Patent ID: 7455024

Claim:
An apparatus for protecting the hull of a watercraft, the apparatus comprising: a support; a submersible barrier assembly connected to the support and displaceable with respect to the support between an inoperative, submerged position and an operative surface position, the barrier assembly being configured to cover at least a submerged portion of the hull in the operative position, the barrier assembly having a frame that bounds a docking zone for receiving the hull, said frame having a barrier sheet spanning the docking zone, the barrier sheet including a water-impervious sheet and a drainage sheet that is positioned on the water impervious sheet such that the drainage sheet is interposed between the hull and the water-impervious sheet in the operative position, the drainage sheet permitting water to drain from the hull; and a displacement mechanism operable on the barrier assembly to displace the barrier assembly between the inoperative and operative positions.