Watercraft

A watercraft, including; a mid section (2) and two side sections (3,4), whereby the mid section (2) has a seat (5) for a passenger and whereby the watercraft (1) has a steering mechanism. The watercraft (1) includes a front part (2) and a rear part, relative to a direction of travel of the watercraft (7), that are coupled together by means of a hinged coupling (8). The front part (2) of the watercraft (1) includes the mid section (2) of the watercraft (1), and the rear part (7) of the watercraft (1) includes the two side sections (3,4). The hinged coupling (8) forms part of the steering mechanism, such that as a result of a rotation of the front part (2) with respect to the rear part (7) of the watercraft (1) around the hinged coupling (8), the direction of travel of the watercraft (1) is changed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Background of the Invention

More specifically the invention relates to a watercraft intended for recreational use that consists of a mid section and two side sections, with which sections the watercraft can float on water, whereby the mid section has a seat for a passenger and whereby the watercraft has a steering mechanism.

Such watercrafts are already known, for example in the form of a speed boat, yacht or similar, that generally have a limited draught and to this end, for reasons relating to the stability of the boat in water, are constructed with a mid section and two side sections with which the boat rests on the water.

A disadvantage of the known watercrafts of this type is that they are relatively poorly maneuverable and that the radius of the turning circle when making a turn with such a watercraft is rather large.

Another disadvantage of the known watercrafts of the aforementioned type is that they often have a very unwieldy construction.

A further disadvantage of the known watercrafts of the aforementioned type is that they present a relatively high resistance when sailing, especially at high speeds.

More specifically the profile of known watercrafts of the aforementioned type is such that when sailing at high speeds, the watercraft has the tendency to move up and down on the water with its bow, or to crash into the water surface in a continually repeating movement, whereby every downward movement is coupled with a high resistance.

Sailing at high speeds with such known watercrafts thus requires an enormous amount of energy and/or powerful engines, with high costs as a result.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solution to the aforementioned disadvantages and other disadvantages.

The purpose of the invention is to obtain a watercraft that can sail at high speeds without problems, similar to the speeds achieved by speedboats or jet skis, whereby it is also the intention to reduce the energy consumption.

Moreover, the purpose of the invention is to obtain a watercraft with extremely high maneuverability, but with a very simple steering mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To this end the present invention relates to a watercraft intended for recreational use that consists of a mid section and two side sections, with which sections the watercraft can float on the water, whereby the mid section has a seat for a passenger and the watercraft has a steering mechanism, whereby moreover the watercraft consists of a front part and a rear part that are coupled together by means of a hinged coupling, whereby the front part of the watercraft is primarily formed by the aforementioned mid section of the watercraft, and the aforementioned two side sections form part of the rear part of the watercraft, and whereby the hinged coupling forms part of the steering mechanism, such that as a result of the rotation of the front part with respect to the rear part of the watercraft around the hinged coupling, the sailing direction of the watercraft is changed.

A big advantage of a watercraft according to the invention is that the watercraft is highly maneuverable as a result of the presence of the aforementioned hinged coupling.

Indeed, by rotating the front part of the watercraft with respect to the rear part of the watercraft through the hinged coupling, these two parts of the watercraft can be put in an oblique position with respect to one another, so that when turning the watercraft can follow a turning circle with a much smaller radius than the radius of the turning circles of the known rigid watercrafts that are manufactured as one part, and which do not have such a hinged coupling.

Moreover, the steering mechanism of a watercraft according to the invention is formed by the aforementioned hinged coupling, which can be steered in a very easy way.

Preferably the rear part of a watercraft according to the invention has handles to this end that a passenger seated on the seat in the mid section or front part of the watercraft can hold on to, in order to make the front part of the watercraft rotate with respect to the rear part of the watercraft by moving his body.

It is clear that such an embodiment of a watercraft according to the invention is very simple to control and also extremely maneuverable.

Another preferred characteristic of a watercraft according to the invention consists of equipping the front part with a foil profile at a certain distance under the bottom of the first part.

According to the invention, the foil profile is such that with a sufficiently fast forward movement of the watercraft, an upward force is exerted on the foil profile by the water so that the front part of the watercraft is at least partially, and preferably completely, pushed out of the water.

A watercraft according to the invention that has such a foil profile provides the advantage that the resistance that the watercraft experiences at high speeds is kept to a minimum, as the front part of the watercraft that takes the bulk of the weight of a passenger is barely in contact with the water, but only via the aforementioned foil profile.

As a result, higher speeds can be reached with a watercraft according to the invention than with the known watercrafts of the same type, at least insofar both watercrafts are driven with the same force.

On the other hand, to obtain the same relatively high speed, less energy or force is required in a watercraft according to the invention than with known watercrafts of the same type.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The watercraft1according to the invention shown inFIGS. 1 to 4is a watercraft intended for recreational use, for example for making pleasure trips or practising water sports or similar.

TheseFIGS. 1 to 4are only simple illustrations of a possible embodiment of a watercraft1according to the invention, whereby the characteristics of the watercraft1that are important for the invention are made clear, but other parts of the watercraft1are not shown, such as a drive means or other structural elements that can form the actual superstructure of the watercraft1, such as for example a deck, a load platform, a railing or similar.

The watercraft1consists of a mid section2and two side sections3and4.

The mid section2is constructed as a kind of tub, while the side sections3and4are floating floats formed by hollow closed chambers that are filled with air or a light material such as a foam rubber or similar.

Of course it is the intention that these sections2to4ensure that the watercraft1can float on the water.

