U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,100,354, 5,249,998 and 6,179,676 B1 disclose a water sport device for supporting a seated human rider while the rider and the device are towed behind a powered water craft. The device includes an elongated board to which a rigidly mounted seat and foot holders are secured. An elongate strut in the shape of a hydrofoil projects downwardly from the board. The lower end of the strut carries an arm which is generally parallel to the board. Front and rear planing blades are carried by the arm. The positioning of the rigidly mounted seat and the planing blades, the use of a single vertical strut, the size of the planing blade and the positioning of the foot holders provides a water sports device which is relatively easy to ride, while at the same time being highly maneuverable and capable of high jumps.
The present invention provides significant improvements in this water sport device.
First Embodiment
In a water sports device for supporting a seated human rider while the rider and the device are towed behind a powered water craft, the device including an elongated board having a front end and a back end to which is secured a seat for supporting the buttocks of the rider in a position spaced from and roughly centered above the back one-third of the board, a holder for securing the feet of the rider over the top of the board secured to the board spaced at least about two feet toward the front end of the board from the seat, an elongated hydrofoil extends downward from the board, front and rear planing blades carried by an arm which is generally parallel to the board, said arm being secured to the hydrofoil and spaced from the board, so that the blades are generally parallel to the board, the planing blades provide essentially no lift when the board is horizontal;
the improvement wherein the distance between the front and rear planing blades can be changed fore and aft by adjustment of the position of the rear blade so that the advanced rider can move the rear blade forward to make the device more responsive and thereby create higher jumps, and the less experienced rider can move the rear blade further to the rear of the front blade to make the device less responsive.
Second Embodiment
In a water sports device for supporting a seated human rider while the rider and the device are towed behind a powered water craft, the device including an elongated board having a front end and a back end to which is secured a seat for supporting the buttocks of the rider in a position spaced from and roughly centered above the back one-third of the board, a holder for securing the feet of the rider over the top of the board secured to the board spaced at least about two feet toward the front end of the board from the seat, an elongated hydrofoil extends downward from the board, front and rear planing blades carried by an arm which is generally parallel to the board, said arm being secured to the hydrofoil and spaced from the board, so that the blades are generally parallel to the board, the planing blades provide essentially no lift when the board is horizontal;
the improvement wherein said rear planing blade has an angle which slopes downward from the top surface to its leading edge whereby the device is more stable and less prone to porpoising.
The first improvement by creating an adjustable rear blade enables an advanced rider to move the rear blade forward on the arm to reduce the space between the planing blades. This makes the entire water sports device more responsive so that when the rider leans back, the device comes out of the water and the height of the jump is greater. Conversely, for the less experienced rider, the spacing between the blades can be increased, which increases the stability by reducing the responsiveness.
The second improvement pertains to an improvement in the shape of the rear blade. In the prior water sports device, the rear blade sloped upward from the underside of the blade to the leading edge. In the present invention, the angle is downward at an increasing angle on the top surface of the rear planing blade to the leading edge. The trailing edge is thinned out on the underside of the rear planing blade. The new downward angle stabilizes the rider by creating a torque or xe2x80x9ctow inxe2x80x9d that reduces the porpoising or up and down pitching effect observed in riding the devices of the prior art referred to hereinabove.