Abstract:
A reinforcement grid for a vessel includes a plurality of spaced-apart, generally vertically extending walls coupled by lateral floor sections and lateral walls which are coupled to stringers, the transom, and the bottom of the vessel hull to strengthen the transom, thereby allowing a greater number of higher horsepower engines to be mounted to the vessel.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/079,569 entitled TRANSOM REINFORCEMENT GRID, filed on Jul. 10, 2008, by Christopher M. Gratz, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a reinforcement grid for the transom of a vessel and a vessel with such a feature. 
         [0003]    Frequently, open-style fishing boats are powered by one or two outboard engines mounted to the transom. For certain outboard engine combinations and in some hull designs, it is not possible to terminate a longitudinal stringer in the stringer grid on the centerline of each engine. However, terminating a longitudinal stringer at each engine center is desirable since it restrains the deflection on the transom laminate and transfers the load imparted by the outboard engines into the vessel&#39;s structural grid. As open-style boats become larger, it has become desirable to increase the engine size as well as the number of engines. When, for example, three large horsepower engines are mounted to the transom of a vessel, the load forces placed on the transom are greatly increased. Coupling the transom of the hull to a conventional stringer system and not restraining the transom panel at each outboard engine can lead to undesirable deflections, stress, and fatigue of the laminate. 
         [0004]    Thus, there is a need to improve the structural integrity of the transom of boats employing multiple engines with increased horsepower. This will allow the desired performance of the boats while maintaining their structural integrity. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The system of the present invention improves the rigidity of the transom to hull and stringer interface by providing a transom reinforcement grid made of fiberglass which restrains the transom panel of the hull of the vessel at each outboard engine location. The reinforcing grid of the present invention comprises a three-dimensional box-like structure having spaced-apart longitudinal side walls coupled by floor sections and front and rear end walls which conform to the stringers of a given vessel design. The grid couples the stringers to the transom and hull of a vessel to provide lateral and longitudinal support for the transom. 
         [0006]    The reinforcement grid can be molded of fiberglass material and have its exterior, visible surfaces gel-coated. The grid is formed to fit a particular boat design and is bonded to existing boats utilizing a bonding adhesive, such as methacrylate. The reinforcement grid of the present invention, therefore, comprises a plurality of spaced-apart, generally longitudinally and vertically extending walls coupled by floor sections and walls which extend laterally in a boat and which adjoin and are coupled to stringers, the transom, and the inner bottom surface of the vessel hull to strengthen the transom, thereby allowing a greater number of higher horsepower engines to be mounted to the transom of the vessel. 
         [0007]    These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a rear perspective view of a vessel embodying the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a reinforcement grid of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the reinforcement grid shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a left side elevational view of the grid shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of the structure shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of the stringer system of a vessel, showing the reinforcement grid installed therein; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is an upper fragmentary, rear perspective view of a vessel hull and stringer system, showing the placement of the reinforcement grid therein; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is an upper front perspective view of a vessel hull and stringer system showing the reinforcement grid mounted therein; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a rear port side fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of the grid insert and stringer assembly prior to mounting into the vessel hull; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a rear starboard side fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of the grid insert and stringer assembly prior to mounting into the vessel hull; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is a fragmentary upper front perspective view of the grid insert mounted within the hull of a vessel; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view through the centerline of the vessel. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0020]    As used herein, the term “longitudinally”, with respect to the direction of orientation of the grid in a vessel, pertains to the fore and aft direction of the vessel; “transversely,” “outwardly” or “laterally”, as used herein, refers to port to starboard directions of the vessel, while “vertically extending” has its normal bottom-to-top meaning. Vessel and boat may be used interchangeably to refer generally to a pleasure boat or yacht made of a resinous or other material. 
         [0021]    Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an open style boat or vessel  100  which has a hull  50  and topside  110  which encloses the cabin and living area below. The vessel also includes a cockpit area  115  and bridge deck  120  enclosed by a hardtop  125  and windshield  130 . The hull  50  extends aft to a motor well area  53  and transom  72 . The vessel  100  is a high performance fishing boat that is powered by three 350 HP outboard engines  51  and has the improved structure for reinforcing the transom area of the hull of the present invention to accommodate the combined over 1000 HP and weight of engines  51 . The boat  100  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is a Pursuit® 375 Offshore using three Yamaha 350 HP engines. In order to maintain the structural integrity of the hull which includes a stringer system for strength, and utilize such relatively large engines, the reinforcement grid of the present invention has been incorporated into the hull  50  and is now described. 
