Patent ID: 6981460

Claim:
A water craft having reduced drag, comprising: a bow, a pair of sidewalls disposed in trailing relation to opposite ends of said bow, a stern, a deck and a hull that collectively form said water craft; a rigid concavity formed in said hull; said rigid concavity having a longitudinal extent that exceeds a transverse extent thereof; said rigid concavity having a forward end near said bow and a rearward end forwardly of said stern so that air flows into said rigid concavity at said forward end and so that air flows out of said rigid concavity at said rearward end and under said stern as said water craft undergoes forward travel; an air scoop mounted on said bow, said air scoop adapted to collect ambient air when said water craft is undergoing forward travel and to direct said ambient air into said rigid concavity; an airflow passageway that extends from a leading end of said air scoop into a leading end of said rigid concavity; a one-way valve mounted in said airflow passageway to enable airflow into said rigid concavity when said water craft is in forward motion and to prevent reverse direction air flow so that air flowing in said airflow passageway toward said rigid concavity cannot flow in an opposite direction past said one-way valve; whereby said air in said rigid concavity reduces the drag of the water craft, thereby enabling said water craft to travel faster under its own power and reducing the power required to tow the water craft behind a larger craft, because said air replaces water that would otherwise provide increased drag; whereby water flowing under said water craft draws air into said airflow passageway and hence into said rigid concavity and whereby air in said rigid concavity does not flow toward said air scoop when the bow of the water craft is momentarily lifted from the water when the wate craft is traveling in choppy waters.