Patent ID: 7341017

Claim:
An accessory mounting apparatus for releaseably locking a boat accessory in a selected position, said apparatus comprising: a base for attaching to a boat, said base adapted to attach to a member on the boat; a ball head assembly having a ball held captive in a socket, said ball having a locked position and an unlocked position, said ball movable within said socket when said ball is in said unlocked position, said ball held in a fixed position when said ball is in said locked position, said socket having an opening through which a stud member extends from said ball, said stud member adapted to attach to an accessory; a support member connecting said ball head assembly to said base, said socket rotating about a longitudinal axis of said support member when said ball is in said unlocked position, said socket including a base member attached to a cap member, said base member having an inside ledge cooperating with a flange extending from said support member, said base member being restrained from sliding off said support member by said flange; and a handle protruding from said base, said handle having a first position and a second position, said ball being in said locked position when said handle is in said first position, said ball being in said unlocked position when said handle is in said second position, said handle causing a first piston to move linearly within a first cylindrical opening in said base, said first piston hydraulically connected to a second piston moveable linearly within a second cylindrical opening in said support member, said second piston engaging a shoe adjacent said ball in said socket, said shoe pressing against said ball in said locked position; a spring disposed adjacent one of said first piston and said second piston, said spring being outside a hydraulic channel hydraulically connecting said first piston and said second piston, said spring configured to apply a pressure against said one of said first piston and said second piston to maintain a substantially constant hydraulic pressure over an ambient temperature range.