         [0022]    As seen in  FIGS. 2-5 , the reinforcement grid  10  of the present invention comprises an integrally molded, somewhat box-like structure having, in the embodiment shown, two sections  12  and  14  joined by a bridge section  16 . The grid includes outer longitudinally and vertically extending side walls  11  and  15  and spaced-apart inner longitudinally and vertically extending inner side walls  17  and  19 . Floors  21  and  23  extend transversely between walls  11 ,  17  and  15 ,  19  at their lower end. The outer side walls  11  and  15  each terminate in an inclined laterally outwardly extending flange  25  ( FIGS. 9 and 10 ), which is angled, as seen in  FIG. 4 , to conform to the angle of the transom  72  to the hull  50  of a vessel  100  ( FIGS. 1 and 12 ). The side walls  11  and  15  also include a top laterally outwardly extending flange  27  and a forward outwardly and downwardly inclined flange  29  terminating in an outwardly generally horizontally extending flange  30 . Front walls  32  and  34  integrally tie together the side walls  11 ,  17  and  15 ,  19  with floors  21  and  23 , respectively. The bridge section  16  includes a rear wall  35  which, as seen in FIGS.  5  and  7 - 10 , is integrally molded with side walls  17  and  19  and has curvilinear side walls  36  and  38  which extend upwardly and terminate in a top wall  39 . Walls  36  and  38  are coupled at the forward end by an inclined wall  40  integrally coupled to horizontal forwardly extending section  42 , which is coupled to side walls  17  and  19  of the grid  10 . The outer side wall  15  likewise includes laterally outwardly extending flanges  27 ′,  29 ′, and  30 ′. 
         [0023]    The insert grid  10  of the present invention is bonded to the stringers, the vessel bottom, and the transom to tie them together below the motor well area  53  ( FIGS. 1 and 12 ) without interfering with the mounting of the motors  51  to the transom  72 . The geometry of the particular grid will vary depending upon the vessel into which it is mounted. The preferred embodiment shown herein is shaped to fit within a Pursuit® 375 Offshore vessel  100  as seen in  FIG. 1 , which will accommodate three 350 horsepower outboard engines  51  ( FIGS. 1 and 12 ) with the reinforcing grid  10  as disclosed. The grid walls have a nominal thickness of from about 0.329 inches to about 0.374 inches, in one embodiment, and once bonded to the hull of the vessel  100  provides increased rigidity and strength to the transom area of the vessel. 
         [0024]    Reinforcement grid  10  is integrally molded of fiberglass in a conventional manner and is shaped to fit within the stringers of a given vessel design, as illustrated in  FIGS. 6-10 . As seen in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the fiberglass reinforcement grid has gel-coated surfaces, including walls  11 ,  15  and floors  21 ,  23 , which are molded in a mold in a conventional manner. The outer surfaces of floors  21  and  23  are bonded to the hull bottom  52  ( FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  12 ) of vessel hull  50 , which includes a stringer system including longitudinally extending stringers  56  and  57 , as well as the usual laterally extending cross struts  59  defining a stringer assembly  60 , as seen in  FIG. 6 . The reinforcement grid  10  fits between the ends of stringers  55 - 58  with the front walls  32  and  34  bonded to the lateral stringer  59  utilizing bonding adhesives, such as methacrylate  61 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 6 ,  9 ,  10  and  12 . The flanges  27 ,  29 ,  30 ,  27 ′,  29 ′, and  30 ′ likewise are bonded to the stringer assembly  60 , as best seen in  FIGS. 6 ,  9  and  10 , utilizing methacrylate. Rear flanges  25  and wall  35  are bonded to the laminate  20  of the transom  72  of vessel hull  50 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . 
         [0025]    The reinforcing grid will be configured to fit the stringer system, the hull and the transom configuration of a particular vessel into which it is mounted and can be secured to the structure of the vessel by either suitable bonding agents, fasteners or other conventional means typically employed for securing structural components of a vessel. The invention likewise can be used to reinforce the transom area of any vessel, including those which have inboard/outdrive systems or inboard engines with conventional propeller shafts. 
         [0026]    It will become apparent those skilled in the art that various modifications to the preferred embodiment of the invention as described herein can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.