Water riding member

Abstract

A water riding member having an upper surface upon which a person may ride and a lower surface immersible in water is described. The member has a length and a width, with the length being greater than the width, and the member extends lengthwise between first and second ends. The lower surface of the member has a medial portion between the two ends, and at least first and second ascending portions between the medial portion and the first end. The first ascending portion adjoins the medial portion, and the second ascending portion extends between the first ascending portion and the first end, with the second ascending portion being more steeply inclined than the first ascending portion.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of members for riding on water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years one form of athletic recreation has involved riding a planing board while being towed through the water by a boat. Acquatic riding boards have been known for some time. One particular example of this kind of riding board involves a kind of planing member such as may popularly be termed a “wake board”. Typically, a rider stands on the wake board and is towed over a water course by a boat. A wake board may have bindings into which the rider may secure his or her feet, the better to control the ride of the board.

A wake board may commonly operate in either of two regimes. First, when the wake board is running outside the cone of the wake (i.e., when the board is running outside the wavefront of the wash of the boat), it may tend to be running in substantially open water that may, in the case of a lake or slow moving river, tend to be relatively flat and calm as compared to the waves of the wake generated by the boat. In the second regime, the wake board may be operated in a direction have a substantial component of velocity transverse to the direction of travel of the tow boat, such that the wake board may tend to move in a direction to cross the wake.

Part of the enjoyment of riding a wake board may be the opportunity to travel through, or over, the wake of the tow boat. Some tow boats are given extra stem ballast for the purpose of displacing more water, and hence in creating a larger wake. The wake board may have upwardly angled tips at both ends. The upward bend of the board is termed a rocker, and the amount of “rocker” may be measured at the ends of the board in inches of height from the center of the board when placed on a flat surface at rest. This is, inherently, a measure of camber, and may be 2 inches, or, taken as a ratio of the length of the board, about 3%. When the board is traveling outside the wake, more or less in the direction of travel of the tow boat, the board runs primarily on its medial, or middle, portion, with the end providing a lead-in planing face. A shallower rocker may tend to be associated with a board that may run faster in smooth water, but not necessarily jump as well as a steep rocker. If the rocker is too steep, it will tend not to run as quickly as a board with a shallower inclination.

It may be that a wake board rider wishes to ride the board in such a manner as to cause it to jump out of the wake entirely, as when the rider does flips or twists in the air. The size or quality of the jump that may be made may tend to be a function of the height of the jump that can be achieved. One way to achieve a relatively high jump is to cause the wake board to gain speed in the comparatively flat water outside the wake, and then to cross the wake at a high angle of attack, with as much speed as can be managed, such that the board meets the wave front abruptly at high speed, tending to cause the board to angle upward and to jump.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the invention there is a water riding member having an upper surface upon which a person may ride and a lower surface immersible in water. The member has a length and a width with the length being greater than the width. The member extends lengthwise between first and second ends. The lower surface has a medial portion between the two ends, and at least first and second ascending portions between the medial portion and the first end. The first ascending portion adjoins the medial portion, and the second ascending portion extends between the first ascending portion and the first end. The second ascending portion is more steeply inclined than the first ascending portion.

The member may have third and fourth ascending portions between the medial portion and the second end. The third ascending portion adjoins the medial portion and the fourth ascending portion lies between the third ascending portion and the second end. The fourth ascending portion being more steeply inclined than said third ascending portion. The member may have a plane of symmetry extending cross-wise through the medial portion.

The first ascending portion may have a mean angle of inclination in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 degrees of arc relative to the medial portion. Further, the second ascending portion may have a mean angle of inclination in the range of 1.0 to 4.0 degrees of arc relative to the medial portion. The first ascending portion may meet the medial portion on a radius of curvature of between 10 and 20 inches. Further, the second ascending portion may meet the first ascending portion on a radius of curvature of between 3 and 10 inches. The lower surface may have an overall camber of greater than 3 inches. Further, the lower surface may have an overall camber of greater than 5%. The second ascending portion may have a mean angle of inclination at least twice as great as the first ascending portion. Further, the second ascending portion may have a projected length in the range of 10 to 20% of the length of the member. The first ascending portion may have a first projected length, the second ascending portion may have a second projected length, and the first length may be greater than the second length. Further, the first ascending member may have a projected area of between 5 and 15% of the lower surface.

