Patent ID: 7045058

Claim:
A trash collection skimmer boat for collecting trash in a body of water and later discharging the collected trash to a discharge station, the skimmer boat comprising: a flotation hull that includes one or more floats, the hull having a bow or forward end and a stern or rear end; a storage conveyor on the hull and having forward and aft ends; slide means on which the storage conveyor is mounted to the hull permitting the storage conveyor to move fore and aft for a limited distance relative to the hull; actuator means for controllably moving said storage conveyor in the fore and aft direction over said limited distance; a forward conveyor for picking up trash from the body of water and for discharging the trash stored on the skimmer boat to said discharge station, including a frame extending past the bow of the trash skimmer, means mounting the frame to the hull, a web, and fore and aft rollers over which the web travels and defining distal and proximal ends of the forward conveyor; and means for controllably orienting the forward conveyor such that in a trash collection position the proximal end of the forward conveyor is positioned above the forward end of the storage conveyor, and in a trash discharge position the proximal end of the forward conveyor is positioned below the forward end of the storage conveyor.