Patent Publication Number: US-4920909-A

Title: Boat with rotatable wheel keel for resistance to leeward movement in water and for sand transport

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. Nr. 812,295, filed 12-23-1985 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The invention relates to the new use of a wheel as a keel for a sailboat to resist leeward movement in water and for transportation of boats over land. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Prior devices for ramp launching of boats include trailers and other wheeled devices. Such devices normally would be detached at water&#39;s edge, and thereby create a storage and security problem while the boat is in use on the water. Some small vessels have permanently mounted wheels for ramp launching, which, due to their unstreamlined design, create tremendous undesirable drag when the vessel is moving through the water. 
     A sailboat must have a keel or similar device (i.e. centerboard, bilgeboards, or leeboards) to resist leeway when sailing upwind. In order to serve this function, the keel must be streamlined to minimize drag against forward motion; yet shaped to effectively resist leeward motion. This requires a keel with a small frontal area, a hydrodynamically smooth and fair surface in the direction of motion, and relatively large transverse projected area. A keel is also used on other types of boats to aid in directional stability. Heretofore this device was always separate from the wheeled device used for launching. 
     A user of such a boat has to roll the boat into the water, float the boat off the trailer or detach or retract the rolling device, tie off the boat while such user runs up to store the trailer, return to the boat, lower the centerboard, and finally sail away. Haul out is a reversal of these steps. 
     Therefore, a user would appreciate a device which would allow such user to roll the boat directly into the water and sail away without having to perform the above complex and tedious procedure. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     Accordingly, we assert the following objects and advantages of our invention: the provision of a boat with a keel which is sized and shaped to be hydrodynamically efficient in resisting leeway, yet which has greatly improved ease of launching and haul out, and elimination of the security risk of a trailer left on shore. Other objects and advantages are to provide a boat with reduced drag for greater speed in the water, reduced risk of damage due to grounding, easier rolling on land, and the potential for rolling over the bottom in shallow water where other boats might get stuck. 
     Readers will find further objects and advantages of the invention from a consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     DRAWING FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 shows a profile view of a combined wheel and the tire used in the invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a section through the wheel and tire having a transverse width to diameter ratio of 0.125. 
     FIG. 3 shows an enlarged section through the tire and periphery of the wheel detailing the junction of said wheel and tire. 
     FIG. 4 shows a profile view of an inflatable catamaran sailboat with a wheel mounted according to the invention 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of wheels mounted to the hull of a monohull boat in another embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     6 wheel and tire 
     8 side wall of wheel 
     10 tire 
     12 axle 
     14 hull 
     16 rudder 
     WHEEL SHAPED KEEL--DESCRIPTION 
     In accordance with our invention, we provide a boat with a keel which is in the form of a wheel, which is rotatably mounted, and which is hydrodynamically shaped for stabilizing the boat in water and enabling it to travel easily over land. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show boats with wheels as they might be mounted on a sailboat in place of a conventional keel. Two wheels would be normally mounted, either alongside the hull(s) 14 as in FIG. 4 or recessed into the hull 14 as in FIG. 5. The wheels are mounted such that axle 12 is recessed into the hull 14 or projects minimally into the water when the sailboat is afloat. Wheels 6 in FIG. 5 have less than fifty percent of their diameter projecting into the water, and wheel 6 in FIG. 4 has seventy percent of its diameter projecting into the water. 
     The wheel side wall 8 is a solid and continuous surface, and as shown in FIG. 3, fits flush and tangent with the exposed surface of a tire 10 which is mounted on the perimeter (rim or circumferential edge) of sidewall 8. As shown in FIG. 2, a radial section through wheel and tire 6 from axle 12 to perimeter is shaped like a narrow ellipse divided at its minor axis or like the forward portion of a symmetrical wing section with the maximum thickness of the wing section being at axle 12. The mathematical curve describing the outside surface of this sectional shape is a mathematically smooth and continuous curve, with no abrupt changes in radius of curvature. The curve is parallel to axle 12 at the perimeter; and perpendicular to axle 12 at the axle. Maximum thickness of wheel 6 is at axle 12 and the ratio of thickness to wheel diameter is 1/8. 
     WHEEL SHAPED KEEL--OPERATION 
     A sailboat with wheels mounted as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be easily rolled about on land; or when a launching ramp is available can be rolled directly into the water. With the wheel keels, the usual step of removing wheels and lowering centerboard or other keel device is eliminated. The vessel may be sailed directly away from the ramp without adjustment. 
     The vessel will be able to sail upwind with no keel other than wheel 6 to develop necessary sideforce. The high ratio of hydrodynamic lift to drag, or of sideforce to resistance, required of upwind sailing are achievable due to three factors unique to this new wheel shape. First, wheel 6 has a low ratio of transverse width to diameter and of projected frontal area exposed to the water flow to transverse projected area. Second, the surface shape is mathematically smooth and continuous, with no abrupt change of radius of curvature. Third, because no more than seventy percent of the diameter of wheel 6 projects into the water, axle 12 and hence any attendant mounting apparatus is recessed into the hull or projects minimally into the water. Consequently there is little or no parasitic drag due to the mounting apparatus. 
     Under sail wheels 6 may spin in the water. We believe this action will reduce frictional boundary layer drag relative to a conventional keel or leeboard. This is, because the surface of wheel 6 will move through the water at a rate less than the speed of the boat. 
     When the user has completed sailing, the vessel may be rolled directly out of the water on its wheels 6. If the boat becomes grounded in shallow water, or hits a submerged rock or the like, its keel wheels will enable it to roll over the bottom or the obstacle without damage to its keel or hull, thereby avoiding the damage which would occur to a boat with a conventional rigid keel. 
     SUMMARY, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
     While the above description and accompanying drawings contain many specificities, the reader should not construe these as limitations on the scope of the invention, but merely as exemplification of the preferred embodiment thereof. For example, a vessel might have only one wheel on centerline, or might use a wheel as a rudder for steering purposes such that a three point suspension gives full stability on land. A hole may be made through the wheel wall for the purpose of locking the wheel against rolling or for some other purpose. The wheel rim section might be elliptical in cross section, with the center area of the wheel largely open. The use of a wheel shaped keel need not be restricted to sailboats, but can be used on any floating craft which has a need for rolling ability on land and directional stability in the water. 
     Accordingly the reader is requested to determine the scope of the invention by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples which have been given.