Abstract:
The marine dockline holder provides an easy place to leave the docklines in an elevated position when the boat leaves the dock, enabling the lines to be easily retrieved and attached to the boat upon its return to the dock. The marine dockline holder has a line hook attached to the top of a two-piece rod. The rod is inserted into a spring which is in turn inserted into a deck mounting plate. The deck mounting plate is mounted to a dock by two connecting bolts passing though the upper and lower mounting plates, and though gaps in the dock&#39;s surface.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority to provisional patent application 61/062,999 filed Jan. 29, 2008. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a marine dockline holder. A dockline is a line used to secure a boat to a dock. When a boat leaves a dock, the docklines are typically left coiled or piled on the dock, or possibly dangling in the water from the dock. When the boat returns to the dock, a crew member has to jump from the moving boat onto the dock to retrieve the docklines and either pass them to another crew member on the boat, or jump back on the boat in order to secure the docklines to the boat. This can be a risky maneuver since docks and boat decks can be wet and slippery. 
     The marine dockline holder provides an easy place to leave the docklines in an elevated position when the boat leaves the dock, enabling the lines to be easily retrieved and attached to the boat upon its return to the dock. This makes the process of docking the boat much easier and safer for the boaters, eliminating the need to jump from the moving boat onto the dock in order to retrieve the docklines. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     In the prior art various types of devices have been proposed. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,595 to Stainbrook, issued Oct. 6, 1964. Stainbrook shows a dockline holder pivotally mounted on a post which is mounted to the dock. The post has a bayonet type connection to a mounting plate. The dockline holder is telescopely adjustable to multiple lengths. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,887 to Paul, issued Aug. 16, 1977. Paul shows a dockline holder which is remotely activated to drop a dockline over a boat mounted cleat. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,329 to Brushaber, issued Jul. 31, 1984. Brushaber shows a dockline holder pivotally mounted to a dock piling, with adjustable stops to limit the pivoting of the dockline holder. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,454 to Schepel, issued Oct. 30, 1984. Schepel shows a repositionable dockline holder which may be mounted to the dock surface, joist or piling. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,182 to Chaiko, issued Jun. 30, 1987. Chaiko shows a flexible dockline holder which may be mounted at multiple angles to the dock. 
     U.S. Pat. No. D313,544 to Scherer, issued Jan. 8, 1991. Scherer shows a pivoting dockline holder mounted to a piling. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,134 to Walker, issued May 28, 1996. Walker shows a fixed dockline holder with reflective tape to increase its visibility. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,834 to Holland, issued Aug. 4, 1998. Holland shows a freestanding dockline holder having multiple segments. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,045 to Prongay, issued Sep. 26, 2000. Prongay shows a dockline holder with angularly adjustable segments. 
     Line Caddy Docksider model described on the web site at www.linecaddy.com/docksid.html with a copyright date of 2000 by LineCaddy Corporation. The Line Caddy Docksider model is pivotally mounted to a dock or piling. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a marine dockline holder for use in holding docklines 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved marine dockline holder that is simpler in design than previous dockline holders. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved marine dockline holder that is more flexible and durable than previous dockline holders. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved marine dockline holder that is built solely from materials impervious to a salt-water environment. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved marine dockline holder that can be easily adjusted in height to a given situation. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved marine dockline holder that can easily be removed and relocated to another dock. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved marine dockline holder that, on most wooden docks, will not require any holes or any other modifications to the dock. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of the main dockline holder assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the dock attachment assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the top plate of the dock attachment assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the bottom plate of the dock attachment assembly. 
         FIG. 5  shows a dockline draped over the inside of the line hook. 
         FIG. 6  shows the eye of a dockline placed over one of the arms of the dockline hook. 
         FIG. 7  shows a sample docking arrangement. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The preferred embodiment herein described is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described to best explain the invention so that others, skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, might utilize its teachings. 
     Referring now to the drawings in greater detail,  FIG. 1  shows a side view of the main dockline holder assembly. A line hook  1  sits atop and receives the upper rod  2 , and is secured to the rod with a small retaining screw  3 . The upper rod  2  is connected to the lower rod  4  by a coupling  5 . The coupling  5  is made of a thin-walled stainless steel tube whose inside diameter matches the outside diameter of rods  2  and  4 , and is crimped to both rods. One end of the coupling is crimped during manufacture, and the second end is crimped during assembly. This will prevent the rod from accidentally separating during use. This allows the rod to consist of two pieces instead of one long piece, facilitating packaging and shipping. The lower end of the lower rod  4  is friction fit into a hole in a spring plug  6 . The spring plug  6  in turn is force-fit into the top end of a spring  7 . The straight end  8  of spring  7  fits into one of three holes in the top plate of the dock attachment assembly shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a side view of the dock attachment assembly. The dock attachment assembly consists of a top plate  9  and a bottom plate  10 . The top plate  9  is chamfered to minimize hazards to bare feet as it sits atop the existing dock  11 . The top plate  9  has five holes  12 - 15  lengthwise down the centerline. Holes  12  are for two connecting bolts  16  which are connected to the lower plate  10 . Holes  13 ,  14  and  15  receive the straight end  8  of spring  7 . The center hole  13  is perpendicular to the surface of the top plate  9 , while holes  14  and  15  are set at ten degrees from the top surface of the top plate  9 . Hole  14  is set at ten degrees laterally of the top plate  9 . Hole  15  is set at ten degrees lengthwise of the top plate  9 . The lower plate  10  has two holes  17  lining up with the holes  12  in top plate  9 . The holes  17  in the lower plate  10  are counter bored to receive stainless steel T-nuts  18 . Bolts  16  are long enough to reach through normal dock boards  11  of either 1½″ or 1¼″ thickness, and are intended to fit in the space gap normally left between the boards. Thus no holes normally need be drilled in most wooden docks to attach the holder. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the top plate  9 , showing the two countersunk holes  12  for bolts  16  on either end, plus the three holes  13 ,  14 ,  15  in the center to receive spring  7 . It also shows the chamfered edges of the top plate  9 . 
       FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the bottom plate  10  showing the counter bored holes  17  for T-nuts  18 . It also shows the asymmetrical nature of the bottom plate  10  which allows the top plate  9  to sit closer to the edge of the dock  11  should there be any boards on the underside of the dock  11  near the edge. 
     Line hook  1 , top plate  9  and bottom plate  10  are preferably all made of ¾″ white HDPE, or high-density polyethylene. Spring plug  6  is preferably made of ¾″ diameter white HDPE. All metal parts, including screw  3 , coupling  5 , spring  7 , bolts  16  and T-nuts  18 , are preferably made of 316 stainless steel. Rods  2  and  4  are preferably made of 0.305″ diameter solid fiberglass rod or similar material. 
     Operation 
     In operation, two to four dockline holders may be needed to secure all the docklines, depending on the size of the boat and how many docklines are used to secure it. The dockline holder works equally well for boats brought into the slip bow first or stern first, or for boats docked side to the dock. 
       FIG. 5  shows a dockline  19  draped over the inside of line hook  1 , which can be done using any dockline, either with an eye  20  spliced into the end or without an eye.  FIG. 6  shows the eye  20  of dockline  19  placed over one of the arms of the dockline hook  1 . 
     As the boater prepares to leave the dock  11 , each dockline is placed in the appropriate dockline holder.  FIG. 7  shows a sample docking arrangement. In this case, bow dockline  21  would first be placed in dockline holder  22 , which would be angled out from the dock  11  using one of the appropriate ten degree angled holes  14 ,  15  in top plate  9 . Bow dockline  23  would then be placed in dockline holder  24 , which would also be angled out from the dock  11 . The final step before backing the boat  25  out of the slip would be to place spring dockline  26  and stern dockline  27  in dockline holder  28 , which would probably be vertical in order not to interfere with the boat  25  as it passes the dockline holder  28 . 
     On returning to the dock  11 , spring line  26  would be retrieved first as the boat  25  passes dockline holder  28 , and secured to a cleat  29  located amidships. As the boat  25  moves further into the slip, bow line  23  would be retrieved from dockline holder  24  and secured to the bow  30  of the boat  25 . Spring line  26  will serve to halt the motion of the boat  25  into the dock  11  or slip at the appropriate place within the slip, while attention is paid to securing the remaining bow  21  and stern  27  docklines. Docklines  21 ,  27  would then be retrieved from dockline holders  22 ,  28  and secured to the boat  25 . All of this is done from the safety of the deck of the boat  25 , precluding the need for any crew members to leap from the moving boat  25  onto the potentially slippery and/or unstable dock  11 . 
     Spring  7  allows the upper part of the dockline holders  22 ,  24 ,  28  to swing down and out of the way with no damage to either boat  25  or dockline holders  22 ,  24 ,  28  should the holder encounter some part of the moving boat  25  as it enters or departs the dock  11 . The line hook  1  is specifically designed with no sharp corners or areas that might snag lifelines or other parts of the boat. 
     Either or both rods  2 ,  4  can be easily cut by the owner by any kind of saw to accommodate any sized boat  25 , placing the line hook  1  at the proper height so as to be easily retrieved from the deck of the boat  25 . 
     Alternative Embodiments 
     All parts could be made using different materials or different sizes, within reason, with little effect on the overall function of the dockline holder. 
     The shape of line hook  1  can be varied over a broad range with no adverse affect on the functionality of the invention. 
     Spring  7  can be eliminated from the invention, and larger holes drilled in top plate  9  to accommodate the bottom of the lower rod  4 . This introduces the possibility that the lower rod  4  could bend and break at the base if the moving boat  25  moved into the dockline holder, but otherwise the invention would function as designed. 
     Upper rod  2  and lower rod  4  could be combined into a single longer rod with no deleterious effects on the operation of the dockline holder. The coupling  5  and the shorter rods  2 ,  4  are simply to facilitate packaging and shipping. 
     The bottom plate  10  can be discarded and top plate  9  can be screwed or bolted directly to any surface not lending itself to the illustrated design. Using owner-supplied fasteners, it could be mounted to a solid wood dock, to a concrete dock, or to a retaining wall. 
     Although the marine dockline holder and the method of using the same according to the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable detail, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.