The water riding member may have a binding mounted to the upper surface thereof. Further, the member may have at least one longitudinally running fin member between the medial portion and the second end thereof.

In another aspect of the invention there is a wake board having a middle portion, first rocker portions extending lengthwise from said middle portion, and second rocker portions extending lengthwise from said first rocker portions, with the second rocker portions being more steeply rockered than the first rockered portions. The second rocker portions may adjoin the first rocker portions at a sharper transition than the first rocker portions adjoin the middle portion. Further, the first rocker portions may have an overall rocker height of between 4 and 7% of board length. Still further, the second rocker portions may have a rocker differential of between 50% and 75% of overall rocker height of the wake board. Yet still further, the second rocker portion may have a cross-wise camber of less than 20%.

These and other aspects and features of the invention may be understood with reference to the detailed descriptions of the invention and the accompanying illustrations as set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The principles of the invention may better be understood with reference to the accompanying figures provided by way of illustration of an exemplary embodiment, or embodiments, incorporating principles and aspects of the present invention, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a planing board as seen from above;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the planing board of FIG. 1 taken along the longitudinal centerline thereof, as indicated by section ‘2-2’ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the planing board of FIG. 1 as seen from below;

FIG. 4 shows an end view of the planing board of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a detail on partial section ‘5-5’ of FIG. 1 showing an edge profile of the planing board of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows, and the embodiment or embodiments described therein, are provided by way of illustration of an example, or examples, of particular embodiments of the principles of the present invention. These examples are provided for the purposes of explanation, and not of limitation, of those principles and of the invention. In the description, like parts are marked throughout the specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated in order more clearly to depict certain features of the invention.

In terms of general orientation and directional nomenclature, for the planing board of the various Figures, the longitudinal direction is defined as being coincident with the forward planing direction of the planing board when the rider is being towed behind a boat in the usual course of operation. It is coincident with the long axis of the planing board. It should be understood that while the planing board is customarily operated to travel in this direction, generally, it is expected that the board may operate with a significant amount of leeway. That is to say, as the rider is being towed, and the board is being operated in a direction having a significant component of velocity transverse to the direction of motion of the towing boat, the board may wish to cheat, or skid sideways, in the direction of the tow. This leeway may be resisted, for example, by the rider leaning away from the towing boat and angling the distant edge of the board more sharply into the water, and edging the lee edge out of the water, or by adding fins or keels to the underside of the planing board. In some instances this component of motion may be deliberately incurred, as when a rider “grinds” the wake, by riding the board with a very small, or zero, component of velocity in the lengthwise direction of the board, and the long axis of the board positioned substantially perpendicular to the direction of tension in the tow rope.

The planing board may be considered to have a pitching motion, namely a rotational degree of freedom about an horizontal axis of rotation perpendicular to the long axis of the board, and may thereby be adjustable in terms of a fore and aft angle of trim, depending on where the rider locates his or her center of gravity relative to the center of lift of the board. Similarly, the planing board may have an angle of roll according to the angular position of the board relative to the long axis of the board, from a horizontal datum, and may have a yaw angle about a vertical axis in turning, relative to the direction of travel of the towing boat, for example. In general, there may be several different angles of attack relevant to the motion of the board. A first angle of attack is the angle of the weight bearing planing surface to the mean water surface (for this purpose, a horizontal, dead calm planar undisturbed water surface may be considered). A second angle of attack may be the angle of the long axis of the board to the direction of travel of the towing boat, as seen in plan view from above. A third angle of attack may be the roll angle of the planing surface. A fourth angle of attack may be defined between the long axis of the board (or, perhaps more rigorously, the velocity vector) of the board and the non-planar wave-front as seen from above. A fifth angle of attack may be defined between the leading portion of the board and the wave front.

