Two non-movable plates mounted on the outside rear of a personal watercraft, extending below the lower edge of the hull. These plates provide lateral resistance and prevent the hull from sliding out at the rear which could initiate a spin. As these plates move laterally while in a turn they are designed not to adhere to the water by vacuum. When returning to a straight course out of a turn, the necessity to over steer is greatly reduced and the momentary loss of control is eliminated. Being considerably more narrow than the O.E.M. sponsons which they replace, lift is reduced and the pump intake remains more deeply engaged thus providing more steering control during high speed turns and manuevers. The attributes mentioned above add greatly to the safety of operation of a personal watercraft.
A stabilizing system for jet-propelled watercraft comprising a pair of fins and their corresponding trim blocks, which serve to point the fins in the correct toed-in, cambered-out attitude, and mount on the side of the watercraft, toward the rear.
A sponson for a watercraft includes a nose; a trailing end; and a base extending between the nose and the trailing end; wherein the base is non-linear in shape in a direction from the nose to the trailing end. The sponson can include an outboard surface extending between the nose and the trailing end; wherein the outboard surface is configured to reduce the water pressure during cornering.
A hull configuration for the planar surface region in the tunnel area between hulls(pontoons) in a fishing type catamaran. In the tunnel bottom surface is a raised frontwardly located center section adjacent the bow forms a venturi where low pressure is formed by incoming waves passing about the squared off rear portion of the center section. Behind the center section is a raised longitudinal stabilizer running to the rear(stern) of the boat which diverts and splits incoming air coming from the bow section to each side of the tunnel. Adjacent to the center section are two raised side stabilizers which straighten out incoming air and reduce the turbulence effects therefrom. On the rear ends of the two side stabilizers and the center section are through-holes that allow for venting excessive pressure from inside the tunnel to the interior of the bilge of the boat. Keel pads on the bottom of each pontoon hull each have exterior raised ridges (interior of lifting strokes) along the front portion flush to a rear portion surface. The keel pads give an extra planar surface for lifting the boat from the water.
A stabilizing fin assembly for use with a watercraft includes a mounting structure, a stabilizing fin structure, and a releasable securement structure. The mounting structure is fixedly attached to a side portion of a hull of a watercraft. The stabilizing fin structure is removably mounted to the mounting structure. When the mounting structure is fixedly attached to the hull, the stabilizing fin structure is disposed externally of the hull and adjacent the side portion of the hull in an operative position wherein at least a portion of the stabilizing fin structure extends into a body of water while the watercraft is in a normal operative position. The releasable securement structure is disposed in a releasably secured position on the hull. The stabilizing fin structure facilitates removal and replacement of the stabilizing fin structure without requiring access to the interior of the watercraft.
The invention relates to a fin stabilization system adapted to minimize roll about the longitudinal axis of the boat during sharp cornering at very high speeds. In one form, equipment such as a machine gun is mounted to the bow of the boat and targets are adapted to be engaged in high-speed maneuvers when cornering and the deck of the boat is not excessively rolled whereby blocking visibility in a turn.