The mid section2has a seat5for a passenger (not shown in the drawings), whereby the tub of the mid section2acts as a support for the legs and feet of such a passenger.

In the example shown, the side sections3and4are connected together into a rigid unit by means of a frame6, but other embodiments are not excluded, such as embodiments in which the sections3and4are constructed as a monolithic whole and similar.

A first important characteristic of a watercraft1according to the invention is that the watercraft1consists of a front part2and a rear part7that are connected together by means of a hinged coupling8.

As a result the front part2of the watercraft1is primarily formed by the aforementioned mid section2of the watercraft1.

Moreover, the aforementioned two side sections3and4form part of the rear part7of the watercraft1, as well as the frame6and any other components that are not shown in the drawings.

In this case, the hinged coupling8is formed by two hinges, respectively a first hinge9and a second hinge10that are placed at a certain distance D from each other between the front part2and the rear part7of the watercraft1.

More specifically, the first hinge9is mounted on the back of a backrest11of the seat5, while the second hinge10is affixed below a seating surface12of the seat5.

These hinges9and10work together and to this end are aligned along an axis AA′, such that the front or mid section2can undergo a rotation around this axis AA′ with respect to the rear part7of the watercraft1.

According to the invention, this axis AA′ is preferably in an oblique position with respect to the bottom13of the front part2of the watercraft1, or in other words an oblique position with respect to the waterline BB′ when the watercraft1is floating at rest on the water.

In the example shown, the bottom13of the mid section2of the watercraft1in such a rest position is practically parallel to the waterline BB′.

As a result, the angle C between the axis AA′ and the waterline BB′ or the bottom13is around 35.degree., but other angles C are not excluded according to the invention.

Of course it is the intention that the hinged coupling8forms part of the steering mechanism of the watercraft1, such that by rotating the front part2with respect to the rear part7of the watercraft1around the hinged coupling8, the sailing direction of the watercraft1is changed.

According to a preferred embodiment of a watercraft1according to the invention, the rear part7of the watercraft1has handles14that a passenger seated in the seat5can hold onto.

It is hereby the intention that the passenger can make the front part2of the watercraft1rotate with respect to the rear part7of the watercraft1by moving his body, such that the sailing direction of the watercraft1can be changed in this way.

With the handles14, the passenger can exert the necessary torque to realise the rotation.

Preferably, according to the invention it is also ensured that the side sections3and4of the rear part7extend no further in the sailing direction than a plane that extends through the axis AA′ of the hinges9and10and which is oriented transverse to the axial direction EE′ of the watercraft1.

In this way a rotation of the front part2with respect to the rear part7of the watercraft1is not impeded in any way, such that a highly maneuverable watercraft1is obtained.

Although not strictly necessary for the invention, the side sections3and4are preferably constructed as floating floats that can be detached from the watercraft1.

This enables the watercraft1to be configured as desired by changing the form or type of the side sections3and4, for example in order to adapt the watercraft1for carrying larger or smaller loads.

According to a preferred embodiment of a watercraft1according to the invention, the side sections3and4consist of floating floats that are adjustable with respect to the watercraft1.

By making these side sections adjustable in the breadthwise direction FF′ of the watercraft1, it is possible to influence the stability of the watercraft1.

More specifically, the ‘rolling motion’, which is the rocking, back and forth rotating movement of the watercraft1around the axial direction EE′ of the watercraft1, can be limited by moving the side sections3and4further apart in the breadthwise direction FF′.

Making the side sections3and4adjustable in the longitudinal direction EE′ of the watercraft can also make sense, as in this way the distance between the front part2and the rear part7can be adapted, for example to obtain a better weight distribution or similar.

Another preferred characteristic of a watercraft according to the invention consists of the front part2of the watercraft1having a foil profile15at a certain distance G below the bottom13of the mid section2.

The foil profile15is of course preferably such that with a sufficiently fast forward movement of the watercraft1, an upward force is exerted on the foil profile15by the water, such that the front part2of the watercraft1is at least partially, and preferably completely, pushed out of the water.

To this end, as is known, the top 16 of the foil profile15is constructed with a larger curve than the underside17of the foil profile, in order to produce the necessary lift.

According to a preferred embodiment of a watercraft according to the invention, the foil profile15is affixed to a leeboard18.

As shown in more detail inFIGS. 6 and 7, the foil profile15contains two foils19and20that extend on either side of the leeboard18.

Moreover, in the example shown inFIGS. 6 and 7the foils19and20are affixed at a distance H from the free end21of the leeboard18.

For this purpose the leeboard18has a V-shaped profile23at the other end22, whose V-shape can accurately fit to the keel of the front part2.

In this case the leeboard18has holes24in the V-shaped profile23for bolting the leeboard18to the front part2, but other means for fastening the leeboard18to the front part2of the watercraft1are of course not excluded.

In this way it is possible, for example, to exchange the leeboard18, and thus the foil profile15on this leeboard18, for a leeboard18with a different type of foil profile15or with a different length, or such.

According to another preferred embodiment of a watercraft according to the invention, the rear part7of the watercraft1has a motorised drive.

Preferably this motorised drive is formed by at least one jet ski engine, and preferably the motorised drive is formed by two engines25and26, where each of the engines25and26are affixed on either side section3and4of the watercraft1.

Such an embodiment of a watercraft1according to the invention provides the advantage that with appropriate control of the engines25and26, the sailing direction of the watercraft1can also be influenced, whereby the steering of the watercraft by a passenger can be done without requiring too much muscle power from the passenger.

The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiment of a watercraft according to the invention described as an example and illustrated in the drawings, but a watercraft according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of variants, without departing from the scope of the invention.