Abstract:
A multi-person racing canoe that can be assembled in sections to make different canoe configurations for different numbers of people. When the sections are disassembled, they pack for storage and/or transportation. A particular embodiment of the present invention uses a common tail section with an optional middle section and different bow sections to configure as a  2 -man,  4 -man or  6 -man racing canoe. The sections can be coupled to form the various configurations with a rhino horn fastener. An outrigger or AMA can be mounted at several different positions fore and aft in the different configurations.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to the field of racing canoes and more particularly to a racing canoe that splits apart into two, three or more sections.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Racing canoes are known around the world and particularly in the Pacific Islands such as Hawaii. Most racing canoes have a single long narrow hull with an outrigger on one side. Racing canoes have been made for 2, 4 and 6 or more persons. Prior art racing canoes for different numbers of persons typically are made different sizes. A canoe for 6 persons simply must be longer than a canoe for 2 persons.  
         [0005]     It would be advantageous to have a racing canoe that comes apart in sections for storage and transportation where the different sections can be assembled in several different ways to produce racing canoes for different numbers of people. In particular, it would be advantageous to have a single racing canoe that can be assembled in sections to produce a 2-man, 4-man or 6-man racing canoe as desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention relates to a racing canoe that can be assembled in sections to make different canoe configurations for different numbers of people. When the sections are disassembled, they pack for storage and/or transportation. A particular embodiment of the present invention uses a common tail section with an optional middle section and different bow sections to configure as a 2-man, 4-man or 6-man racing canoe. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention assembled as a 2-man, 4-man and 6-man racing canoe.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded drawing of a 6-man configuration showing details (not to scale).  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a top-down view of the common tail section, the mid-section and the 4-man/6-man bow section.  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a side view showing a broken apart section of the deck, I-beam stringer and hull.  
         [0011]      FIGS. 5A-5C  are side views of the 2-man, 4-man and 6-man configurations showing locations of the seats and IAKU ports.  
         [0012]      FIG. 6A  is a detail of the rhino horn insert mechanism.  
         [0013]      FIG. 6B  is a detail of the foot-well and the stringer I-beam.  
         [0014]      FIG. 6C  shows a rhino horn inserted into a rhino horn chamber.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a break-apart view of the I-beam stringer.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     The present invention relates to a racing canoe that can be assembled in sections to produce different canoes for different numbers of persons. An example of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1  where a single tail section, a mid-section, two different bow sections and an outrigger (AMA) allow the canoe to be assembled as a 2-man, 4-man or 6-man racing canoe. The 2-man configuration directly attaches the tail section to a 2-man bow section. The 4-man configuration directly attaches the tail section to a longer 4-man/6-man bow section. The 6-man configuration uses the tail section and the 4-man/6-man bow section with a mid-section.  
         [0017]     The struts (called IAKUs) between the outrigger (called an AMA) and the main part of the canoe can be placed into different IAKU ports to achieve different settings or positions for the AMA in the different configurations. In the 2-man configuration there is only one setting. In the 4-man configuration, there are two settings: forward and rear. In the 6-man configuration, there are three possible settings: forward, middle, and rear.  
         [0018]     Turning to  FIG. 1 , a 2-man, 4-man and 6-man configuration of an embodiment of the present invention can be seen. the 2-man version (top configuration in  FIG. 1 ) uses a 2-man bow section  1  that splits apart from a common tail section  2  at a separation location  3 . The AMA  4  is attached to the tail section  2  at a rear attach point  5  and a forward attach point  6  using straight IAKUs  7 . The 4-man and 6-man configurations use a common bow section  8  that is longer than the 2-man bow section  1 . They also use the common tail section  2  that is used with all three configurations. The 4-man and 6-man configurations can use a common AMA  9  that can be longer than the 2-man AMA  4 . The 6-man configuration can use the same bow and tail parts as the 4-man configuration with an additional middle part  11 . The middle part  11  joins between the front and back breaks  12 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows the AMA  4  in the forward setting for the 4-man and 6-man configurations (with the other settings shown with dotted arrows). The 4-man and 6-man configurations can optionally use a curved IAKU  10  rear as shown in  FIG. 1 . Any arrangement of the AMA and IAKUs (including straight and curved IAKUS) is within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a 6-man configuration broken apart.  FIG. 2  is not drawn to scale. The IAKUs  7 ,  10  shown in  FIG. 2  can be both straight, curved, or one straight and the other curved. The tail section includes a rudder  13  coupled to rudder pedals  14  in foot-wells  15  controllable from a rear seat  16 . Forward of the aft foot-wells  15  is a second seat  17  with its foot-wells  18 . Just aft of the rear seat is the aft (or #4) IAKU port  19 . Just forward of the front foot-wells in the tail section is the next (or #3) IAKU port  20 .  
