Retractable front rudders

Retract front rudders to be used as a steering system for small water craft such as canoes and kayaks. The system has a pair of angled retractable rudders mounted in a forward/bow portion and attached by shafted cables to a pair of movable control footpegs mounted in the rear or stern of the craft. The system can be mounted through an opening in the front floor of the craft. Alternatively, the system can be attached to the exterior front of the forward section of the craft.

This invention relates to canoes and kayaks, and in particular to a 
steering system for manual paddle powered watercraft having a pair of 
angled retractable rudders mounted in a forward/bow portion and attached 
by shafted cables to a pair of movable control footpegs mounted in the 
rear or stern of the craft. 
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART 
Controlling the path of small crafts such as canoes and kayaks, is a 
complex and subtle art. The forward thrust applied by the manually moving 
paddle is off the midline(longitudinal axis) of the craft and thereby 
creates a lateral displacement to the craft itself. The user can correct 
for the lateral displacement by switching the paddles from side-to-side as 
well as using the paddle itself as a rear rudder. Although these 
corrective measures are possible, they still require proper study and many 
hours to perfect. Mechanical systems have been proposed that include rear 
positioned rudders that can flip up and bypass obstructions and obstacles 
underneath the water surface thereby preventing damage to the rudders. See 
for example: U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 202,391 to Eschmann; 2,528,608 to Rickart 
et al.; 2,991,749 to Patterson; 3,085,540 to Crabille; 3,147,730 to 
Specht; 3,941,072 to Caton et al; and 5,507,244 to Lee. However, these 
patents are generally directed to rear based fastened rudders, some of 
which are part of additional motor mounts, and require the user to 
relinquish one of their hands to operate the rudder. U.S. Pat. No. 
3,922,988 to Caton et al. mentions foot operation. But even this patent 
requires rearwardly mounted rudders for small craft. U.S. Pat. Nos. 
4,949,662 to Kobayashi and 5,672,080 to Gauthier each describe single 
rudders in the front. However, these patents are directed to single 
rudders that connect to hand operated steering wheel controls on a jet ski 
type boat and a "water bicycle", which are substantially different than 
canoes and kayaks. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,979,916 to LeBlanc and 5,460,551 to 
Beres describe foot operated paddles for small craft. However, these 
references eliminate the use of hand operated paddles and still do not 
have front based controllable rudders. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,641,594 to Birkett 
and 4,862,818 to Sullivan describe canoe steering attachments for the 
front of canoes. However, each of these references have fixed latched 
attachments for the front outer sides of canoes and have no controls for 
operating these fixed attachments. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The first objective of the present invention is to provide a steering 
system for paddle powered watercrafts that does not impart substantial 
changes to the handling and glide of the craft. 
The second object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts that only has to be controlled by the user's 
feet. 
The third object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts that places controllable rudders forward to the 
center of gravity of the craft. 
The fourth object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts that is strong and lightweight. 
The fifth object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts that is safe and easily workable by the user. 
The sixth object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts having variable degrees of lateral thrust 
allowing for both gradual and sharp turns. 
The seventh object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts that can be mounted with minor changes to the 
physical characteristics of the craft. 
The eighth object of this invention is to provide a steering system for 
paddle powered watercrafts that causes minimal changes to performance 
characteristics of the craft. 
A preferred embodiment of the invention includes the combination of a water 
craft such as a canoe and kayak propelled by hand manipulated paddles 
having a bow and stern, dual angled rudders adjacent to the bow of the 
craft, and foot peddles for controlling the raising and lowering of the 
cable connected and spring biassed rudders, wherein the user depressing 
each of the foot peddle raises and lowers a rudder to change direction of 
the craft. A first embodiment mounts the rudders through a floor portion 
adjacent to the bow of the craft, with the bow section being foam filled 
for keeping the bow buoyant and afloat. A bulk head positioned between the 
first rudder and the stern of the craft seals the rudders and 
floor-through-holes from the rest of the water craft. A second embodiment 
has the rudders individually in housings connected to straps for being 
mounted external to the front bow section of the water craft. The straps 
are connected to side clamps attached to gunwales on the water craft, with 
a flexible plate for protecting the strap from a bottom of the water 
craft. 
