Surfboard or sailboard carrier

A lightweight carrier for aiding in transporting an elongated load such as one or more surfboards or sailboards either uncovered on in carrying bags is formed of a simple U-shaped frame of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe having attached wheels. The carrier which is normally fastened to one end of the load, includes a padded cross member which carries much of the load and padded upright supports or arms which are sufficiently flexible that they can deform or bend outwardly or inwardly. A strap is used to pull the tops of the arms together around the load. A surfer can then carry the opposite end of the load which will trail behind him on the carrier.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to carriers and more particularly to a 
manually pulled carrier for surfboards or sailboards. 
Because of their size and particularly their length, surfboards and 
sailboards often present difficulties in transportation, particularly 
where space is limited as in crowded areas, through doorways, etc. 
Surfboards are usually light in weight and are often carried by an 
individual centered under his or her arm; however, they are of such length 
that a small turn of one carrying the surfboard may result in an end of 
the board swinging two or three feet with resulting danger of colliding 
with walls, doorways or people. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a surfboard 
carrier which is light and easily portable when empty or when carrying one 
or more surfboards and which substantially reduces the chances of the 
collisions described above. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a surfboard 
carrier which meets the above objective and in which one or more 
surfboards are supported securely with essentially no danger of their 
falling or slipping out of the carrier. 
The above objects are met by applicant's carrier which includes a very 
lightweight frame carried on a single axle with two wheels, and wherein 
one or more surfboards or sailboards are supported on a single padded 
horizontal bar and held in position by a pair of padded but flexible 
upstanding arms secured to the ends of the horizontal bar which arms can 
bow outwardly or inwardly as required to secure the load. A strap fastened 
between the upstanding arms may be adjusted to vary the distance between 
the tops of the arms to thereby pull the upstanding arms around the load.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 in its most important function for 
a traveler who carries one or more surfboards with him. Surfboards which 
range in length from six to twelve feet in length, although light in 
weight, are extremely cumbersome when carried, particularly when they are 
transported by commercial air carriers. The most difficult portion of the 
trip for the surfer is the travel between ground transportation and the 
airport counter where the surfboard is to be checked in as large luggage. 
To protect surfboards and nearby persons, surfboard bags have been 
designed which enclose one or more surfboards protecting their surfaces 
and fins and which may be carried by one person or two using sewn in 
handles at the top of the bag. Still there is danger to nearby persons 
when the bag is carried by hand. 
As seen in FIG. 1, the surfer S who may be carrying his other luggage 
merely grasps the handle H and pulls the surfboard bag along with the rear 
end of the bag B supported by carrier 10 which rolls on its two wheels 11 
with the bag B carried securely resting on a padded cross member 12 (see 
FIG. 2) and nestled between padded upstanding arms 13 and 14 of which only 
arm 13 is shown in FIG. 1. The bag B is secured between arms 13 and 14 by 
strap 15, best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, the carrier 10 includes a pair of wheels 11 
secured to a frame which includes an axle 16 carrying wheels 11 and which 
is wrapped with a cylindrical layer of plastic foam padding. Spaced from 
and parallel to axle 16 is cross member 12 which is similarly padded. 
Secured at the ends of cross member 12 are upstanding arms 13 and 14 which 
are padded similarly to axle 16 and cross member 12. A strap 15 is shown 
secured to the top of the upstanding arm 14. Arms 13 and 14 have caps 13A 
and 14A. Strap 15 is secured tightly around the top of arm 14 between cap 
14A and the padding on arm 14 so that it does not readily slide down or 
pull off the top of arm 14. A bag B having a handle H carries a surfboard 
or sailboard SB having a fin F and also an accessory bag AB. 
FIG. 3 shows the same carrier 10 with a bag B carrying two or more 
surfboards SB. It will be observed that the upright arms 13 and 14 are 
bowed outwardly a greater distance than shown in FIG. 2 to accommodate the 
greater width of the load. By pulling the strap 14 up between the ends of 
arms 13 and 14, the bag B can be held securely between arms 13,14 over a 
substantial variation in the cross section of the load. If desired, cross 
member 12 and axle 16 can be made longer to accommodate larger bags 
carrying more surfboards or sailboards. 
FIG. 4 shows the carrier 10 without a load. The dash-dot lines indicate the 
flexibility of arms 13 and 14 to accommodate to loads of greater or 
smaller cross section. The strap 15 is shown secured to arm 14 and 
unattached to arm 13. 
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of carriage 10 showing the strap 15 used 
for adjusting the spacing between the tops of upstanding arms 13,14. 
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the carrier 10 shown in association with an 
alternate strap arrangement wherein there may be attached to a surfboard 
or sailboard SB, a separate accessory strap 18 with a carrying handle 20 
providing an end loop which is secured around the forward end of the 
surfboard or sailboard SB. This arrangement is advantageous when the 
surfer wishes to transport a surfboard without a carry bag or with a carry 
bag having no similarly located handle. In such instances, the forward end 
of the carry bag or the surfboard or sailboard SB can be carried under the 
arm of surfer S with the trailing end supported by carriage 10; however, 
this is somewhat less satisfactory than an arrangement such as shown in 
FIG. 6 or where a bag B with a handle H is available. 
The carrier 10 is preferably made of very lightweight material such as 
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe covered where indicated with flexible 
plastic foam. 
The above described embodiments of the present invention are merely 
descriptive of its principles and are not to be considered limiting. The 
scope of the present invention instead shall be determined from the scope 
of the following claims including their equivalents.