Patent ID: 6254442
Filing Date: 2001-07-03
Classification: B63B,B63H

Abstract:
A small personal watercraft and propulsion system therefore comprised of a hull defining a riders' area at the rear thereof for accommodating a rider and a minimum number of passengers, a jet propulsion system suspended in said hull at the rear thereof and lying at least in substantial part beneath said riders' area, said jet propulsion system including an impeller shaft rotating in a plane extending longitudinally of said hull, an internal combustion engine supported within said hull at a position disposed forwardly of said jet propulsion unit at a position at least in part below the forward portion of said riders' area, said engine having an engine body defining a plurality of cylinders and a crankshaft driven by pistons reciprocating in said cylinders about an axis disposed transversely to a longitudinal center line of said hull, a transmission for driving said jet propulsion unit from the middle of said crankshaft, and a balance shaft for said engine rotatable about an axis parallel to said crankshaft axis and driven from the middle of said crankshaft and contained within said engine body.