Patent ID: 7721665

Claim:
A hull and steering mechanism for a marine vessel comprising: an upper hull portion having a bow, a stern, two sidewall portions, a deck portion and a first bottom portion; a lower dual-tapered hull portion disposed beneath the upper hull portion and having a bow portion, an aft portion, two sidewall portions and a second bottom portion; a propeller extending from the dual-tapered lower hull portion; and a directional thrust steering mechanism surrounding the propeller at, or proximate the stern of the upper hull portion for steering the vessel, wherein the lowermost portion of the steering mechanism terminates at or above a plane defined by the second bottom portion, and wherein the steering mechanism is a directional thrust housing assembly comprised of: two parallel vertical blades rotatable about a vertical axis and positioned outboard of the propeller, their lower edges extend to a depth below an arc defined by the propeller's rotation, wherein a major portion of the vertical blades extends aft of the vertical axis to provide directional thrust by diverting the water displaced by the propeller in a direction defined by the orientation of the blades; and at least two horizontal structural members extending at fore and aft portions between the lower edges of the vertical blades to maintain the vertical blades in parallel relation.