Patent ID: 6865869
Filing Date: 2005-03-15
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
1. An aquatic vegetation shredder for shredding vegetation growing in water, said shredder comprising: an airboat including a buoyant bull presenting a forward-most bow end and a rearward-most stern end, said hull including a pair of spaced sidewalls and a forward-most front wall extending between the sidewalls, said front wall comprising the bow end of the boat and extending the full width of the hull to present a substantially planar, unitary bow end, said airboat being driven by a propulsion assembly including a propeller revolving in the air; and an aquatic vegetation shredding assembly supported on the hull and being operable to shred vegetation growing in the water while the propulsion assembly propels the airboat through the water, said shredding assembly including a rotatable element extending substantially across the width of the hull and rotatable about a generally horizontal axis and a blade swingably mounted to the rotatable element, said rotatable element and swingable blade positionable into the water adjacent the bow end of the hull when shredding vegetation, said rotatable element and swingable blade being spaced from the bow end by a working space, said shredder being otherwise devoid of harvesting and cutting structure within said working space when the airboat is propelled through the water so that at least substantially all of the shredded vegetation remains in the water.