1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a paddle and method therefor and, more particularly, this invention relates to an improved paddle which includes a hook and a water or air pump, and a method therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paddles (or oars) are often used on many types of small boats as the primary means of propulsion such as, for example, on rowboats and canoes. Paddles are also usually used as a safety feature on other larger boats to provide a secondary or back-up means of propulsion such as, for example, on motorboats or sailboats.
To improve the usefulness of a paddle, the prior art has disclosed incorporating a water or air pump as part of the construction of the paddle. In this connection, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,044,410 and 3,095,825 to Warren F. Edmundson and John W. Sandberg, respectively, disclose a combination oar and water or air pump. This combination oar or paddle and air or water pump feature has enabled boaters to use a single device, namely, a paddle or oar that is used as a primary or secondary means of propulsion to also serve as a pump to either pump water out of the vessel in the event of a leak or to pump air into inflatable safety equipment, such as a life preserver or raft. By having the combination pump and paddle, valuable space is saved in a boat which otherwise requires separate devices for the two functions (paddling and pumping).
However, boaters often find themselves in the position of paddling to a dock or to another boat, perhaps for safety reasons such as when they are in rough water or facing strong currents, and they may encounter great difficulty in mooring their boats or coupling their boat to another boat.
In addition, boaters may also find themselves in hazardous or life threatening situations out of eye view from land or any other boats. Included in these potential dangers are water entering the vessel from stormy seas, boat leaks, etc.
Accordingly, a need existed to provide a significantly improved paddle and method which was also able to function (besides serving as a paddle and pump) to provide boaters with assistance in mooring their boats or coupling their boats to other boats thereby limiting the consequences of potential boating dangers or threats and, if needed, also provide a radar reflection device using the same improved paddle thereby providing an added safety feature to enable others with a radar scanning system to detect and locate the presence of a lost or floundering boat.