Abstract:
A method of renting boats wherein the boat is dropped off in a boat-trailer combination for towing by a renter.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This U.S. Non-Provisional Application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/846,582, filed on Sep. 22, 2006, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    All references cited in this specification, and their references, are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for teachings of additional or alternative details, features, and/or technical background. 
         [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention generally relates to a boat rental system and method wherein a customer reserves a boat via online or telecommunications reservations, and the boat is delivered to the customer at a specified site, which may be the customer&#39;s residence, on a trailer allowing the customer to trailer the boat to a desired launch site. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    Numerous people enjoy the experience of boating on bodies of water such as the ocean, lakes and rivers. Some people charter boats for the thrill of the boat itself propelling in the water, others for sports-related activities, such as water skiing, and others for a mode to reach desired locations and to be used as a stationary platform for other activities such as fishing, snorkeling, or diving. 
         [0007]    Boat rental services are offered by numerous marina operations. Typically a boat is rented for use from the particular marina in which the boat rental service resides. The renter may be limited to using the boat within a specified area within a perimeter of the marina or given a mileage allowance which if passed causes the rental fees to increase. 
         [0008]    Other rental services allow for pick-up of a boat at one of a plurality of specified marinas in which the rental service keeps rental boats in numerous slips. This offers the customer a greater selection of locations in which the customer may wish to expend time in his or her boating adventure. 
         [0009]    A third approach, that is typically used by small boat (such as, for example, canoes) rental companies, is a private-hauling boat rental system wherein boats are stored and/or moored at one central location and private owners are allowed to trailer the boats from the central location to where a preferred launch site has a public or private access ramp. In such an approach, customers are provided the ability to trailer the boat of their choice from the boat fleet to these places like a private boat owner may do. Like private owners, customers can also trailer their boats long distances, e.g., distances that would be too burdensome to travel by boat from a marina-based rental company. 
         [0010]    The boat rental company may be a private or public commercial entity or an association such as a boating club. Boating clubs generally maintain boats in slips so that they are fully functional when needed. They also manage reservations for use of these boats. Membership in the boat club is typically limited to persons demonstrating a threshold of boating expertise and the ability of the person to pay a lump sum upfront fee to become a part owner of the boats in the club and some monetary scheduled payments thereafter in order to keep the club in business. 
         [0011]    The problem with such marina-based boat rental systems is that they allow for a boating experience in only fixed locations within a set distance about the marina. Examples of such fixed location, marina-based models include, without limitation, Freedom Boat Club, Legacy Boat Club and Club Nautico. As marinas are not typically located on lakes, rivers and intercostals, the type of body of water on which the boating adventure may be experienced is also limited. Boat clubs suffer from many of the same disadvantages as marina-based private or public commercial boat rental entities. The problem with small boat central storage rental systems is that such systems require that the customer drive to the rental location and pick up (and later drop off) the boat. Such systems require the customer to expend considerable time, thereby affecting the overall boating experience. 
         [0012]    Given prior art boat rental systems and their attendant disadvantages, there is a need for improved boat reservation and maintenance systems and methods. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    There are provided herein methods and systems for renting boats to consumers. 
         [0014]    In one embodiment, there is provided a method of renting boats comprising: receiving a request for a particular boat from a consumer at a first location; moving the boat on a trailer from the first location to a drop-off location wherein the consumer has indicated there will be a vehicle with a trailer hitch; allowing the consumer to tow the vessel with such vehicle to a slipping location allowing access to their choice of a body of water; picking-up the boat from the consumer from the drop-off location at a defined time after drop-off, processing the picked up boat in a manner to allow for its future use by other consumers. Preferably the trailer hitch on the vehicle and the trailer carrying the boat have corresponding structure to allow the trailer to be safely and securely attached to the trailer hitch to allow the vehicle to move the boat to the desired slipping location. In one aspect, the first location is one of a marina-based boat rental company, a private-hauling boat rental company, and a boat club. A second location may include, for example, a consumer&#39;s primary or secondary place of residence, or a central drop-off location accessible to the consumer. The body of water may comprise any type of water retention area which is large enough to allow the boat to float thereon, including, for example, a lake, a pond, the ocean, a river, a canal, and a channel. The defined time for pick-up after drop-off may be predetermined by any rental agreement between the person dropping off the boat and the consumer, or may be at a time after the consumer notifies the first location that the boat will be found at the drop-off location or at the end of the term of the reservation date(s). The boat and/or trailer which is delivered may be wholly-owed by the entity dropping off the boat, or may be partially or wholly owned by the consumer seeking the boat. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The FIGURE illustrates in diagrammatic form an exemplary boat rental method of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    Traditional boat ownership, marina-based boat clubs and boat rental companies can be said to not provide the degree of convenience, choice and availability which many boaters desire. For example, marina-based boat clubs and boat rental companies typically allow for only a limited boating experience based on the location wherein the boat is moored for rental. While boat ownership can be said to overcome the problem of limited venues of use for the boat renter, ownership typically involves laboring efforts and significant costs being expended by the owner to keep the boat ready for use. Unless a person owns a large number of boats, ownership also typically does not lend the ability of a person to match the desired boating experience with the type of boat most suited for such experience. For example, ownership of a sailboat does not allow for water skiing. 
