A bottle and boat fender comprising a hollow body for holding a flowable material therein. The body includes a top wall portion having an opening communicating with the interior of the body, a threaded cap covering the opening, a bottom wall portion and a side wall portion disposed between the top wall portion and the bottom wall portion. The side wall forms the periphery of the body and includes two pairs of planar opposed wall portions. Each of the wall portions of one pair include a pair of conical depressions therein which are aligned with a pair of conical depressions in the the opposed wall portion. The bottom of the aligned opposed depressions forms a common wall therebetween which includes an aperture of sufficient size to accomodate nautical rope therethrough. One aperture is located below the top wall and the other aperture is located above the bottom wall.

This invention relates generally to containers and, more particularly, to 
bottles. 
Most liquids sold today are packaged in either cans, jars or bottles. After 
the contents of such containers are used up the containers are normally 
discarded as refuse. In the interest of ecology, some containers e.g., 
glass bottles, aluminium cans, etc., are recycled, but such action is not 
widespread. In the interest of ecology some interprising persons have 
saved containers making use of them for various purposes unrelated to 
storage. For example, jug-type containers, like plastic milk jugs, have 
been used as boat bumpers or fenders by looping nautical line through the 
handle and hanging the jug over the gunwale of the boat. Such an 
arrangement, while laudable from an ecology standpoint, leaves much to be 
desired from the standpoint of effectiveness in protecting the boat. The 
limited effectiveness of the use of a plastic jug as a boat fender is due 
to the fact that the shape of the jug, e.g., the large aperture handle, 
causes the jug to hang below the boat's gunwale and not immediately 
opposite thereto, which position is necessary to prevent impact damage 
from an adjacent boat or static structure. 
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,686 (Blythe) there is disclosed a boat bumper 
which may also serve as a storage container in order to save valuable 
space on a boat. The bumper comprises a hollow, right circular cylinder 
body portion having an opposed pair of flat end walls. A hollow, threaded 
nipple projects outward from one side wall and communicates with the 
interior of the body portion to serve as a mouth for pouring material into 
or out of the body portion. A threaded cap is screwed into engagement on 
the nipple. A thin, planar flange projects outward normally from each end 
wall. Each flange includes an opening therein adjacent its free end and 
arranged to receive a rope or other suitable line to hang the bumper from 
the boat. 
The provision of the projecting flanges in the Blythe patent renders the 
container unsuitable for merchandising applications since their location 
precludes vertical disposition or storage of the container on one of its 
end walls. Moreover, the openings in the flanges are located well beyond 
the cylindrical body portion of the bumper so that when the bumper is hung 
on the boat the thin flange is located opposite the gunwale while the body 
portion hangs substantially therebelow. This disposition renders the boat 
susceptible to damage by impact from another at the gunwale. 
While some bumpers or boat fenders have been disclosed in the patent 
literature, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,183,875 (Russell), 3,498,252 (Peacock) 
and 3,861,345 (Hull) appear suitable for their intended purposes such 
bumpers are not suitable as bottles for merchandising or storage 
applications. 
Accordingly, it is a general object of the instant invention to provide a 
container which is suitable for use as a boat fender and which overcomes 
the disadvantages of the prior art. 
It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a bottle which 
is suitable for merchandising and storage applications and which forms a 
viable boat fender. 
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a bottle which is 
simple in construction, low in cost, and which forms an effective and safe 
boat fender. 
It is yet a further of this invention to provide a bottle which forms a 
boat fender arranged for disposition immediately opposite the gunwale, rub 
stake or rub rail of a boat. 
These and other objects of this invention are achieved by providing a 
bottle and boat fender. The bottle and boat fender comprise a hollow body 
for holding a flowable material therein and including a top wall portion 
having an opening communicating with the interior of the body, closure 
means releasably secured to said opening, a bottom wall portion and a side 
wall disposed between the top wall portion and the bottom wall portion and 
forming the periphery of the body. The side wall includes a pair of 
opposed wall portions. Each of the wall portions includes a first 
depression therein. The first depression in one wall portion is aligned 
with the first depression in the opposed wall portion. The bottom of the 
aligned opposed depressions form a first common wall therebetween which 
includes an aperture of sufficient size to accommodate a section of 
nautical rope therethrough. The aperture is located below the top wall.

Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference 
characters refer to like parts there is shown generally at 20 in FIG. 1 
the bottle-boat fender of the instant invention. The bottle-fender 20, as 
will be described in detail later, is a hollow member which is suitable 
for holding flowable materials, e.g., liquids and powders, etc., therein 
for the merchandising and storage of such materials, while being suitable 
for use as a boat fender or bumper after such materials have been used up. 
The bottle-boat fender, when not being used as a fender, is also suitable 
for use in storing materials e.g. oil, etc. which are normally stored in 
other containers on a boat, thereby saving valuable space on the boat. 
The bottle-fender 20 basically comprises a hollow body 22 having a top wall 
24, a bottom wall 26 (FIG. 3) and a side wall 28. The side wall defines 
the periphery of the body and basically comprises two pairs of opposed 
planar wall portions 30 and 32. Each planar wall portion 30 extends 
normally to each planar wall portion 32. The interface of each wall 
portion 30 and wall portion 32 is in the form of a narrow, angularly 
extending corner 34. 