The term lateral, or laterally outboard, refers to a distance or orientation relative to the longitudinal centerline of the board, and may be taken from either lateral edge, in context. If the long axis of the planing board is considered the x-axis, lateral distances might be considered to be distances in the y-direction. The term “longitudinally inboard”, or “longitudinally outboard” is a distance taken relative to a mid-span lateral section of the board, or from wither tip of the board, in context, and might be considered to be distances in the x-direction. The terms upward and downward, or upper and lower, may tend to be taken in the vertical directioin assuming an at rest condition of the planing board, and might be considered to be motions or distances in the vertical or z-direction, but it will be understood that in motion there may be upward and downward components of direction and motion according to the pitch, roll and yaw of the planing board, and the terms must be understood in context.

By way of general overview, then, a planing board, such as may be a “wake board” is indicated generally in the Figures as 20. Planing board 20 has an upper surface 22 upon which a rider may ride, be it standing, kneeling, sitting, or prone as the case may be. Planing board 20 also has an undersurface, or generally downwardly facing surface 24 that may tend to contact, be partially immersed in and ride upon, the water surface. Undersurface 24 may have a central region 26, adjacent fore-and-aft near to central regions 28, 30, and more fore-and-aft distant regions 32, 34. In flat water operation, such as may occur outside the wake, the angle of attack of the board to the water surface for planing may tend to be governed by the angle of the first portion of the surface, such as that of region 28. In attacking the wave front of the wake, distant region 32 may meet the wave, and may tend to help cause the board to jump more abruptly. Board 20 having regions 26, 28, 30, 32, and 34 may be referred to as a “five-stage rocker”.

In greater detail, then, planing board 20 is shown in plan view from above in FIG. 1. Board 20 has a major, or long axis identified as CL Board, and a mid-span transverse axis identified as CL Transverse. Board 20 may have a central portion 33 of greatest width in the lateral direction, and adjoining fore-and-aft near portions 35 and 37, and fore and aft distant, or end regions, 38, 40. As seen from above, the lateral margins 42, 44 of board 20 may be gently curving, and may be symmetrical, yielding a planform shape that is narrowest in the middle, and most sharply narrowing at the ends. Each end may have protruding left and right hand horns, 46, 48 and a relieved or drawn back intermediate leading edge portion 50 (or, trailing edge portion 52, as may be).

Mounting fitting inserts 53 may be spaced along the board centerline in an array, and such an array may included several spaced groups 54, 56, 58 and 60 such as may be used to attach rider engagement fittings, such as may be in the nature of handles or foot bindings 57 (shown in FIG. 2 only). In one embodiment board 20 may be made of laminated wood or molded composite material, and inserts 53 may be threaded inserts such as half inch deep ¼ inch diameter screw inserts.

Lateral margins 42, 44, may have a diminished profile, like a nosing, as shown in FIG. 5, in which the major portion of board 20 may have a continuous undersurface margin, 66, yet have an upper relief, or downward bevel 68, a lip 70, and an edge chamfer 72 at the far end of lip 70 that meets undersurface margin 66 at its laterally most distant extremity. This lip may be greatest in depth at mid span, with a lip width of perhaps 1½″, or 5-10% of overall board width, and a lip depth of ⅜ to ¾″.

