Foot-propelled catamaran watercraft

Abstract

This invention provides a foot-propelled catamaran watercraft having a pair of parallel, spaced-apart pontoons rigidly coupled together, an overhead support structure, coupled to the pontoons, from which a rider, wearing a harness, is suspendable, a rider stabilization structure consisting of a pair of mirror-image-operable tillers graspable by the rider, and a rudder mounted at the rear of each of the pontoons coupled to the tillers for steering the watercraft. The watercraft is propelled by rearward thrusting movements of the rider's feet, which are preferably equipped with fins, or flippers.

Claims

1. A foot-propelled catamaran watercraft comprising: a pair of parallel, spaced-apart pontoons rigidly coupled together; a rigid overhead support structure, coupled to the pontoons, from which a rider is suspendable by means of a harness; a hanger bracket, which is secured to both the overhead support structure and the harness; a movable rider stabilization structure graspable by the rider; and a rudder mounted at the rear of each of the pontoons coupled to the rider stabilization structure for steering the watercraft; wherein the watercraft is propelable by rearward thrusting movements of the rider's feet.

2. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 1, which further comprises an auto-release mechanism for releasing the hanger bracket from the overhead support structure.

3. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 2, wherein said hanger bracket is equipped with a notch at an upper end thereof.

4. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 2, wherein said auto-release mechanism is a noose that wraps around the notch, passes through an aperture in the overhead support structure and is tied in a knot after passing through the aperture, thereby enabling the noose to detach from the notch and release the rider if downward tension on the noose is not maintained.

5. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 1, wherein said rider stabilization structure comprises a pair of mirror-image-operable tillers which operate both rudders simultaneously.

6. A foot-propelled catamaran watercraft comprising: a pair of parallel, spaced-apart pontoons rigidly coupled together; a rigid overhead support structure, coupled to the pontoons, from which a rider is suspendable by means of a harness; a rider stabilization structure, which includes spaced-apart right and left tillers, both of which are graspable by the rider, said tillers being mirror-image-operable by alternately spreading them apart or squeezing them together; and a rudder mounted at the rear of each of the pontoons coupled to the tillers for steering the watercraft; wherein the watercraft is propelable by rearward thrusting movements of the rider's feet.

7. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 6, which further comprises a hanger bracket, which is secured to both the overhead support structure and the harness.

8. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 7, which further comprises an auto-release mechanism for releasing the hanger bracket from the overhead support structure.

9. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 7, wherein said hanger bracket is equipped with a notch at an upper end thereof.

10. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 8, wherein said auto-release mechanism is a noose that wraps around the notch, passes through an aperture in the overhead support structure and is tied in a knot after passing through the aperture, thereby enabling the noose to detach from the notch and release the rider if downward tension on the noose is not maintained.

11. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 1, wherein the rider's feet are equipped with swim fins.

12. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 6, wherein the rider's feet are equipped with swim fins.

13. A foot-propelled catamaran watercraft comprising: a pair of parallel, spaced-apart pontoons rigidly coupled together; a rigid overhead support structure, coupled to the pontoons, from which a rider is suspendable by means of a harness; a rider stabilization structure, graspable by the rider, which includes a pair of spaced-apart tillers that are operated by alternately spreading them apart and squeezing them together; and a rudder mounted at the rear of each of the pontoons coupled to the tillers for steering the watercraft; wherein the watercraft is propelable by rearward thrusting movements of the rider's feet.

14. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 13, which further comprises a hanger bracket, which is secured to both the overhead support structure and the harness.

15. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 14, which further comprises an auto-release mechanism for releasing the hanger bracket from the overhead support structure.

16. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 14, wherein said hanger bracket is equipped with a notch at an upper end thereof.

17. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 15, wherein said auto-release mechanism is a noose that wraps around the notch, passes through an aperture in the overhead support structure and is tied in a knot after passing through the aperture, thereby enabling the noose to detach from the notch and release the rider if downward tension on the noose is not maintained.

18. The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft of claim 13, wherein the rider's feet are equipped with swim fins.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the foot-propelled catamaran watercraft; and

(2) FIG. 2 is a right-side elevational view of the foot-propelled catamaran watercraft having a harnessed rider suspended from an overhead support structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(3) The foot-propelled catamaran watercraft will now be described with reference to the attached drawing figures. It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and are intended to be merely illustrative of the invention.

(4) Referring now to FIG. 1, the foot-propelled catamaran watercraft 100 includes a pair of parallel, spaced-apart pontoons 101L and 101R, which are rigidly coupled together by a front triangulated bracing structure 102 and a rear transverse brace 103, a rigid, triangulated overhead support structure 104, that is coupled to the pontoons 101L and 101R, from which a rider, wearing a harness, is suspendable, a rider stabilization structure consisting of a pair of mirror-image-operable tillers 105L and 105R graspable by the rider, and a rudder 106L hingeably mounted to the rear of pontoon 101L and a rudder 106R hingeably mounted to the rear of pontoon 101R. Because the rider must be free to thrust rearward with his feet, it is important that the steering mechanism of the watercraft not impart a rotational moment to the rider's body. Because steering of the watercraft is accomplished by squeezing together and spreading apart the mirror-image tillers, no moment is generated. The rudders 106L and 106R are intercoupled by a rigid connector tube 107. The left rudder is rigidly coupled to a control arm 108 that is rotatable about the rudder's hinge axis 109. A rigid longitudinal control tube 110 interconnects control arm 108 to a right angle control arm pair 111 that rotates about axis 112 and converts the longitudinal motion of control tube 110 to transverse motion supplied through a rigid transverse control tube 113 ever that is and 106R mounted at the rear of each of the pontoons coupled to the tillers 105L and 105R for steering the watercraft 100. The left tiller 105L rotates about pivot axis 114L, while the right tiller 105R rotates about pivot axis 114R. A first end of coupler bar 115 is coupled to the left tiller 105L aft of pivot axis 114L, while a second end of the coupler bar 115 is coupled to the right tiller 105R fore of the pivot axis 114R. This arrangement ensures that the tilles 105L and 105R will function as mirror images of one another. It will be noted that an aperture 116 is centered in the overhead support structure 104.

(5) Referring now to FIG. 2, a rider 201 is shown wearing a harness 202 having straps that pass between the rider's legs, around the rider's chest, and around the rider's waist. A rigid hanger bracket 203, which is securely attached to the harness 202, is suspended from the overhead support structure 104 with a flexible rope or cord 204. It is advisable that rope or cord 204 be quipped with an auto-release feature so that the rider 201 would not be tied to the watercraft 100 in the event it were to capsize. FIG. 2 shows a very simple auto-release mechanism. An upper end 205 of the hanger bracket 203 is equipped with a notch 206 around which the rope or cord 204 passes, forming a noose. Both ends of the rope or cord 204 pass through the aperture 116 and are tied in a knot 207 in order to anchor the rope or cord 204 to the overhead support structure 104. The watercraft 100 is propelled by rearward thrusting movements of the rider's feet, which are preferably equipped with swim fins 208.

(6) While only a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.