


112


,


114


form a generally U-shaped cross-section of the body.





FIG. 4

illustrates the body


40


having side walls


106


,


108


and bottom walls


112


,


114


. The four walls


106


,


108


,


112


,


114


can be formed by bending a single sheet of aluminum. The sheet is preferably 0.170 inches thick. Each of the side walls


106


,


108


has a region


106




a


,


108




a


(shown in phantom) which receives one retainer plate


96


attached thereto by welding. Each sidewall


106


,


108


includes a plurality of spaced apart circular holes


120


for receiving the shank of bolts


62




a


,


64




a


,


66




a


, respectively.





FIG. 6

illustrates one of the rails


50


. The rail


52


is mirror image identical. The rail


50


is configured in a channel shape having a tapering height from stem end to bow end. The top flange


86


also includes a downturned flange lip


121


for added rigidity. The rail is also preferably composed of aluminum and is 0.170 inches thick. The rail


50


includes the plurality of holes


69


arranged substantially vertically along the circular arc having its center at the connection hole


62




b


. The bolts


68




a


,


70




a


are arranged to also be along the same circular arc, such as to be positionable within select ones of the holes


69


, for adjusting the elevation of the engine-mounting wall


44


. The slots


64




b


,


66




b


are arranged extending along circular arcs also having centers at the centerline of the connection hole


62




b


. The bottom flange


88


of the rail


50


includes the angled lip


92


which is turned at an angle A, preferably being about 55 degrees at the stern end.





FIG. 7

illustrates the body


40


and the rail


52


assembled, but shown without bolts for clarity of view. The angle A of the lip


92


is gradually straightened out toward a front of the rail


52


, i.e., the angle A gradually diminishes to zero degrees, wherein the lip blends into the rest of the bottom flange


88


. The lip


92


blends into the rest of the bottom flange


88


, at a point p about midway between the slot


64




b


and the hole


62




b


. A reinforcing, rectangular gusset plate


130


is welded to the upper and lower flanges


86


,


88


and to the web


89


to reinforce the rail adjacent to the bolted connections


68


,


70


.




The mount


36


is tapered from its stem end toward its bow end, tapered both in plan and in elevation, to provide a streamlined profile to reduce splashing and water resistance or drag as the watercraft moves through the water. In this regard the preferred dimensions (in inches), as indicated in

FIGS. 4 through 7

, are: a=9¼; b=13½; c=74; d=4; e=2; f=4¾; g=3¼; h=3½; i=68; j={fraction (15/16)}; k=8¼; m=3; n={fraction (15/16)}; q=68; r=15½; s=71; t=1.





FIG. 8

illustrates the mount


36


with the fuel tank


59


within the body


40


. The mounting wall


44


is welded all around with a bead


127


to the sidewalls


106


,


108


, and the bottom walls


112


,


114


. A small gap


128


in the weld at the intersection of the bottom walls provides a drain for water which enters the body


40


. The channel portion


45


extends above the side walls


106


,


108


and is welded thereto via prone L-shaped pieces


131


,


133


.





FIG. 9

illustrates the inside of the body


40


at the stem end. The L-shaped pieces


131


,


133


are further connected to the sidewalls


106


,


108


by horizontal triangular reinforcing plates


141


,


143


. The channel


44




a


is connected to, and overlies, a bottom half of the inside of the mounting wall


45


. Two L-shaped spacers


145


,


147


protrude from the inside wall


145


toward the bow end and act to retain the fuel tank


59


. A triangular notch


151


through the channel


44




a


provides fluid communication with the gap


128


for draining the body


40


. Bolt holes


155


,


157


are used for mounting the outboard motor. The upper channel


44




b


is not shown in

FIG. 9

but is substantially similar to the lower channel


44




a.






From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.



