Venting and drain arrangement for small watercraft

A venting and drain arrangement for a small watercraft that is formed with a tunnel in which the propulsion unit for the watercraft is formed. The venting arrangement includes a vent pipe that extends through a venting recess formed in the hull to the engine compartment. A well is formed in the venting recess in which water can accumulate and a drain conduit extends from the well to the tunnel for discharging water to the body of water in which the watercraft is operating without necessitating holes that will be visible when the watercraft is operating.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a venting and drain arrangement for a small 
watercraft and more particularly to an improved arrangement for venting 
.the engine compartment of such a watercraft and for draining water which 
may accumulate in the area of the vent passage. 
The desirability of venting the engine compartment of a watercraft is well 
known. Various types of venting arrangements have been proposed. These 
generally include an inlet pipe that is positioned within a recessed area 
of the hull and which is covered by a cover plate so as to insure that 
water cannot flow directly into the engine compartment through the vent 
pipe. A well is formed in the recessed area around the vent pipe and any 
water which may enter into the venting area can accumulate in this well. 
Drain passages have been provided which extend from the well out through 
the sides of the hull to permit accumulated water to be discharged. Such 
arrangements, however, have a number of difficulties and disadvantages. 
In the first instance, the positioning of drains that extend through the 
sides of the hull require multiple drains so that the water can drain from 
the venting area regardless of the orientation of the watercraft. That is, 
if the watercraft is leaning to one side or the other, it must be insured 
that the accumulated water can drain and this necessitates the use of 
plural drains. In addition to the foregoing disadvantage, the provision of 
drain openings in the side of the hull give an unsightly appearance and 
furthermore require reinforcing in the hull area around the drain opening. 
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an 
improved venting and drain arrangement for a small watercraft. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a water drain for the 
engine compartment vent of a small watercraft wherein only one drain 
passage need be provided and, furthermore, wherein the drain passage 
discharges back into the body of water in which the watercraft is 
operating through an opening that cannot be seen from the external area of 
the hull during normal operation. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is adapted to be embodied in a hull construction for a small 
watercraft wherein the hull defines a tunnel on the underside for 
containing at least in part a propulsion unit for the watercraft. An 
engine compartment is formed within the hull for accommodating an internal 
combustion engine for driving the propulsion unit. A venting recess is 
formed in the upper portion of the hull and a vent pipe extends through 
the hull in the venting recess from an inlet end communicating with the 
atmosphere to an outlet end communicating with the engine compartment. A 
well is formed by the venting recess in which water may accumulate. Drain 
means extend from the well to the tunnel for draining water from the well 
to the body of water in which the watercraft is operating.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings, a small watercraft constructed in accordance 
with an embodiment of the invention is identified generally by the 
reference numeral 11. In the illustrated embodiment, the small watercraft 
11 is depicted as being of the jet propelled type and is designed to be 
operated by a single rider sitting on the seat of the watercraft in a 
straddle fashion, as will become apparent. It is to be understood, 
however, that the invention can be utilized in conjunction with various 
other types of watercraft. The invention does, however, have particular 
utility in connection with watercraft powered by a jet propulsion unit, 
for a reason which will become apparent 
The watercraft 11 is comprised of a hull, indicated generally by the 
reference numeral 12 and which is comprised of a lower hull portion 13 and 
a deck portion 14. The lower portion 13 and deck portion 14 may 
conveniently be formed from a molded fiberglass reinforced resin as is 
well known in this art. 
The hull 12 defines an engine compartment 15 that is positioned generally 
beneath and forwardly of a seat 16 carried by the deck portion 14 and upon 
which a rider is adapted to be seated in a straddle fashion, as 
aforenoted. A handlebar assembly 17 is provided forwardly of the seat 16 
for steering operation of the watercraft 11 and also may contain suitable 
throttle controls. 
An internal combustion engine 18 is provided in the engine compartment 15 
and has its output shaft 19 coupled by means of an elastic coupling 21 to 
an input shaft which drives an impeller 22 of a jet propulsion unit, 
indicated generally by the reference numeral 23. The jet propulsion unit 
23 is positioned within a tunnel 24 formed on the underside of the hull 
portion 13 to beneath the seat 16 and toward the rear end of the hull 12. 
The jet propulsion unit 23 has a downwardly and forwardly facing water 
inlet 25 through which water is drawn by the operation of the impeller 22 
and which is discharged through a pivotally supported steering nozzle 26. 
As is well known, the pivotal movement of the steering nozzle 26 effects 
steering of the watercraft 11. 
A venting recess, indicated generally by the reference numeral 27 is formed 
by the deck portion 14 forwardly of the steering handlebar 17. The recess 
27 has an inlet opening 28 which is in a sheltered location and through 
which vent air can be drawn into the venting recess 27. A vent pipe 29 
extends from an inlet opening in the venting recess 27 to an outlet that 
is in communication with the engine compartment 15 but which is spaced 
above the normal water level, indicated by the line 31. The vent pipe 29 
is sheltered by a portion 32 of the deck 14 that extends over the venting 
recess 27 so any water entering the opening 28 will not be drawn into the 
engine compartment 15. 
A well or trough 33 extends across the rear of the venting recess 27 and is 
at the lowest portion of this recess. The well 33 is normally spaced a 
distance A above the height of the water line 31 and extends transversely 
across the venting recess 27 so as to insure that it will be able to 
accommodate a fairly substantial amount of water which may be ingested 
through the opening 28. 
In order to drain water that accumulates in the well 33, there is provided 
a flexible conduit 34 that extends from an inlet opening 35 positioned 
centrally of the well 33 to an outlet opening 36 that communicates with 
the tunnel 24 at a distance B above the normal water level 31 so as to 
insure good draining. Because the drain opening 35 is positioned centrally 
of the well 33, only a single drain opening need be required and water 
will drain effectively regardless of the attitude of the watercraft 11. As 
a result, a very efficient, compact and neat drain arrangement is provided 
that does not require any openings in the outer side of the hull that 
could be seen when the watercraft 11 is in use. Furthermore, the 
construction avoids the necessity of forming any reinforcing around the 
drain openings to strengthen the hull since the openings are formed in 
areas of the hull that do not undergo any high loading. 
It should be understood that the foregoing description is that of a 
preferred embodiment of the invention and that various changes and 
modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of 
the invention, as defined by the appended claims.