Abstract:
A boat brush tool for cleaning a boat pontoon, the boat brush tool having a generally J-shaped tubular support member with an upper section for manipulating the tool and a lower section carrying a plurality of brush bristles and having a curved shape corresponding to the outer surface of the pontoon.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to devices for cleaning boat hulls in the water. More specifically, this invention relates to a boat hull cleaning device which is particularly well suited for cleaning pontoons. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are many pontoon boats at the docks and in the water in the lakes of the United States and other countries. Unfortunately, each pontoon that is left in the water accumulates unwanted material at the water/pontoon interface. The accumulations may be dirt, algae, slime, seaweed, shellfish, or other unwanted materials. In any event, accumulations of material on pontoons have the well-known effect of reducing the pontoon&#39;s efficiency to move through the water. Thus, more power, and hence, more fuel, is required to maintain a given speed. The well-known solution, of course, is to remove the accumulations frequently to maintain a clean, efficient pontoon. 
     In many instances it is necessary to frequently clean each pontoon to maintain an efficient boat. It is not uncommon to clean each pontoon on a weekly basis as a routine matter. Such routine maintenance amounts to a lot of work and any improvement which reduces the effort involved in cleaning pontoon hulls would be greatly appreciated by those cleaning pontoon hulls. Even a small improvement in efficiency of each cleaning effort would yield large total dividends because of the frequency of cleaning events required by routine maintenance. 
     There have been efforts to provide machines for cleaning boat hulls but machines can be expensive and require power for their use. There also have been efforts to provide hand tools which require only human power and which can be manipulated for cleaning boat hulls. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 693,242 Feb. 11, 1902 to Culpepper for APPARATUS FOR CLEANING BOTTOMS OF SHIPS, discloses an apparatus using brushes which are forcibly thrust against a ships bottom by the reactionary effect of a stream of water issuing from a nozzle which projects at right angles to the plane of the brush arms. U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,821 Jul. 24, 2001 to Hodder for CLEANING MEANS, discloses a boat hull cleaner having a telescoping handle with a buoyancy control means and a scrubbing brush. U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,290 Jul. 25, 1978, to Weiss for UNDERWATER BOTTOM CLEANING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS, discloses a system and apparatus for cleaning submerged portions of hulls with a cyclically movable brush having a motor driven by air or other gas. The Weiss apparatus has means having variable buoyancy to lift and lower the cleaning means of brush assembly into and out of varying cleaning relation with respect to the hull. U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,068 to Lester at al. for PORTABLE SCRUBBING TOOL discloses a pneumatic powered portable scrubbing tool having a scrubbing brush member that is rotated by an air powered motor. 
     While there has been interest in developing machines and tools for cleaning boat hulls, there remains a need for improvements with respect to tools for cleaning pontoons. Some tools would be too expensive for an average small boat owner. Other tools would be too difficult for one person to effectively manipulate. Thus, it would be desirable to have an economical, practical, easy to manipulate tool for cleaning pontoons of pontoon boats and the like. Accordingly the present invention provides a tool especially designed and particularly well adapted for cleaning the pontoons of a pontoon boat. 
     Further understanding of the present invention will be had from the following specification and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a diagrammatic elevation view showing a preferred embodiment of a boat brush of the present invention in use cleaning the pontoon of a pontoon boat; 
         FIG. 2  is an elevation view of the preferred embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view  3  taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A boat brush tool for cleaning a boat pontoon, said tool having a generally J-shaped tubular support member having an upper section for manipulating said tool and a lower section for cleaning a pontoon or the like, said lower section carrying a plurality of brush bristles and a having a shape curved to correspond to the outer surface of said pontoon. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Now referring to  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of a boat brush tool of the present invention is shown and indicated generally by the  10 .  FIG. 1  shows boat brush tool  10 , somewhat diagrammatically, in use by a person  12  cleaning pontoon  14  of pontoon boat  16 . The preferred embodiment of a boat brush tool of the present invention is described herein for use to clean pontoons of pontoon boats which is a preferred use of this invention. Of course, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a boat brush tool of the present invention may be broadly useful for other purposes so long as such use is not inconsistent with the purpose of this invention. 
     As best shown in  FIG. 2 , boat brush tool  10  generally comprises a J-shaped support member  18  which has upper section  20  and lower section  22 . Both upper section  20  and lower section  22  can be comprised of PVC tubing or similar material. Upper section  20  of J-shaped support member  18  extends upwardly long enough for a person to manipulate tool  10  to clean a boat pontoon. To facilitate manipulation of boat brush tool  10 , upper section  18  has an upper handle  24  and a lower handle  26 . Lower section  22  of support member  18  carries bristle sections  28  and  30  which are provided for proper abrasion of pontoon  14  or the like during the use of tool  10 . 
     It is contemplated that J-shaped support member  18  will have a lower section  22  that is shaped for use as a cleaning tool for pontoons or other suitable shapes of hulls in water. Preferably support member  18  has a lower section  22  which is curved to correspond to the shape of the pontoon to be cleaned. 
     Also, preferably support member  18  has a hollow interior  32 . Hollow interior  32  gives lower section  22  buoyancy in water and hence applies force in an upward direction against pontoon  14  when tool  10  is in use. This upward force assists in cleaning pontoon  14 . It is also preferred that J-shaped support member  18  will be comprised of PVC pipe or other relatively lightweight material which can be readily formed to conform to a desired shape to correspond to a particular pontoon. 
     While J-shaped support member  18  may be of various constructions, in the preferred embodiment shown in the figures J-shaped support member  18  includes a cap  34  for sealing the lower section  22  of member  18  and an upper elbow  36  and lower T-shaped joint  38  for respectively attaching and securing handles  24  and  26  to upper section  20  of support member  18 . 
     It is preferred that support member  18  be portable for easy transportation in a boater&#39;s automotive vehicle. Since support member  18  is somewhat long, t is desirable that support member  18  be able to be broken down into two or more pieces. For this purpose, support member  18  is provided in two sections as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , upper section  20  and lower section  22  which are held together by tubular sleeve  40  with pins  42  and  44  for securing sleeve  40  to upper section  20  and lower section  22  respectively. 
     Lower section  22  of support member  18  carries bristle sections  46  and  48  which extend from a metal sleeve  50  spirally wrapped around lower section  22  of support member  18 . A gap  52  is provided between adjacent ends of bristle sections  46  and  48  to provide room for a keel of a pontoon. Optionally, a shoe or roller bearing can be attached to lower section  22  in gap  52  to be in contact with the keel of the keel to facilitate movement of lower section  22  along the keel during use of brush tool  10 . Of course, various means for attaching bristles to lower section  22  may be employed within the broad scope of the present invention so long as such means is consistent with the purpose of brush tool  10 . 
     In use, boat brush  10  can be brought to the water in two pieces and then assembled on site near the pontoon boat to be cleaned. Once assembled, lower section  22  of boat brush  10  is placed against the pontoon to be cleaned so that the curve of lower section  22  mates with the pontoon itself. Then, boat brush  10  is manipulated by the user whose hands can grasp upper section handles  24  and  26 . 
     While the present invention has been disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment, brush tool  10 , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this invention is subject to modification and variation within the broad scope of the invention and such modifications and variations are to be included within the scope of this invention which is limited only by the following claims.