People use personal watercraft such as kayaks and canoes for recreational activities including fishing, bird-watching, sightseeing, and the like. A traditional kayak or canoe, however, must be manually propelled using a paddle or oars. When a person is fishing in a kayak or canoe, handling a paddle or oars can prevent a person from simultaneously handling a fishing rod or other fishing gear. Similarly, when a person is bird-watching or sightseeing in a kayak or canoe, handling paddles or oars can prevent a person from simultaneously handling binoculars, maps, guidebooks, and the like. In addition, even when a paddle or oars are not being used by a paddler, having a paddle or oars onboard can sometimes interfere with the person's non-paddling activities.
Watercraft with pedal-operated propulsion devices installed overcome issues arising from having to handle a paddle or oars. A pedal propulsion device enables a person to operate the watercraft with his/her feet while having one or both hands free. Pedal propulsion devices also offer a recreational alternative to traditional paddling methods.
However, pedal-propelled devices in traditional kayaks may still interfere with activities where standing is desired, such as angling. The seat is typically installed adjacent to the pedal propulsion device, and therefore prevents a user from comfortably standing within the cockpit. Moreover, standing in the cockpit may increase the susceptibility of the watercraft to tip or roll over.
Accordingly, there still remains a need for a watercraft that can accommodate a standing user while still retaining the option for the user to sit and propel the watercraft with pedals.
The present invention fulfills one or more of these needs in the art by providing an improved watercraft having a deck and hull rotomolded as a combination, with the hull including a depression between lateral protrusions amidships. The stern of the hull has a rounded cross section so that the combination of the lateral protrusions and rounded stern cross-section allows the watercraft to track straight on water and for the stern to move laterally when the watercraft is turned on a body of water.
In a preferred embodiment, the lateral protrusions of the hull extend from an edge of the depression toward the bow. In one embodiment, the depression on the hull is generally in the shape of an oval. The depression overlaps substantially along the cockpit and a ridge extends from a forward edge of the oval toward the bow. A fin may be included at an opposing edge of the oval toward the stern. A pair of shallow recesses may be placed toward the stern of the hull to form a rounded convex surface.
The deck includes a cockpit having substantially vertical sidewalls, a rear wall, a pedaling installation, and a flat floor between the sidewalls extending from the rear wall to the pedaling installation in the cockpit. Scuppers may be installed along the flat floor of the deck to carry water overboard from the deck.
Rearward of the pedaling installation, the deck is quite flat and has two grooves that enable the selective positioning of a seat forward or aft along the deck. The seat can be positioned for comfortable pedaling of the pedaling installation to a desired selected fishing spot. The seat can then be moved to the stern, leaving a long, flat area between the pedaling installation and the seat for the user to stand on for fishing. In addition to the long fore-and-aft dimension, the watercraft has an overall width that provides a stable platform for the fisherman. An anti-slip material may be added onto the flat floor of the deck to provide traction and prevent the user from slipping while standing in the cockpit. Alternatively, the flat floor may be molded to have an anti-slip texture.
In a preferred embodiment, the flat floor of the cockpit has spaced apart grooves extending from a rear position near the rear wall to a forward position near the pedaling installation. A seat is movably mounted in the grooves. The grooves may be over twice as long as the seat length to provide ample space within the interior of the cockpit. In other embodiments, the grooves may not be that long. The seat may be positioned along the grooves to at least partially abut the rear wall. The seat may also include a storage compartment under the seat, which moves with the seat as the seat is moved in the grooves.
In one embodiment, each spaced apart groove comprises a continuous channel that extends from the rear of the watercraft to the front of the watercraft. These channels are adapted to receive a slider that mounts the seat to the groove, so that the seat can be adjusted by sliding the slider along the continuous channel of the groove. The seat may further include a stop for securing the seat onto a position along the groove.
The invention will be better understood by a reading of the Detailed Description of the Examples of the Invention along with a review of the drawings, in which:
As seen in
Various features of the hull 30 or bottom of the watercraft can be seen in
A slot 42 in the depression 32 allows the pedaling assembly 80 (which can be motorized) to extend through the watercraft from the cockpit and into the water. The pedaling assembly can be a Propel pedaling assembly available from Legacy Paddlesports LLC of Fletcher, N.C. Such assemblies are described in US Patent Publication 2009/0042461 to Walton. Other suitable pedaling assemblies be used, such as a pedal drive available from Old Town Canoe that can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H1AxgqRuUs; or a pedal drive from Confluence Watersports which can be seen at http://www.yakangler.com/kayaks-and-gear/item/3817-confluence-outdoor-new-kayaks-and-more-icast-2016; or a pedal drive from FeelFree that can be seen at https://www.rapidmedia.com/kayakangler/categories/gear/7842-feelfree-just-released-a-new-motor-pedal-drive-system.html; or pedal drives from Hobie and Crazy Kayak.
The stern 14 of the hull 30 is shaped with a rounded cross-section. The rounded cross section allows the stern 14 to move laterally as the watercraft turns on a body of water. The turning may be initiated by a rudder (not shown). This lateral movement of the stern is unlike conventional kayaks in which turns of the craft occur by shifting a forward part of the craft to the side, with the stern following. The result is an unusually short turning radius. As seen in
The seat 50 may move from the front of the watercraft next to the pedaling assembly 80 to the rear of the watercraft abutting the rear wall of the stern 14. The rear wall may act as a stop to prevent the seat 50 from moving any further along groove 52. In addition, a stop may also be included to fix the seat 50 at a specific position along continuous channel 54.
The seat can be positioned near the pedaling assembly for comfortable pedaling. Once a fishing destination has been reached, the seat can be slid toward the stern, leaving a larger, stable standing area so the fisherman can stand while fishing. With the seat at its forward location, a second seat can be mounted to the cockpit to allow a second person to sit.
Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been omitted for the sake of conciseness and readability, but are properly within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/530,928 filed Jul. 11, 2017, entitled SLIDING SEAT TOP AND NOVEL HULL SHAPE FOR FISHING KAYAK.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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62530928 | Jul 2017 | US |