In recent years, boating has become an increasingly popular activity. Some of the most common types of boats include so-called flats boats, which are characterized by a generally flat bottom and upward-standing sides. Multiple seats are typically provided in the boat for seating a driver and one or multiple passengers.
The upward-standing sides of a flats boat define an open top. This provides sufficient access to the boat occupants for the casting of fishing rods, for example, as well as movement in the boat and between the boat and the water when swimming is desired. The open top of the flats boat provides sufficient space for movement of the boat occupants during boating activities, however, it exposes the occupants to incessant heat from the sun in hot, sunny weather, as well as to rain during rainy weather.
Various boat covers are known in the art for covering or shading the cockpit of a boat. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,600 discloses an extendable and retractable cover for the cockpit of a small boat. The cover incorporates a cover sheet, which is rolled onto a roller disposed across and carried by the transom of the boat. The cover sheet follows fore and aft guides provided along the edges of the sides of the cockpit. A latch and handle mechanism are provided to latch the cover sheet to the windshield. A motor and corresponding circuitry is provided for actuating rolling and unrolling of the cover sheet. The cover is designed particularly to protect the cockpit of the boat when the boat is not in use. Consequently, the cover is not raised during deployment to a height sufficient to cover boat occupants; instead functioning to shield the interior of the boat from the environment when the boat is not occupied or in use. Additionally, the cover is not portable and requires substantial modification to the boat on which it is mounted.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,150 B1 discloses a shade cover assembly, which is particularly adapted to be carried on a tower above the cockpit area of a pleasure boat. The cover is extendable and retractable through a slotted elongated cover fixture carried by a tower, transversely to the hull, above the cockpit area of the boat. The cover fixture is carried laterally by side frame members and is adapted to be fastened or tensioned, such as by hooks, to the front frame member. The shade assembly can be extended into a functional configuration or stowed to a non-functional configuration. However, the cover is incapable of being stowed to one side of the boat to permit free movement of occupants in the boat when not in use.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,303,667 and 5,904,114 disclose boat covers that include a folding support frame assembly spanned by a flexible cover or canopy. The support frame assembly is relatively complex and has multiple parts.
Additional boat covers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,698,409; 5,092,262; 5,983,824; 6,223,680; 6,357,379. Each of the boat covers is relatively bulky, complex and/or is incapable of being efficiently selectively deployed in a functional position to cover occupants of a boat or stowed to one side of the boat when not in use. Moreover, none of the patents discloses a portable covering which is particularly adapted for use with bass or flats types of boats. Furthermore, none of the patents discloses a flexible covering that is maintained in a spring-loaded, rolled configuration supported by a pair of stanchions along one side of a vessel in a stowed position and extendible across the width of the vessel for attachment to a corresponding pair of stanchions along an opposite side of the vessel.