Viewed from the end, as in FIG. 4, planing board 20 may be seen to have an undersurface that is not flat, but rather contoured. Near the leading portion there is a “center tunnel” region 74 that is gently relieved as compared to the adjacent longitudinally extending contours of the hull. The center tunnel is relatively shallow, with a maximum central depth of about ¼″ over a width between the hull contour high points of 8″. This central tunnel diminishes aftward toward the center of the board, at which the profile is as shown in FIG. 4, as identified at item 78. Longitudinally extending features in the nature of an inboard, or first rail 80, and a more laterally outboard second rail 82 may be molded into the underside of the board. First rail 80 may extend from the tip 84 of the board 20 along the hull, and, at mid section, may be 50-70% of the hull half width from the centerline to the laterally outboard margin. Second rail 82 may commence longitudinally inboard of tip 84, and may lie laterally outboard of first rail 80 by a further 10-20% of the lateral half-width, with position of the second rail at the longitudinal mid-point of the board being between ⅔ and ⅘ of the lateral half width of the board away from the longitudinal centerline. Each of the first and second rails 80, 82 may tend to have a steep face, or flank, or shoulder 86 on the laterally inboard side, and a gentler slope on the laterally outboard side. The first and second rails may tend to function as keels, or fins, or edges, to discourage lateral skidding in the water, such as when the angle of motion of the board is sharply divergent from the direction of tension in the tow line. Furthermore, in some embodiments planing board 20, may be provided with attachable keel or fin members 90 having a major axis running in the longitudinal direction and projecting outward from the undersurface, such as may be fixed in place by the engagement of threaded fasteners in threaded inserts 92. There may be a general transverse curvature to the underside of the board, and this camber may be less than 20% of the width of the board more generally.

Considering the longitudinal section of FIG. 2, in one embodiment the planing board 20 may have a central region. Central region 26 of undersurface 24 may adjoin the adjacent fore-and-aft near to central regions 28, 30 at a first rocker, 94, 96 that may have a first radius r₁, such that regions 28, 30 may tend to be inclined upward relative to central region 26 at an angle α from the horizontal. In some embodiments α may lie in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 degrees. Radius r₁ may be relatively large, such as in the range of 10 inches to 20 inches, such that the transition from central region 26 to either of regions 28 or 30 may be very gentle. Fore-and-aft distant regions 32, 34 may adjoin regions 28 or 30, as may be, at a second rocker 98, 100, that may have a radius of curvature r₂. In some embodiments r₂ may lie in the range of 3 to 10 inches. In some embodiments r₂ may be smaller, and perhaps much smaller, than r₁, such that the transition from region 32 or 34 to 28 or 30, as may be, may tend to be more abrupt than the transition from central region 26 to either region 28 or region 30. The angle of the second rocker may be β such that the overall rocker angle of the end regions 32, 34 is φ from the horizontal, where φ is the sum of α plus β. φ may be in the range of 1.0 to 4.0 degrees. The total rocker height (or camber) as measured by elevation δ at the end of the board may be about 3 to 3¾ inches, or, in one embodiment, may be about 3⅓ inches. Alternatively, this may be expressed as a ratio of board length, being greater than about 5%, and, in one embodiment, about 6%, or somewhat more than 6%. It may be that the angle of inclination of the end portions is about, or slightly greater than, twice the angle of inclination of the near portion. That is, φ may be in the range of twice as great as α, and may be in the range of 5/3 to 12/5 times as large as α. Taking this in terms of rocker height, the ascending height differential of the first (or longitudinally inboard) rocker stage may be indicated as δ₁, and the ascending height differential may be indicated as δ₂. In one embodiment, δ₂ lies in the range of ⅘ to 3 times as large as δ₁. In one embodiment, δ₁ and δ₂ are approximately equal (+/−20%).

The length of the major axis of the board may vary. One factor related to the length of the board may be the weight of the intended user. Wake boards tend not to exceed about 60 to 65 inches in length. The maximum width of the board may tend to be about 18 inches, and may tend to be in the range of 12 to 18 inches, giving a length to width aspect ratio of about 3:1 to 5:1. In one embodiment, for example, the overall length may be about 56 inches, and the overall width may be about 17⅛″ in width, giving an aspect ratio of about 3.3:1.

In one embodiment, the end regions 32, 34 of the undersurface of board 20 may be in the range of about 5 to 8 inches, and in one embodiment may be about 6½ inches (+/−½ inches) from the mid-point of the second rocker to the extreme tip of the board 20. Alternatively, this may be expressed as a proportion of board length, and as a proportion of the shallower rocker length. That is, the end, or outer, or secondary rocker regions may have a length in the range of 8% to 20% of the board length, and, more narrowly, may be in the range of 10% to 15% of board length.

