Patent Abstract:
A protective fender is provided for use on a pontoon boat having at least an upper support member and a lower support member. The fender includes an elongated body formed from protective material. A first fastening structure is connected to the body, engageable with the lower support member and moveable between a plurality of positions along a length of the body. A second fastening structure is connected to the body, engageable with the upper support member and adjustable to vary the position of the second fastening structure relative to the body.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application relates to and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/534,601 filed Jan. 6, 2004. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to protective fenders for floating structures and more particularly to protective fenders for use on a pontoon boat. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Traditional protective fenders to be utilized with a pontoon boat hang off a rail of a pontoon boat and are susceptible to excessive swinging and pendulum-like movement and are not aesthetically pleasing. 
   It is desirable to provide a fender with a tight top and bottom adjustable attachment so that the fender remains in place and eliminates any movement or loosening of the fender. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a general object of the present invention to provide a protective fender especially designed to protect pontoon boats from damage due to contact with other objects such as boats, rafts, piers and docks. 
   In one aspect of the invention, a protective fender is provided for use on a pontoon boat of the type having at least an upper support member and a lower support member. The fender includes an elongated body formed from protective material. A first fastening structure is connected to the body, engageable with the lower support member and is moveable between a plurality of positions along a length of the body. A second fastening structure is connected to the body, engageable with the upper support member, and is adjustable to vary the position of the second fastening structure relative to the body. The first fastening structure comprises a U-shaped member with a first leg engageable with the lower support member and a second leg engageable with the body. The U-shaped member includes a base portion connecting the first and second legs, and the first leg being releasably engageable with the base portion along a plurality of positions whereby the distance between the first and second legs may be varied. The base portion includes a plurality of channels engageable with the first leg. The first fastening structure includes a horizontal shaft attached to the second leg of the U-shaped member. The body includes a front face, a pair of outwardly and rearwardly flaring sidewalls, and a rear panel formed with a series of receiver grooves for frictionally retaining the horizontal shaft therein. The rear panel has retainer structure for removably attaching a foam block structure thereto between the first fastening structure and the second fastening structure. An elastic retainer cord has one end attached to the body and an opposite end connected to the first fastening structure. The second fastening structure includes a J-shaped member engageable with the upper support member, and an adjustable strap having one end attached to the J-shaped member and another end attached to the body. 
   In another aspect of the invention, a protective fender is provided for use on a pontoon boat having at least an upper horizontal support member and a lower horizontal support member. The fender includes an elongated body formed from protective material. A lower fastening hook structure is connected to the body, engageable with the lower horizontal support member and moveable between a plurality of vertically disposed positions along a length of the body. The lower fastening hook structure has a leg portion adjustable according to a depth of the lower horizontal support member. An upper fastening hook structure is connected to the body and includes a retaining hook engageable with the upper horizontal support member and an adjustable strap having one end attached to the retaining hook and an opposite end secured to the body to vary the position of the retaining hook relative to the body. 
   Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention. 
     In the drawings: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a protective fender installed on a pontoon boat in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken on line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the boat-facing side of the fender; 
       FIG. 4  is a side cross-sectional view taken on line  4 — 4  of  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  with an adjustment made for a smaller rail. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to  FIG. 1 , thereshown is a protective fender  10  for use with a pontoon boat  12  having at least an upper horizontal rail or support member  14  and a lower horizontal rail or support member  16  running along the side panel  17  of the boat  12 . The fender  10  is formed with an elongated body  18  preferably molded from a material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or any other suitable material having resilient, waterproof characteristics. Typically, the fender  10  has a width of about six inches, a length of either 24 inches or 36 inches, and a depth ranging from 3 inches to about 4 inches at its top end. The fender  10  includes a generally planar front face  20  with sidewalls  22 ,  24  that flare outwardly and rearwardly to a rear panel  26 . In the molding process, the upper portion of the body  18  is provided with a recess  28  for accessing an upper fastening hook structure  30  used to adjustably attach the body  18  to the upper horizontal support member  14  of the boat  12 . 
   As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the upper fastening hook structure  30  includes an aluminum, J-shaped upper hook  32  having a rigid buckle portion  34  which receives a looped end  35  of an adjustable strap  36 . The strap  36  extends downwardly and is looped around a raised end  38  of a retaining bracket  40  having laterally extending legs  42 ,  44  which engage the rear panel  26 . The raised end  38  projects through a slot  46  formed in the upper end of rear panel  26 . The strap  36  proceeds upwardly from raised end  38  of bracket  40  and is threaded through a plastic buckle  48  attached to the looped end  35 . The hook  32  and strap  36  allow the fender  10  to be mounted on the boat and adjusted upwardly and downwardly as desired. 
