Claims
- 1. A watercraft comprising a large semi-submersible center hull and a first and second sponson positioned essentially parallel to and on opposite sides of said center hull, said center hull, said first sponson and said second sponson being held together in rigid alignment by means of a deck house; wherein said deck house is of a torsion box construction; and, said center hull having a flat bottom, a first and second side with circular contours and a long bulbous bow.
- 2. A watercraft as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a starboard and a port bow plane mounted on the sides of said long bulbous bow.
- 3. A watercraft as claimed in claim 2 wherein said bow planes are controlled by cables attached to a control plate mounted on said bow planes close to said long bulbous bow.
- 4. A watercraft as claimed in claim 2 wherein said bow planes are mounted on a common shaft.
- 5. A watercraft having a bow and a stern comprising a large semi-submersible center hull and a first and second sponson positioned essentially parallel to and on opposite sides of said center hull, said first and second sponsons being attached to said center hull by a rigid deck structure; said center hull having a flat bottom, a first and second side with circular contours and a long bulbous bow; said contour of said first and second sides having the same convex radius of curvature throughout the length of said long bulbous bow; said long bulbous bow being formed by incrementally decreasing the width of said flat bottom while maintaining a consistent radius of curvature for said side contours to obtain the bow closure.
- 6. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 wherein said center hull further comprises a main portion extending from said long bulbous bow to said stern under said deck structure; said first and second sides of said main portion having a circular contour including a convex circular section contiguous with said flat bottom and a concave circular section attached to said deck structure wherein said radii of curvature of said convex circular section of said first and second sides are the same and said radii of curvature of said concave circular section of said first and second sides are the same.
- 7. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 wherein said first and second sponsons include inner sides and outer sides, said inner sides being closest to said center hull, wherein said outer sides have a concave circular contour with the same radius of curvature and said inner sides have an upper section with a concave circular contour with the same radius of curvature and an angled lower section with a lower edge attached to a lower edge of said outer sides and an upper edge mating with a lower edge of said concave circular contour of said inner sides.
- 8. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a stern with a bluff afterbody contour.
- 9. A watercraft as claimed in claim 8 further comprising a propulsion system mounted at the stern of said centerhull including a first and second means for generating propulsion wherein said first and second means for generating propulsion are mounted in an over/under relationship with the centerlines of said propulsion means substantially aligned.
- 10. A watercraft as claimed in claim 8 further comprising turbulators mounted on said sides of said center hull just forward of said stern.
- 11. A watercraft as claimed in claim 8 further comprising hull fins mounted on said sides of said center hull just forward of said stern.
- 12. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a propulsion system mounted at the stern of said centerhull including a first and second means for generating propulsion wherein said first and second means for generating propulsion are mounted in an over/under relationship with the centerlines of said propulsion means substantially aligned.
- 13. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 comprising a drive means and a propeller and a propeller nozzle; said propeller comprising a plurality of blades having a streamlined cross section affixed to an oblate spherical hub wherein said propeller is mounted concentrically within said propeller nozzle.
- 14. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising turbulators mounted on said sides of said center hull just forward of said stern.
- 15. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising hull fins mounted on said sides of said center hull just forward of said stern.
- 16. A watercraft as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a starboard and a port bow plane mounted on the sides of said long bulbous bow.
- 17. A watercraft having a bow and a stern comprising a center hull and a first and second sponson positioned essentially parallel to and on opposite sides of said center hull, said first and second sponson being connected to said center hull by a rigid deck plate; said center hull comprising a flat bottom and first and second sides with circular arc cross sections; said center hull having a long bulbous bow and a bluff afterbody contoured stern; and, bow planes mounted to said first and second sides of said center hull near said bow; said bow planes being controlled by means for allowing said planes to flutter as the watercraft pitches such that said bow planes provide minimal propulsion.
- 18. A watercraft of claim 17 further comprising a propulsion system mounted at the stern of said center hull including a first and second means for generating propulsion wherein said first and second means for generating propulsion are mounted in an over/under relationship with the centerlines of said propulsion means substantially aligned.
- 19. A watercraft as claimed in claim 17 wherein said bow plane control means comprises cables attached to a control plate mounted on said bow planes close to said long bulbous bow.
- 20. A watercraft as claimed in claim 17 further comprising turbulators mounted on said sides of said center hull.
- 21. A watercraft as claimed in claim 17 further comprising hull fins mounted on said sides of said center hull just forward of said stern.
- 22. A method of fabricating a watercraft comprising forming a hull such that the sides of the hull have cross sectional contours comprised solely of circle arcs;
- forming a bow closure by using a frame generated by the same circle arc contours used to form the sides of the hull wherein the frame has a top and a bottom attaching the circle arc contours;
- cutting out an incremental vertical slice from the top and bottom of the frame to form a second frame for use as the next frame closer to the bow;
- cutting out an incremental vertical slice from the top and bottom of the second frame to form a third frame for use as the next frame closer to the bow; and,
- repeating the above steps of cutting out a vertical slice until bow closure is achieved.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 07/401,139, filed on Aug. 31, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,857 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/213,944, filed on Jun. 30, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,540.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
401139 |
Aug 1989 |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
213944 |
Jun 1988 |
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