1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boat, and more particularly, to a collapsible canoe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The canoe is basically a structure having longitudinal ribs and laterally extending cross ribs forming the skelton of the body thereof with a skin of water-proof material about the skeleton. When Europeans first arrived at North America, they found North American natives using such boats wherein the ribs were made of tree branches and the skin stretched over the skeleton was birch-bark. The joints of the birch-bark canoe were sealed with natural gums from the available trees. Since then, such canoes have been made commercially using wood skeletons and canvas skins which were impregnated with a rubber-like, water-proof material, and in recent years aluminium skeletons have been developed with a rigid fiberglass skin.
Collapsible type boats, such as collapsible canoes, have been known, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 1,614,280 to Churchill, 1927, and British Pat. No. 844,197 to Jones, 1960. However, as shown in the type of collapsible canoe described by Churchill, a plurality of different functional pieces is required such as in the bow or stern, in order to hold the longitudinal ribs in position. In the case of Churchill, separate end members are provided fitting in a block which is also adapted to receive the longitudinal ribs under tension. It is believed that the various clamping devices as shown in the Churchill patent, as well as the separate bow and stern blocks, leave a lot to be desired as far as easy assembly or disassembly of the collapsible boat, and does not improve the compactability of the once collapsed boat.
The British patent shows a boat of wooden construction in which certain of the wooden members are hinged together and/or clamped together by spring clamps. Again, the various components making up the boat does not enhance the compactability thereof and make carrying of the boat considerably difficult.