   The interior of the body  18  is molded with several protrusions  50 , as well as with an upper angled wall  52  and a lower angled wall  54 . Foam  56  is filled in the voids around protrusions  50  and among the front face  20 , the rear panel  26 , the sidewalls  22 ,  24 , and walls  52 ,  54 . Molding holes  58  visible from the rear panel  26  indicate the location of the protrusions  50 . The molding process also provides an elongated pocket  60  recessed in the rear panel  26 . In the preferred embodiment, eight sets of molded receiver grooves  62  extend laterally from opposite sides of the channel  60 . Each set of receiver grooves  62  is capable of frictionally retaining a removable lower fastening hook structure  64  used to adjustably connect the body  18  to the lower horizontal support member  16  of the boat  12 . 
   As seen in  FIGS. 2–5 , the lower fastening hook structure includes a horizontal shaft  66  frictionally and rotatably received in any set of receiver grooves  62 . In the drawings, the shaft  66  is shown rotatably disposed in the sixth set of grooves  62 . A plastic, U-shaped lower hook  68  is integrally formed with the shaft  62  and includes an inner leg  70  engaged with the body  18  and integrally formed with a base  72  having a series of adjacently disposed channels  74 . An outer leg  76  shorter than inner leg  70  provided in the form of a removable tab is slidably and frictionally inserted in one of the channels  74  of base  72 . It should be appreciated that the tab  76  may be positioned in any one of the channels  74  as desired to vary the spacing between the legs  70 ,  76  depending on the depth or thickness of the lower horizontal support member  16  of the particular pontoon boat  12 . An elastic retainer cord  78  has one end secured by a retainer  80  to a wall  81  of channel  60 , and the other end joined to the back of the inner leg  70  to prevent loss of the removable, adjustable lower fastening hook structure  64 . 
   The rear panel  26  is provided with a pair of spaced apart, Velcro strips  82  for retaining a protective foam block structure  86  provided on its rear face with cooperating Velcro strips  86  that mate with the strips  82 . 
   As shown in the drawings, the protective fender  10  is installed so that the lower hook  68  engages horizontal support member  16  such as a lower rail outside the side panel  17  of pontoon boat  12  or the floor molding of the boat  12 . In the installation of  FIG. 4 , the tab  76  is adjustably located at a desired channel  74  so as to accommodate the rectangular cross section of the lower rail  16 . In  FIG. 5 , the tab  76  is adjustably located closer to inner leg  70  so as to accommodate the different structure of a thinner rail  16 ′. The vertical position of the lower fastening hook structure  64  in the appropriate receiver grooves  62  is set so that the top end of the body  18  is in contact with the upper rail or horizontal support member  14 . The foam block structure  80  offers additional protection and is adjustably positioned so that it lies centered upon any one or more horizontal support members lying between the upper and lower support members  14 ,  16 . Alternatively, the foam block structure  80  may lie directly against the side panel  17  of the pontoon boat  12 . The upper hook  32  is then engaged with the upper horizontal support member  14 , such as an upper rail or, in the absence of a rail, the top of the side panel  17  of the boat  12 . The upper hook  32  is preferably coated with PVC to protect the upper support member  14 . Once the hooks  32  and  68  are engaged with respective upper and lower horizontal support members  14  and  16 , the strap  38  is pulled so as to tighten the fender  10  into tight engagement with the boat  12 . 
   In  FIG. 2 , the example shown illustrates the fender  10  positioned so that the bottom of the fender  10  extends beneath the boat deck and protects the pontoon  88  as well as the majority of the side panel  17  of the boat  12 . However, it should be fully appreciated that the fender  10  may be adjustably positioned high or low along the side panel  17  of a pontoon boat  12  depending upon the particular support structure of the boat  12 . 
   The present invention thus provides a specially designed protective fender  10  for a pontoon boat  12  and features a dual hook attachment system which allows the fender  10  to be protectively positioned and retained at any height desired. The fender  10  can be positioned to protect the rail system, the pontoons or both. Unlike prior art designs, the dual hook system prevents the fender  10  from popping up and flying around. The fender  10  is particularly useful in protecting below the water line and does not float up as current fenders typically do. The fender  10  is a complete self-contained system that requires no additional attachment devices or rope so that there is no extraneous structure to catch on docks or other boats. There are no straps which need to be woven through or around rails. The upper hook  32  of the fender  10  is thinly shaped so that it can be conveniently attached between cushion upholstery and the upper rail without damaging the upholstery. Although not shown, stops are available for use on lower support members  16  or rub rails to prevent the fender  10  from slipping or sliding thereon. Pontoon boat covers generally snap directly over the fender  10  or between the rail and the fender  10  so that the fender  10  does not have to be removed when docking. 
   While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain substitutions, alterations and omissions may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. Accordingly, the foregoing description is meant to be exemplary only and should not be deemed limitative on the scope of the invention set forth with the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1