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the 
following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment which 
is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in 
detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the 
invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used 
herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
FIG. 1 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment 100 of the novel 
steering system invention used inside a small water craft 1. FIG. 2 is an 
enlarged side cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment 100 
in the water craft 1 of FIG. 1 along arrow A. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional 
front view of the water craft of FIG. 2 along arrow B. Referring to FIGS. 
1-3, the first preferred embodiment 100 is used with a small water craft 
1, such as but not limited to a canoe, kayak and the like, front bow tip 
end 2, front bow seat 10, center thwart 20, rear stern seat 30 and stern 
tip end 4. The operation of both rudders 120 and 140 will now be 
described. 
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, embodiment 100 includes a left rudder 140 pivotally 
mounted by a hull attached pivot pin 141 at a front end of hull 5, where 
an inwardly spring biassed left elastomeric cord 145 connects the left 
rudder 140 to bulkhead 170. An attachment screw 143 attaches one end of 
cable 150 which passes through a left hull mounted pulley 152 to a front 
left bulkhead mounted cable guide 154. Cable 150 passes along the inside 
walls of gunwale 50 to a mid-right-pulley 156 behind front seat 10 which 
causes the cable 150 to pass across to the opposite side of craft 1 and 
into another pulley 158, which passes the cable 150 around another pulley 
assembly 159 to left foot-peg assembly 180 which has a spring biassed 
depressible foot peddle 182. The left foot-peg assembly 180 and peddle 182 
are shown and described in greater detail in reference to FIGS. 10-11. 
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a user(not shown) sitting or kneeling adjacent to 
rear seat 30, depresses foot peddle 182 in the direction of arrow D1, 
pulls cable 150 in the direction of arrow P1, causing rudder 140 to pivot 
about pin 141 and rotate in an arc in the direction of arrow L1 so that 
rudder 140 passes through hull based longitudinal left narrow slot 149 to 
a lowered position 140' beneath the craft 1. 
Similarly, embodiment 100 further includes a right rudder 120 pivotally 
mounted by a hull attached pivot pin 121 at a front end of hull 5, where 
an inwardly spring biassed right elastomeric cord 125 connects the right 
rudder 120 to bulkhead 170. An attachment screw 123 attaches one end of 
cable 130 which passes through a right hull mounted pulley 132 to a front 
right bulkhead mounted cable guide 134. Cable 130 passes along the inside 
walls of gunwale 40 to a mid-right-pulley 136 behind front seat 10 which 
causes the cable 130 to pass across to the opposite side of craft 1 and 
into another pulley 138, which passes the cable 130 to left foot-peg 
assembly 190 which has a spring biassed depressible foot peddle 192. The 
user sitting/kneeling on seat 30 depresses foot peddle 192 in the 
direction of arrow D2, pulls cable 130 in the direction of arrow P2, 
causing rudder 120 to pivot about pin 121 and rotate in an arc in the 
direction of arrow L2 so that rudder 120 passes through hull based 
longitudinal left narrow slot 129 to a lowered position beneath the craft 
1. Note that left foot peddle 182 causes the right rudder 140 to be 
lowered and raised, while right foot peddle 192 causes the left rudder 120 
to be lowered and raised. 
Note that bulkhead 170 is a vertical wall sized slightly higher than 
rudders 120, 140 in their raised positions, with a bottom edge 171 
sealingly separating the forward bow section 2 of the craft 1 from the 
rest of the back and stern section 4. On the other side of rudders 120, 
140 is a front wall 174 housing a floating materials 172 such as foam and 
the like which keeps the bow section 2 buoyant and afloat even with the 
narrow through-hole slots 129, 149. 
FIG. 4 is a front view of a second preferred embodiment 200 of the novel 
steering system invention used as an attachment to a small water craft 1 
having right side rudder housing 210 and left side rudder housing 310 
attached by strap 40 about the exterior of the hull 5 of the forward/bow 
section 2 of the craft, in a similar general position to the rudders 
described in the previous embodiment. 