As can be seen in FIG. 3 the bottom wall 26 is slightly depressed at the 
central portion thereof to form a peripheral lip 36 at the interface of 
the bottom wall portion 26 and the side wall 28. The peripherally 
extending lip 36 serves as the base upon which the bottle-fender 20 is 
disposed when storing materials therein. 
The top wall 24 includes a hollow threaded mouth 38 at the center thereof. 
The mouth communicates with the hollow interior of the body 22. The top 
wall 24 extends slightly downward from the base of the mouth to the 
interface 40 where the top wall joins the side wall 28. A threaded cap 42 
is screwed on the mouth to close the mouth and seal the contents in the 
bottle. 
The interior of the body 28 serves as a convenient storage space for 
liquids, powders or other flowable particulate materials. Accordingly, the 
bottle-fender 20 serves as a viable container for merchandising various 
liquid or particulate material products. Once emptied of its contents, the 
bottle-fender 20 serves as a viable boat fender or bumper to protect the 
boat from damage caused by impact with other boats or stationary 
structures. 
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 each of the opposed planar wall portions 30 
includes two depressions 44 and 46. As shown clearly in the sectional view 
of FIGS. 3 and 5 each of the depressions 44 and 46 is conical in shape 
tapering downward from the outer surface of the wall portion 30 to the 
bottom of the depression. The bottom of each depression is identified by 
the reference numeral 48. As can be seen clearly in FIGS. 3 and 5, the 
upper depression 44 in one side wall portion 30 is aligned with an 
identical depression 44 in the opposed side wall, with the bottom portion 
48 of the aligned depressions forming a common wall therebetween. A 
central opening 50 is located in the common wall 48. The opening 50 is 
provided to receive a boat rope or line therethrough to hang the fender on 
the boat. To that end the diameter of the opening 50 is just slightly 
larger than the diameter of typical boat rope or line. The lower 
depression 48 in one side wall portion 30 is aligned with an identical 
depression 48 in the opposed side wall portion 30, with the bottom 48 of 
each depression forming a common wall therebetween. The common wall also 
includes an opening 50 which is adapted to receive a boat rope 
therethrough. 
In accordance with a preferred aspect of this invention, the depressions 
are located so that the opposed upper depressions 44, with their central 
opening 50 therein, lie substantially below the top edge 40 of the fender 
while the bottom depressions 48, and their central opening 50, lie 
substantially above the bottom rim 36 of the fender. This feature is of 
considerable importance since it insures that the fender is disposed 
immediately opposite the gunwale and not therebelow when it is hung from 
either opening 50. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, if 
a fender or bumper is not disposed opposite the gunwale but is, in fact, 
disposed therebelow the boat is susceptible to impact at its gunwale from 
another boat or from a stationary structure, such as a pier. Both of these 
conditions are shown in FIG. 2B and identified as prior art. 
The bottle-fender 20 of the instant invention is constructed to hang 
opposite the boats' gunwale and thus provide good reliable protection for 
the boat and adjacent boats or other structures. To that end operation of 
the bumper or fender 20 is as follows: A rope or other nautical line 52 is 
extended through the central opening 50 in either the upper depressions 44 
or the lower depressions 46 and the rope is knotted to secure the fender 
thereon. Water or other ballast is filled into the fender to give it 
sufficient mass to prevent its flopping about due to boat motion or wind. 
The fender is then ready to be hung along the gunwale 54 of a boat. To 
that end, the rope 52 is lashed and tied about a suitable cleat or other 
support on the boat (not shown) so that one of the fender's flat side wall 
portions, 32, abuts the gunwale 54. Since the opening 50 through which the 
rope 52 is extended is located below the top edge 40 or above the bottom 
edge 36 (depending upon which hole 50 is used) when the bumper is secured 
in place, the fender remains located opposite the gunwale. This action 
ensures that the body of the fender is available for impact by another 
boat or structure. 
In FIG. 2A the disposition of the bottle-fender 20 on a boat 56 is shown 
schematically. As can be seen therein, since the fender 20 is located 
along the gunwale 54, the boat is not subject to damage or impact from an 
adjacently moored boat 58. Moreover, the adjacently moored boat 58 is 
protected from impact by the boat 56. 
In FIG. 2B a typical prior art bumper 60 is shown hung below the gunwale 54 
of a boat 56, in a typical position. This orientation renders the boat 56 
susceptible to damage by impacting either adjacent boat 58 or adjacent 
pier 62. 
In accordance with a preferred aspect of this invention the body 22 is 
formed as an integral unit of a strong, yet lightweight material, such as 
plastic, although other materials can be used. 
It must be pointed out at this juncture that while the bottle-fender is 
shown as having planar side walls 30 and 32, it is clear that the entire 
side wall 28 can be circular, oval or any other desired shape, so long as 
opposed depressions are provided therein, with the opening of the upper 
pair of depressions being located below the line in which the side wall 
meets the top wall and with the opening of the lower pair of depressions 
being located above the line in which the sidewall meets the bottom wall. 
As will be appreciated from the foregoing the bottle of the instant 
invention has considerable appeal as a merchandising premium since it can 
be used as a container for selling liquids, powders or other flowable 
material and once the purchaser uses up such material it can then be used 
as a effective boat fender by merely threading rope through either of the 
openings provided therein. Moreover, when the bottle-fender is not 
actually being used as a fender on the boat it can store materials therein 
which would otherwise be stored in other containers on a boat, thereby 
saving valuable boat space. 
Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate our 
invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, 
readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.