Claims
  • 1. An adjustable engine mount for a boat, comprising:a first rail and a second rail mounted to a bottom of a boat and elongated in a substantially longitudinal direction of said boat; an elongated attachment member having first and second ends with a plurality of attachment regions disposed therebetween, said attachment regions attaching said attachment member to said rails, the attachment member having a vertical adjustability with respect to said rails by adjustment of said attachment regions; an engine-mounting member carried adjacent to one of the ends, said vertical adjustability operable to adjust the elevation of said engine-mounting member within a range of operable elevations; and wherein the attachment member comprises four planar elongated, tapered members and exhibits a substantially U-shaped cross section.
  • 2. A mount as in claim 1 wherein the mounting member extends from the attachment member and is adapted to receive an engine thereon.
  • 3. A mount as in claim 1 wherein the plurality of attachment regions comprises a plurality of openings defined in the attachment member.
  • 4. A mount as in claim 1 wherein the plurality of attachment regions comprise a plurality of protrusions extending from the attachment member.
  • 5. A watercraft, comprising:a platform for carrying people; a pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; a pair of rails arranged beneath, and supported by, the platform between the pontoons, said rails elongated along the longitudinal direction of said platform and extending substantially horizontally; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body pivotally connected at a front end thereof to said rails and connected at a rear end thereof at a selected vertical position to said rails, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said rear end; and an outboard motor mounted to said engine-mounting wall.
  • 6. The watercraft according to claim 5, wherein said body is connected to said rails at said rear end, one of said rails and said body having a plurality of selectable holes and a respective other of said rails and said body having at least one protrusion insertable into one of said selectable holes.
  • 7. The watercraft according to claim 5, wherein said body is substantially hollow, and further comprising a fuel tank carried within said body.
  • 8. A watercraft, comprising:a platform for carrying people; a pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; a pair of rails arranged beneath, and supported by, the platform between the pontoons; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body pivotally connected at a front end thereof to said rails and connected at a rear end thereof at a selected vertical position to said rails, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said rear end; an outboard motor mounted to said engine-mounting wall; and a pair of splash deflectors each respectively extending along one of said rails, said splash deflectors comprising rearward-progressively downturned lips.
  • 9. A watercraft, comprising:a platform for carrying people; a pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; pair of rails arranged beneath, and supported by, the platform between the pontoons; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body pivotally connected at a front end thereof to said rails and connected at a rear end thereof at a selected vertical position to said rails, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said rear end; an outboard motor mounted to said engine-mounting wall; and wherein said body comprises a substantially U-shaped cross-section and said rails comprise prone, substantially U-shaped cross sections.
  • 10. A watercraft comprising:platform for carrying people; pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; a pair of rails arranged beneath, and supported by, the platform between the pontoons; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body pivotally connected at a front end thereof to said rails and connected at a rear end thereof at a selected vertical position to said rails, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said rear end; an outboard motor mounted to said engine-mounting wall; and wherein said rails extend along a length of said watercraft substantially equal in length to said body.
  • 11. A watercraft, comprising:a platform for carrying people; a pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; a pair of rails arranged beneath, and supported by, the platform between the pontoons; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body pivotally connected at a front end thereof to said rails and connected at a rear end thereof at a selected vertical position to said rails, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said rear end; an outboard motor mounted to said engine-mounting wall; and wherein said body is adjustably connected to said rails at a position intermediate said front and rear ends.
  • 12. A watercraft, comprising:a platform for carrying people; a pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body having a front end and a rear end, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said read end of said body; an outboard motor mounted to said engine-mounting wall; a first rail extending between said rear end and said front end of said body, said first rail connected to said platform, said body pivotally connected to said first rail at said front end and selectively fastened at said rear end to adjust an elevation of said engine-mounting wall; a second rail extending between said rear end and said front end of said body, said second rail connected to said platform, said body pivotally connected to said second rail at said front end and selectively fastened at said rear end to adjust an elevation of said engine-mounting wall, said first and second rails arranged on opposite sides of said body; and wherein said body comprises a substantially U-shaped cross-section and said rails comprise prone, substantially U-shaped cross-sections.
  • 13. A watercraft, comprising:a platform for carrying people; a pair of pontoons arranged beneath the platform for supporting the platform above a water line; a pair of rails arranged beneath, and supported by, the platform between the pontoons, said rails elongated along the longitudinal direction of said platform and extending substantially horizontally; an engine mount assembly arranged between the pontoons, said engine mount assembly including an elongated body pivotally connected at a front end thereof to said rails and connected at a rear end thereof at a selected vertical position to said rails, and an engine-mounting wall connected to said body at said rear end.
  • 14. The watercraft according to claim 13, wherein said body is connected to said rails at said rear end, one of said rails and said body having a plurality of selectable holes and a respective other of said rails and said body having at least one protrusion insertable into one of said selectable holes.
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Number Name Date Kind
2950699 Ogden et al. Aug 1960 A
3210783 Petty Oct 1965 A
3289226 Thompson Dec 1966 A
3750988 Lyon Aug 1973 A
5259331 Hagan Nov 1993 A
20020046688 Schell-Tomczak et al. Apr 2002 A1
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry
Crest Catalogue, 1997, 32 pp.