Ships inventions 04/09

20090107376 - Sea vessel docking station: A system and method in which a buoyant central docking station captures, lifts and couples one or more other sea vessels is disclosed, wherein a flexible, modularized production system is quickly realized on a cost effective basis. The capabilities of a number of older, less expensive, readily available vessels are... Agent: Raymond R. Ferrera

20090107377 - Personal watercraft: A personal watercraft is disclosed, having a hull and sub-deck (HSD) assembly with left and right gunnels. A deck is disposed above the sub-deck. The left and right lateral edges of the deck are disposed vertically at least as low as the upper end of the left and right gunnels.... Agent: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (brp)

20090107379 - Personal watercraft having a suspension system: A personal watercraft has a hull and sub-deck (HSD) assembly. A deck is disposed above the sub-deck. A first suspension member has a first end pivotally connected to the deck and a second end disposed rearwardly and downwardly of the first end pivotally connected to the HSD assembly. A second... Agent: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (brp)

20090107380 - Personal watercraft having an adjustable suspension: A personal watercraft has a hull and sub-deck (HSD) assembly, a deck above the sub-deck, and a suspension member pivotally connected therebetween. A suspension element, including a spring assembly, is connected between any two of the deck, the HSD assembly, and the suspension member. The spring assembly has first and... Agent: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (brp)

20090107378 - Personal watercraft supension arrangement: A personal watercraft has a hull and sub-deck (HSD) assembly. The sub-deck defines at least one first opening therein. A deck is disposed above the sub-deck. A suspension member passes through the at least one first opening and is disposed at least in part inside the HSD assembly. The suspension... Agent: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (brp)

20090107381 - Universal depth boat: The various embodiments disclosed and pictured herein illustrate a universal depth boat that is easy to operate and may be controlled by a single operator. A universal depth boat and hull design that comprises a hull having a bow, stern, sides, a V-hull portion and a flat bottom is disclosed.... Agent: HamiltonIPLaw, PC

20090107382 - Steering system and method for a motor driven craft: A steering system for craft turns a motor from a fixed position to a secondary position. As a result, the craft turns right or left as desired by a user of the craft. A control unit instructs the steering system to turn the craft to a desired orientation. A steering... Agent: Clark & Brody

20090107383 - Apparatus for plugging a seacock externally: This invention is directed to a thru-hull fitting or specifically a seacock which is below the normal waterline of a marine vessel and this invention provides an exterior plug to stop leakage and/or allow for maintenance of the interior hull valve, piping, and/or associated tubing without necessitating the need to... Agent: Gregory Benedict Cotten

20090107384 - Fender system for vessels which allows fenders to self adjust: The present invention provides a fender system that is applied to a dock piling or solid faced bulkhead in order to prevent damage to a marine vessel while the vessel is moored to a fixed or floating dock, or dock piling, or solid faced bulkhead. The fender is designed to... Agent: Darby & Darby (formerly Michael J. Keller)

20090107385 - Mooring system: Mooring system arranged in a body of water for the mooring of multiple surface or semi-submersible vessels or platforms with a artificial seafloor grid designed as a mesh-like structure arranged in a substantially horizontal plane in the body of water. The artificial seafloor grid including means for attachment to said... Agent: Patterson & Sheridan, L.L.P.

20090107386 - Methods and apparatus for marine deployment: Methods and apparatus for marine deployment according to various aspects of the present invention may operate in conjunction with a floatable housing adapted to be deployed by a marine vehicle. The floatable housing may be adapted to be launched from a marine vehicle and rise to the surface. Assets, such... Agent: The Noblitt Group, PLLC

20090107387 - Jet implanted anchor: A jet implanted anchor. In some embodiments, the anchor includes a tubular member having a plurality of pivotable flukes coupled thereto. Each pivotable fluke is moveable between a collapsed position, wherein the pivotable fluke abuts the tubular member, and an extended position, wherein the pivotable fluke is angularly offset from... Agent: Conley Rose, P.C. David A. Rose

20090107388 - External rescue and recovery devices and methods for underwater vehicles: Methods and devices are provided for rescuing and recovering underwater vehicles. In one embodiment, a system is provided that includes a modular rescue device configured to attach to an underwater vehicle, such as with a tow line. The rescue device can include one or more emergency mechanisms that can be... Agent: Nutter Mcclennen & Fish LLP

20090107389 - Boat cover attachment guide and boat cover: An apparatus for attaching a boat cover to a boat is disclosed. The apparatus includes an elongated member defining a first leg and a second leg. A plurality of notches are defined in the first leg of the elongated member. A flexible cover is affixed to the second leg of... Agent: Barnes & Thornburg LLP

20090101054 - Portable dry dock system and method for commercial servicing of recreational vessels in inland waterways: A Portable Dry Dock (PDD) system designed for commercial servicing of recreational vessels (RVs) in inland waterways (IW). This PDD is disassembled and transported from one IW to another. This PDD was designed specifically to improve the efficiency in the most typical maintenance jobs in RVs. The convenient layout of... Agent: Marcelo Alejandro Perez

20090101055 - System and method for providing improved passenger amenities on a cruise ship: A cruise chip having a plurality of decks, certain of the decks having a plurality of staterooms therealong, the plurality of spaced staterooms extending along one of the decks and a second plurality of spaced staterooms extending along another of the decks directly above the other of said decks, and... Agent: Greenberg Traurig LLP (la)

20090101056 - Bow thruster for watercraft: A bow thruster includes a pump connected to an inlet opening in a bottom of the boat hull, lines extending from the pump to opposing side outlet openings in the hull below the water line, and a control (normally closed) valve for selectively controlling water flow through each line. A... Agent: Price Heneveld Cooper Dewitt & Litton, LLP