In one embodiment, the inboard rocker regions 28, 30 may have a length in the range of 8 to 14 inches, and in one embodiment may be about 10½ inches (±1 inch). This may alternatively be expressed as a proportion of the overall length of the board 20, and as a proportion of the length of the central region. For example, this region may be in the range of 12% to about 25% of the length of the board, and in one embodiment may be about 18% of the overall length of the board 20. It may also be about 40% to 60% of the length of the central region 26, and in one embodiment may be about 50% of the length of the central region 26.

Expressed differently yet again, the first ascending portion (such as 35 or 37) has a first projected length when viewed from above (or below), and the second ascending, or longitudinally outermost region (such as 38 or 40) has a second projected length, the first projected length being greater than the second projected length. The end rocker region may between about ½ and ¾ the length of the more longitudinally inboard rocker region, and in one embodiment may be about 60% of that length. Expressed still differently, the end rocker region 38 or 40 may be about ¼ to ⅖ of the length of the central region 33, and in one embodiment may be about ⅓ of the length of the central region 33.

Expressed differently again, the most longitudinally outboard ascending portion (outboard of the second transition) may have a projected area of between about 5 and 15% of the projected area of the board 20 more generally.

Various embodiments of the invention have now been described in detail. Since changes in, or additions to, the above-described embodiments may be made without departing from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the invention is not to be limited to those details but only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A water riding member having an upper surface upon which a person may ride and a lower surface immersible in water, said member having a length and a width, said length being greater than said width, said member extending lengthwise between first and second ends; said lower surface having a medial portion between said two ends, and at least first and second ascending portions between said medial portion and said first end; said first ascending portion adjoining said medial portion, and said second ascending portion extending between said first ascending portion and said first end, said second ascending portion being more steeply inclined than said first ascending portion.

2. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said member has third and fourth ascending portions between said medial portion and said second end, said third ascending portion adjoining said medial portion and said fourth ascending portion lying between said third ascending portion and said second end, said fourth ascending portion being more steeply inclined than said third ascending portion.

3. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said member has a plane of symmetry extending cross-wise through said medial portion.

4. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said first ascending portion has a mean angle of inclination in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 degrees of arc relative to said medial portion.

5. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said second ascending portion has a mean angle of inclination in the range of 1.0 to 4.0 degrees of arc relative to said medial portion.

6. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said first ascending portion meets said medial portion on a radius of curvature of between 10 and 20 inches.

7. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said second ascending portion meets said first ascending portion on a radius of curvature of between 3 and 10 inches.

8. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said lower surface has an overall camber of greater than 3 inches.

9. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said lower surface has an overall camber of greater than 5%.

10. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said second ascending portion has a mean angle of inclination at least twice as great as said first ascending portion.

11. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said second ascending portion has a projected length in the range of 10 to 20% of said length of said member.

12. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said first ascending portion has a first projected length, said second ascending portion has a second projected length, and said first length is greater than said second length.

13. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said first ascending member has a projected area of between 5 and 15% of said lower surface.

14. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said member has a binding mounted to said upper surface thereof.

15. The water riding member of claim 1 wherein said member has at least one longitudinally running fin member between said medial portion and said second end thereof.

16. A wake board having a middle portion, first rocker portions extending lengthwise from said middle portion, and second rocker portions extending lengthwise from said first rocker portions, said second rocker portions being more steeply rockered than said first rockered portions.

17. The wake board of claim 16 wherein said second rocker portions adjoin said first rocker portions at a sharper transition than said first rocker portions adjoin said middle portion.

18. The wake board of claim 16 wherein said first rocker portions have an overall rocker height of between 4 and 7% of board length.

19. The wake board of claim 16 wherein said second rocker portions have a rocker differential of between 50% and 75% of overall rocker height of said wake board.

20. The wake board of claim 16 wherein said second rocker portion has a cross-wise camber of less than 20%.