         [0017]    There are provided herein new methods and systems for improving the match between the boat and water experience desired to allow the boater a wide range of water locations to be visited with the chosen boat, and to provide the boater improved convenience in obtaining and returning the boat used in the water experience. 
         [0018]    In one embodiment, there is provided a boat delivery and pick-up method. In such method, a boat rental company or boat club, etc., allows a consumer to obtain a boat by requesting the same via a mode of communication, such as by a computer over a widely disseminated network, telephone, cell phone, Blackberry, personal data assistant, etc. After approval of a form of credit or pecuniary remuneration, the boat is delivered to the consumer at a specified consumer location, such as the consumer&#39;s residence, a centrally located storage facility or a central location on a trailer, and the boat-trailer combination is left with the consumer for the consumer&#39;s use. The consumer is then allowed to move the boat to where the water experience is to occur. In such embodiment, the consumer then returns with the boat to the specified consumer location. The boat rental company, etc., then picks up the boat-trailer combination and returns it to the rental location. Pick-up at the specified consumer location may be activated by consumer communication with the boat rental company, etc., or may be at a predetermined time as agreed upon by the consumer and boat rental company, etc. 
         [0019]    As would be understood, such method is particularly useful in the context of a boat club, wherein each member can have a personal vehicle affixed with the appropriate tow gear for moving the trailers provided with boats which the boat club proffers. The boat rental company, boat club, etc., may own the boat and trailer assets outright or consumers of such services may have ownership rights therein as well. 
         [0020]    Such process allows boaters more choice in that they get to select the lake, intercostals, ocean, rivers, etc., on which they desire to have the boating experience. By trailering the boat, consumers get to choose their boating adventures. 
         [0021]    Turning now to the FIGURE, there is shown an illustration of a boat-trailering method of the present invention. As illustrated, the consumer contacts boat rental company  10  from consumer&#39;s residence  12  via a mode of communication  14  such as telephone or internet connection specifying the type of boat which is desired to be rented. Boat rental company  10  then selects from its boat inventory  16  boat  16 ′ which matches the consumer&#39;s request and places the boat on an appropriate trailer  17 ′ selected from its trailer inventory  17 . Using company vehicle  18 , the rental company delivers  38  boat-trailer combination  16 ′- 17 ′ via vehicle  18  to consumer&#39;s residence  12  (vehicle  18  returning  34  to rental company  10  without boat-trailer combination  16 ′- 17 ′). The consumer then is allowed to move boat-trailer combination  16 ′- 17 ′ by means of a consumer mobile  20  by hitching trailer  17 ′ to mobile  20  as shown at  22 . After travel  28  to desired destination  24 , the consumer can unhitch boat  16 ′ from trailer  17 ′ and place boat  16 ′ in desired body of water  26 . After the boating experience is completed, the consumer recombines trailer  17 ′, and boat  16 ′ then travels back  30  to consumer&#39;s residence  12  via mobile  20 . Boat-trailer combination  16 ′- 17 ′ is then left at consumer&#39;s residence  12 . The combination is then picked up at consumer&#39;s residence  12  by rental company  10  using company vehicle  18  or other suitable vehicle. Vehicle  18  is driven  32  to consumer&#39;s residence  12 , boat-trailer combination  16 ′- 17 ′ is hitched thereon and the combination and vehicle driven back  36  to rental company  10 . 
       STATEMENT REGARDING PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    While the invention has been described with respect to the foregoing, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.