Fender for watercraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025136255-A1
Application number	US-202318498769-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 31, 2023
Priority date	Oct 31, 2023
Publication date	May 1, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A fender for a watercraft having a watercraft body. The watercraft body defines an aperture. The fender has: a fender body; an anchor distinct from the fender body, the anchor being configured to be inserted in the aperture defined in the watercraft body and for selectively connecting the fender to the watercraft body; and a link distinct from the fender body and from the anchor, the link connecting the fender body to the anchor. The fender body is made from a flexible material. The anchor is made from a rigid material. The link is made from a resilient material. A watercraft having the fender is also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A fender for a watercraft having a watercraft body, the watercraft body defining an aperture, the fender comprising:
a fender body made from a flexible material; an anchor distinct from the fender body, the anchor being configured to be inserted in the aperture defined in the watercraft body and for selectively connecting the fender to the watercraft body, the anchor being made from a rigid material; and a link distinct from the fender body and from the anchor, the link connecting the fender body to the anchor, the link being made from a resilient material.

2 . The fender of claim 1 , wherein the fender body is made from a flexible foam.

3 . The fender of claim 2 , wherein:
the rigid material is stiffer than the resilient material; and the resilient material is stiffer than the flexible foam.

4 . The fender of claim 2 , wherein the flexible foam is a closed-cell foam.

5 . The fender of claim 2 , wherein the flexible foam is an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam.

6 . The fender of claim 2 , wherein the flexible foam is a cross-linked foam.

7 . The fender of claim 2 , wherein the resilient material is rubber.

8 . The fender of claim 2 , wherein the rigid material is plastic.

9 . The fender of claim 1 , wherein the link extends through the fender body.

10 . The fender of claim 9 , wherein:
the fender body defines a passage; the link has a link body extending in the passage; the link body has a first end connected to the anchor; the link has a flange abutting the fender body; the flange is connected to a second end of the link body, the second end of the link body being opposite the first end of the link body; and a portion of the fender body defining the passage is disposed between the anchor and the flange.

11 . The fender of claim 1 , wherein the anchor comprises:
an anchor body configured to be received in the aperture of the watercraft body; and a lock movably connected to the anchor body, the lock having a locked position for connecting the anchor to the watercraft body, and the lock having an unlocked position for permitting removal of the anchor body from the aperture in the watercraft body and for permitting insertion of the anchor body in the aperture in the watercraft body.

12 . The fender of claim 11 , wherein:
the lock has a lever for moving the lock between the locked position and the unlocked position; and the fender body defines an access aperture providing access to the lever.

13 . The fender of claim 12 , wherein:
the lock has at least one cam connected to and movable with the lever; and the anchor body is disposed between the lever and the at least one cam.

14 . The fender of claim 1 , wherein the fender body has a generally C-shaped cross-section.

15 . The fender of claim 14 , wherein:
the fender body has:
a middle portion;
an upper portion extending upward and in a first direction laterally from a top of the middle portion; and
a lower portion extending downward in the first direction laterally from a bottom of the middle portion;
the upper portion extends over the anchor; and the lower portion extends under the anchor.

16 . The fender of claim 1 , wherein:
the rigid material has a greater hardness than the resilient material; and the resilient material has a greater hardness than the flexible material.

17 . A watercraft comprising:
a watercraft body, the watercraft body defining an aperture; and a fender selectively connected to the watercraft body, the fender comprising:
a fender body made from a flexible material;
an anchor distinct from the fender body, the anchor being inserted in the aperture defined in the watercraft body and selectively connecting the fender to the watercraft body, the anchor being made from a rigid material; and
a link distinct from the fender body and from the anchor, the link connecting the fender body to the anchor, the link being made from a resilient material.

18 . The watercraft of claim 17 , wherein:
the fender body abuts the watercraft body; the link is in tension; and the fender body is at least partially compressed by the link against the watercraft body.

19 . The watercraft of claim 17 , wherein the fender body is made from a flexible foam.

20 . The watercraft of claim 17 , wherein:
the fender body defines a passage; the link has a link body extending in the passage; the link body has a first end connected to the anchor; the link has a flange abutting the fender body; the flange is connected to a second end of the link body, the second end of the link body being opposite the first end of the link body; and a portion of the fender body defining the passage is disposed between the watercraft body and the flange.

21 . The watercraft of claim 17 , wherein the anchor comprises:
an anchor body received in the aperture of the watercraft body; and a lock movably connected to the anchor body, the lock having a locked position connecting the anchor to the watercraft body, and the lock having an unlocked position permitting removal of the anchor body from the aperture in the watercraft body and permitting insertion of the anchor body in the aperture in the watercraft body.

Assignees

• Bombardier Recreational Products Inc

Inventors

• L'Heureux Marc-Andre
• Meskine Abdelkarim
• Hamel-Gagnon Mathieu

Classifications

• B63B34/10

  Power-driven personal watercraft, e.g. water scooters (water jet propulsion B63H11/00; jet steering B63H25/46); Accessories therefor · CPC title

• B63B59/02 Primary

  Fenders integral with waterborne vessels or specially adapted therefor, {e.g. fenders forming part of the hull or incorporated in the hull}; Rubbing-strakes (fenders on coasts, in harbours or on other fixed marine structures E02B3/26) · CPC title