1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a personal watercraft of the type allowing stand-up type riding and, more particularly, to an access opening for such watercraft.
2. Background Art
Personal watercraft are used for nautical touring and as a nautical sport vehicle. In one category of personal watercraft (hereinafter PWC) used as nautical sport vehicle, the rider is in a standing or a kneeling position on a support surface at the stern of the PWC. Such stand-up types of PWC involve more dynamic riding techniques.
Conventional stand-up types of PWC have most of the engine system (engine, air intake, exhaust, etc.) generally at the bow of the PWC, in the cavity defined between the hull and the deck. National regulations in terms of noise level and air quality, however, require the addition of various components. However, since the cavity at the bow is relatively small, it would be desirable to move some of the components at the stern of the PWC.
Accessing components at the stern of the PWC through though the current bow access opening would be very difficult. Also, PWC used in touring need to have storage space to carry, for instance, food, clothing, and other accessories that may be required in view of a touring use of the PWC. PWC used as nautical sport vehicles are not well equipped for storage, due to the nature of their use.
It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a deck configuration allowing access to a cavity of a personal watercraft, at a stern end thereof.
It is an aim of an aspect of the present invention to use the access to the cavity as a storage compartment.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a personal watercraft comprising a hull; a deck supported by the hull and defining a cavity with the hull, the deck having an opening to allow access to the cavity; and a door secured to the deck so as to cover the opening, the door being removable to allow access to the cavity, the door and a portion of the deck together forming a standing surface for supporting a user person standing or kneeling on the personal watercraft when riding the personal watercraft.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a door for a personal watercraft of the type having a hull and a deck supported by the hull, the deck and the hull together forming a cavity, the deck having an opening to allow access to the cavity, the door comprising a panel having a periphery conforming with the opening so as to cover the opening to be secured to the deck, the door being removable to allow access to the cavity.
Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof and in which:
Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to
The PWC 10 has a steering system that has an exposed portion 20 pivotally connected to the deck 14 at the bow B. The steering system is provided for the steering of the PWC 10. An engine cover 22 is generally positioned above the engine 18, and is openable so as to provide access to the engine 18. A standing surface 24 of the deck 14 is positioned between the engine cover 22 and the stern S of the PWC 10. The standing surface 24 is sized to accommodate a driver in a stand-up or kneeling position.
Referring to
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When the door 30 closes the opening 26, the flange 36 of the door 30 lies onto the shoulder 32 of the deck 14, thereby preventing water circulation therebetween. The gasket 40 is squeezed between an end surface of the shoulder 32 and the groove 38 to provide additional sealing between the door 30 and the deck 14.
On the exposed side of the door 30, the major portion 34 and the flange 36 are coplanar. Moreover, the thickness of the flange 36 is such that the exposed side of the door 30 is coplanar with adjacent portions of the deck 14, together forming the generally flat standing surface 24. The exposed side of the door 30 is provided with a non-slip surface 41 (e.g., a rubber mat, a granular material incorporated in the paint finish of the door 30), to increase the adherence of the rider on the standing surface 24.
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The door 30 typically consist of relatively rigid materials to as to support the rider standing on the standing surface 24. For instance, the door 30 may have a polymeric core (e.g., an expandable polymer) with a fiberglass resin coating or injection molding. It is contemplated to produce the door 30 using a resin transfer molding process (TMP). The deck 14 typically consists of sprayed fiberglass, whereby the deck 14 and the door 30 may have the same finish. Also, it is contemplated to provide inserts in the door molding process, such that door 30 is produced integrally with a handle, of tapped tubes received in the throughbores 42, for facilitating the fastening of the door 30 to the deck 14.
Referring to
Although the PWC 10 illustrated herein is of the stand-up type, it is contemplated to provide the door 30 to PWC having both stand-up and straddle type configurations. More specifically, PWC have been provided with a standing surface (e.g., standing surface 24 of the PWC 10 of
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the embodiments described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
This nonprovisional application claims priority on U.S. provisional application Ser. No.: 60/493,003, filed Aug. 7, 2003, and titled “Standing surface door for a stand-up personal watercraft”.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60493003 | Aug 2003 | US |