1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to water craft generally, and particularly to small, personal, leisure water craft. More particularly, this invention relates to a round, two-person boat having an inner, circular cockpit surrounded by a coplanar, toroidally-shaped floatation means.
2. Description of Related Art
Designs for small water craft generally can be grouped by their propulsion means, hull characteristics, sizes and purposes. Among small, leisure water craft, both flat-bottom boats and those with V-hulls are common, both typically having a distinct fore and aft which may be pointed or squared for mounting a motor. Barges and rafts by contrast usually have substantially squared ends and may or may not have a distinct stem and stern. Barges generally have non-watertight hulls and rely on weight displacement for flotation. Rafts by contrast rely upon the inherent flotation of their components, such as wood, closed-cell foam or air-tight structures such as barrels or rubberized tubes. Water craft design has for centuries explored the limits of these parameters, but a hybrid craft having characteristics of several others would be useful.
Small boats made from readily available flotation materials are common. Most, however, place mats or decks atop the flotation materials, and as a result suffer from several defects. First, they commonly are top-heavy and vertically unstable, having greater mass above the deck than below. Second, they depend heavily upon the integrity of the flotation materials. Should the flotation fail (e.g. an air-tight barrel becoming flooded), the boat will list seriously toward the defective flotation, further compromising stability. Thus, flotation requires constant vigilance and maintenance. A need exists for a hybrid water craft which, in an emergency, can float on its own without flotation material support.
Most personal water craft are large and represent significant storage problems. The typical bass boat, pirogue or flat-bottomed john boat is 10-15 feet long and rather heavy. Many require trailers for transportation, and they occupy considerable real estate during storage. A need exists for a small, personal water craft that easily may be transported and stored.