20090101057 - Watercraft steering mechanism and trimmer: The invention concerns a steering and trimming system for a watercraft (1) whereby control is exercised via the steering wheel (2) at low speed by means of crossbeam rudders (13,14) and when planing via a rudder (29). In addition, during the craft's acceleration phase, the trim arms (22) are more... Agent: Oliff & Berridge, PLC

20090101058 - Removable boat windshield: A removable boat windshield is provided that includes a transparent pane with a top end and a bottom end. At least one male portion is attached to the pane. At least one female portion is attachable to a deck of a boat. The at least one female portion defines a... Agent: Barnes & Thornburg LLP

20090095208 - Water drift compensation method and device: Current methods for station keeping an object in the ocean or body of water involve mooring assemblies or active and complex navigation and differential thrust or thrust and rudder assemblies. The embodiments herein provide a method and device for compensating for the force of water or ocean currents through the... Agent: Miguel Angel Cardoza

20090095209 - Apparatus and method for operating autonomous underwater vehicles: A method and apparatus of operating an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) may include receiving an AUV in a receptacle of a submersible station. The AUV and the submersible station may be launched to an underwater location. The AUV may engage with the submersible station before, after or during a mission,... Agent: Pepper Hamilton LLP

20090090286 - Armed remotely operated vehicle: A remotely operated vehicle system includes a vehicle having a propulsor and a steering means. A remote operating console is provided that is capable of providing power, receiving sensor signals and controlling the vehicle. The vehicle is connected to the console by a tether. The tether having elements supporting power,... Agent: Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport

20090090287 - Retractable bowsprit for a sailing vessel: A bowsprit for a sailing vessel having a deck and a hull. A supporting member of the bowsprit has first and second opposing ends and is pivotably attachable to the deck such that the opposing ends of the supporting member extend outwardly past the hull. First and second movable members... Agent: Chernoff, Vilhauer, Mcclung & Stenzel

20090090289 - Apparatus for affixing a dock to an inboard mooring pole: An apparatus is disclosed especially configured and adapted for mooring a floating dock to an inboard mooring pile—a pile positioned within and extending through the top deck of a floating dock—. The apparatus minimizes damage to both dock and mooring piles caused by changes in tide, waves, wake and other... Agent: Richard L. Strauss, Esq.

20090090288 - Transfer of wheeled objects: According to the invention, a system is provided for connecting two vessels to each other or for connecting a vessel to a land-based structure for the transfer of objects. The system according to the invention comprises at least one projecting body adapted for attachment to one of the vessels and... Agent: Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch

20090090290 - Kayak-stability system: A kayak stability system that stabilizes a kayak and supports a kayaker in water such that he or she can more conveniently enter or re-enter the kayak from the water. The device includes at least one sponson attached to the kayak and retractably moveable from a stored position along an... Agent: Gardner Groff Greenwald & Villanueva. PC

20090084296 - Wave-powered energy conversion system: A wave-powered device having enhanced motion. The device including first, second, and third barges, with the second barge having a first reservoir and a second reservoir. The first and second reservoirs being coupled by a first passageway to permit a first fluid to selectively and passively move between the first... Agent: Crowell & Moring LLP Intellectual Property Group

20090084297 - Self-sustaining data center operational to be extremely resistant to catastrophic events: The Self-Sustaining Data Center makes use of a site that is inherently immune to catastrophic events and incorporates features to facilitate the substantially continuous availability of data stored therein. The architecture of the Self-Sustaining Data Center makes use of multiple data communication links to sites that are remote from the... Agent: Patton Boggs LLP

20090084298 - Mainsail reefing system: A mainsail reefing system comprises: a drum assembly including first and second coaxial drums for collecting luff-end and leech-end reefing lines, respectively; a drive mechanism for rotating the drum assembly; and a levelwind mechanism including a cam shaft configured to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion, and first and second... Agent: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

20090084299 - Electric steering device for watercraft and control method of electric steering device: An electric steering device includes a steering retaining device arranged to retain a steering angle against an external steering force applied from outside of a watercraft to an outboard motor main body. A reverse input shutoff clutch, for example, is preferably used as the steering retaining device. A steering retaining... Agent: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha C/o Keating & Bennett, LLP

20090084300 - Stainless steel hatch and method of manufacture: A base for a marine hatch including a planar exterior flange running in a plane substantially parallel with a boat hull or deck, an angular leg running generally transverse to the planar exterior flange, the angular leg terminating in a spigot, wherein the spigot is substantially perpendicular to the exterior... Agent: Howard M. Ellis Simpson & Simpson, PLLC

20090084301 - Device for reducing the drive power requirement of a ship: A device for reducing the drive power requirement of a ship and even for not very quick ships of all types, in particular for slow, wide ships, such as tankers, bulkers and tugboats, and for improving the propeller blower stream as well as for producing a pretwist includes a front... Agent: Friedrich Kueffner Suite 910

20090084302 - Anchor monitoring system: A system wherein a vessel (12) is moored by catenary mooring lines (14, 15, 16) that include polymer cable lengths (30) that can stretch under tension, which indicates the amount of polymer stretching. In the absence of polymer line stretching, a measured actual drift or excursion of the vessel from... Agent: Leon D. Rosen Freilich, Hornbaker & Rosen

20090084303 - Marine vessel: A marine vessel is defined by multiple modular floatation modules, each of which is defined by a float captured in a frame. Plural floatation modules may be interconnected in a variety of configurations to vary the size and shape of the vessel. A deck is supported on the floatation modules... Agent: Hancock Hughey LLP