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the left gunwale clamp 420 and strap 
attachment 400 for use with the second embodiment 200. FIG. 5B is a top 
exploded view of the gunwale clamp 420 of FIG. 5A along arrow C. Clamp 420 
includes left member 430 having inwardly protruding parallel teeth members 
432, 434 having inwardly depressible tabs 433, 435 which allow the members 
432, 434 to pass and lock onto mateable interior notches 453 inside 
interior slots 453, 454 of right member 450. A downwardly extending socket 
425 having a side-holes 423 allows for buckle edges 414, 416 of buckle 415 
to attach and lock onto. Strap end 402 of strap 400 is fixed to buckle 
415. Left member 430 is positioned on the inwale side of left side gunwale 
40. Right gunwale clamp 480 is connected in similarly to left gunwale 50 
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the strap connector 410 used in the 
embodiment of FIG. 4. Connector plate 410 can be a flexible planar plate 
formed of rubber, vinyl, soft plastic, and the like, having slots 412, 414 
for allowing the strap 400 to pass there-through, so that the strap 400 
itself does not abut and rub against the lowest bottom edge 9 of the hull 
5 of craft 1. 
FIG. 7 is a top view of one rudder attachment 310 used in the attachment 
embodiment 200 of FIG. 4 along arrow D. FIG. 8 is a side view of the side 
rudder attachment 310 of FIG. 4 along arrow E. Referring to FIGS. 7-8, 
side rudder attachment 310 has an outer curved shell 312 and a flat rear 
surface 315 which can conform to the side surface of hull 5, and a rear 
closed section 322 housing a flotation material 320 such as foam, and the 
like. The forward section 330 has a rudder 350 which pivots about a spring 
loaded hinge 360(shown and described in greater detail in reference to 
FIG. 9). An attachment screw 370 attaches one end of cable 130 which 
passes through a cable guide 319 and a hull mounted pulley 390 to the same 
interior components shown inside the water craft 1 of FIG. 1. The other 
rudder attachment 210 is mounted on the opposite side of the hull 5 with 
similar components and operation. 
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the spring-mounted hinge 360 of FIG. 7. 
Spring-mounted hinge 360 includes a triangular mounting block 362 with a 
pivot shaft 364 extending from one side thereof with a threaded end 369 
where a screwed on nut 356 holds a coiled spring 368 having ends 367 and 
369 fixed into rudder 350 and shaft 364 respectively. Bushings 365 on 
shaft 364 sandwich both sides of rudder 350 therebetween. Depressing foot 
peddles 182, 192(previously described) rotates rudder 350 relative to 
block 362 causing a biasing tension in spring 368, so releasing the 
peddles allows the spring 368 to orient rudder 350 back to it's original 
position. 
FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of the foot peddle assembly 180 shown in 
FIG. 2. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the foot peg 182 of FIG. 10 
along arrow F. Referring to FIGS. 10-11, foot peddle assembly 180 includes 
a rectangular base 510 with closed ends 512, 518, and sides 514, 516 that 
have a cut-out upside down T-shaped interior surfaces 511, 515, 517 that 
form a sliding track matching upside down T-shaped base 184 of the foot 
peg/peddle 182. The foot engaging surface 183 of peg/peddle 182 can be a 
roughened rubber mat and the like for a better gripping fit When the 
peg/peddle 182 is moved in the direction of arrow D1, attached cable/wire 
151 moves in the same direction out from cable guide 502, from sheathed 
cable 150. The forward and backward movement of peg/peddle 182 is limited 
by respective rubber stops 504, 524. Assembly can be mounted to hull 5 by 
mounting screws 506, 508. 
In both embodiments described, cables 130 and 150 can be sheath covered 
wire cables such as those used on bicycles, and the like. Alternatively, 
cables 130, 150 can be nylon ropes, cords, and the like. The rudders and 
peg/peddle assemblies used in the previous embodiments can be fiberglass, 
injection molded plastic, wood, and the like. Furthermore, the materials 
used for cable guides and pulleys and the peg/peddle assemblies can be 
chosen from stainless steel, galvanized metal, hardened plastic, 
fiberglass, combinations thereof, and the like. 
While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in 
various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has 
presumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, 
nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other 
modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein 
are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and 
scope of the claims here appended.