Patent ID: 6718903
Filing Date: 2004-04-13
Classification: B63B,B66C,E02B

Abstract:
A lift boat, comprising:a) a hull having a hull periphery, a stern, and a bow with a forward rake portion; b) a plurality of legs movably attached to the hull, each leg having a top and a bottom; c) a powered jacking mechanism for elevating and lowering each leg relative to the hull between elevated and lowered positions; d) a plurality of pads, one pad attached to the bottom of each leg, wherein the pads include port and starboard pads that are positioned near the bow of the hull, each pad having an inner edge portion nearer to the hull centerline and an outer edge portion that extends beyond the hull periphery; e) recesses, including a pair of forward recesses, in the hull for receiving the pads when the legs are raised to the elevated position, each forward recess having a forward opening for exposing the pad to the sea as the hull moves in a forward direction and a side opening that enables a portion of the pad to extend laterally beyond the side or the hull on each side of the hull; f) each forward recess being defined by surfaces of the hull including: i) a top surface that extends above the pad when the leg and its pad are in the elevated position; ii) an inclined surface that gradually lowers in elevation as it extends aft, the inclined surface having a higher forward section and a lower aft section; iii) a surface that extends next to and below the inner edge portion of an elevated pad and a forward hull surface portion that is at about the same elevation as the forward section of the inclined surface.