Patent ID: 8677922

Claim:
A boat comprising: a deck; at least two wall segments extending upwardly from said deck to at least partially define an interior space; said wall segments being spaced from one another to define a gap; a gate hingedly connected to an end of one of said wall segments for selectively opening and closing said gap; a latch assembly for latching said gate to the other of said wall segments to close said gap and for releasing said gate to allow rotation of said gate; said latch assembly including a stationary base member having a first height and being mounted on an end of one of said gate and said other wall segment; said latch assembly including a sliding member slidably coupled to said base member and slidable in opposite directions between a latched position for latching said gate and an opposite unlatched position for releasing said gate; said latch assembly including at least one glide plate disposed between said sliding and base members; said glide plate being made of a material different than that of the base member and sliding member and providing a contact surface between said base and sliding members for facilitating movement of said sliding member between said latched and unlatched positions; and wherein said glide plate has a second height that is less than said first height of said base member to present an open space between said base and sliding members when said sliding member is in said latched position for trapping a portion of the gate.