Patent ID: 7140180

Claim:
Apparatus for capturing energy from surface waves on a body of water comprising first and second floats, said first float having a generally flat configuration, and said second float being configured as an elongated spar, the draft of said first float being substantially less than the draft of said second float, each float having an intercept with the water surface, a power take-off element connected between said floats for converting relative movements therebetween into useful energy, said floats being configured to rise and fall in response to passing surface waves in out-of-phase relation with one another for causing relative movements between said floats, and said first and second floats having configuration values g/Z which are greater and less than ω 2 , respectively, where: g=acceleration due to gravity; Z=the effective depths of the floats; and ω=the angular frequency of the passing waves; and where: Z(effective depth)=V D/A s , where: V D is the volume of the water displaced by the float including hydrodynamic added mass; and A s is the waterplane area of the float.