         [0021]     The middle section, used only in the 6-man configuration, contains two seats  21  and two sets of foot-wells  22 . There are no IAKU ports on the middle section of this embodiment. The bow section of the 4-man and 6-man configurations contain two seats  23 ,  24  and two sets of foot-wells  25 ,  26  (one for each seat). The bow section also contains two IAKU ports (the #2 and #1 ports)  27 ,  28 . The #2 IAKU port  27  is at the back of the bow section behind the rear seat. The #1 IAKU port  28  is forward of the front foot-wells. The bow section for the 2-man configuration (shown in  FIG. 1 ) does not contain any seats, foot-wells or IAKU ports.  
         [0022]     When the 2-man configuration is used, the 2-man bow section is mated with the common tail section. Straight IAKUs are normally used that fit into the #3 and #4 IAKU ports on the tail section. The AMA has only one position. The rear seat  16  controls the rudder through the rear seat foot-wells  15  using rudder pedals  14 .  
         [0023]     When the 4-man configuration is used, the 4-man/6-man bow section  8  is directly mated to the common tail section  2 . The #2 and #3 IAKU ports  20 ,  27  end up next to each other. In the 4-man configuration in this embodiment, the AMA  9  can have a forward and rear position. When the AMA is in the forward position, the #1 and #2 IAKU ports  19 ,  20  are used, and when the AMA is in the rear position, the #3 and #4 IAKU ports  27 ,  28  are used.  
         [0024]     The AMA  4 ,  9  is normally mounted on the port side of the canoe (the left side looking from the tail toward the bow). In the 4-man configuration, the AMA can be placed in the forward position by putting the IAKUs into the #1 and #2 IAKU ports  28 ,  27 ; it can be put in the rear position by putting the IAKUs into the #3 and #4 IAKU ports  27 ,  28 . In the 6-man configuration, the AMA can be placed in the forward position by putting the IAKUs into the #1 and #2 IAKU ports  28 ,  27 ; it can be placed in the middle position by putting the IAKUs into the #2 and #3 IAKU ports  27 ,  20 ; and it can be placed in the rear position by putting the IAKUs into the #3 and #4 IAKU ports  20 ,  19  as shown in dotted lines in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  also shows the method of coupling the sections together used in this embodiment of the present invention. A rhino horn shaped piece  29  can be inserted into a specially shaped rhino horn chamber  30  that receives it. When this rhino horn is locked in place using any holding method such as a preferred stainless steel threaded stud with a lock knob. When the lock knob is tightened, the sections are compressed together to form a continuous hull and deck. It should be noted that the rhino horn chamber is normally watertight even without the rhino horn in it and locked down.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  shows a top-down view of the common tail section  2 , the mid-section  11 , and the 4-man/6-man bow section  8 , the seats and foot-wells.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  shows an exploded apart view of the deck, I-beam stringer and hull in the 6-man configuration. The contour of the seats and the IAKU ports can be seen. In addition,  FIG. 4  shows the locations of the rhino horn coupling parts in the 6-man configuration. In the 4-man configuration, only one rhino horn is used, and in the 2-man configuration one rhino horn is used with the common tail section and the 2-man bow. As stated, the rhino horns  29  fit into rhino horn chambers  30 .  
         [0028]      FIGS. 5A-5C  are a sectioned views of the three different configurations. Again, the location of the rhino horn(s)  29  and the IAKU ports for each configuration can be seen.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 6A-6C  show details of the rhino horn  29 , rhino horn chamber  30  and I-beam stringer. The rhino horn  29  inserts into the rhino horn chamber  30  with its tip  31  sticking up through the deck  32 . The tip  31  can be a fiberglass sleeve laminated into the I-beam stringer. A small lock knob  33  can be twisted onto the threaded stainless steel end of the rhino horn  29 . The rhino horn can be made of composite with a stainless steel stud screwed into it. While stainless steel is the preferred material for the tip of the rhino horn, any suitable material may be substituted. Any strong, corrosion resistant material is within the scope to the present invention. Also, while a threaded stud is the preferred way of attaching the rhino horn, any removable attaching means is within the scope of the present invention. In particular, snap-on or snap-lock mechanisms are possible. In addition, while the rhino horn method is preferred, any method of attaching the canoe sections together is within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 7  shows a detail of the preferred I-beam construction of the canoe of the present invention.