Patent ID: 6902447

Claim:
A propulsion apparatus for a boat comprising: a vertical shaft assembly axially rotatable, said shaft assembly having a superior shaft engaging an intermediate shaft, said intermediate shaft engaging an inferior shaft; a hub affixed to said superior shaft, said hub having a plurality of arms radiating therefrom, each one of said arms having a wind cup at a distal end thereof, and a gearbox housing affixed to said boat, said gearbox housing mechanically coupling said intermediate shaft and said inferior shaft to a propellor; a speed adjustment lever operatively engaging a speed reduction mechanism within said gearbox housing, said lever adjustable so that said mechanism reduces the rotational energy imparted by said shaft assembly; said propellor external to said boat, said propellor having a propellor shaft operatively coupled to said inferior shaft; wherein air strikes one of said wind cups and concomitantly rotates said hub and said shaft in the axial direction corresponding to the direction of said wind cup, the rotational energy generated by said shaft assembly is transferred through said gearbox and to said propellor to mobilize said boat.