TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a motor mounting, and more particularly to a boat motor mounting for mounting a trolling motor to a boat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There exist currently many types of motorized or engine-driven propulsion systems for boats and other marine vehicles or vessels (collectively referred to herein generally as “marine vessels”). Many fishermen fish from boats which are typically driven from a boat dock or other launch site to a desired fishing spot by an outboard motor which is usually a large horsepower motor.

An outboard drive for attaching to the transom of a boat is a propulsion system adapted to be especially used for small watercrafts, such as pneumatic boats and speedboats. To date, most of the outboard drives utilize gasoline engines as their power source. The design of most outboard motors facilitates easy attachment and removal from the hull of a boat. Small outboard engines for boats or watercrafts are typically provided with a handle on the stern bracket of the outboard engine and another handle on the rear of the cowling of the engine to enable the user to lift, carry, manipulate, and mount the outboard engine onto the rear end of the watercraft.

Most outboard motors have three sections; a power-head, a mid housing-unit and a lower-unit. The mid housing-unit is where the engine resides. The lighter and smaller lower-unit primarily features a foot portion having a trim tab, a skeg and an attached propeller. For maximum efficiency of operation, an outboard motor should be mounted on the transom of a boat such that the cavitation plate of the motor runs across the surface of the water while the boat is being operated. At such a height, the cavitation plate will be appropriately positioned to carry out its function of preventing air from reaching the propeller area, thereby preventing cavitation or slippage of the propeller in the water that can reduce the efficiency of operation of the motor, while, at the same time, the water will produce only a minimal drag on the motor to be overcome by the motor during the operation of the boat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a boat motor mounting for mounting a trolling motor to a boat. The boat motor mounting includes a bracket adapted to be secured to a transom of the boat. The bracket is comprised of a front vertical plate which is adapted to extend into the interior of the boat, a rear vertical plate which is adapted to extend outward of the boat and downward from the upper surface of the transom of the boat, a horizontal plate adjoining the front vertical plate and the rear vertical plate; and a platform mounted to an outer surface of the horizontal plate and designed to support the trolling motor.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a boat motor mounting for mounting a trolling motor to a boat. The boat motor mounting includes a bracket secured to a transom of the boat. The bracket is comprised of a front vertical plate which extends into the interior of the boat, a rear vertical plate which extends outward of the boat and downward from the upper surface of the transom of the boat, a horizontal plate adjoining the front vertical plate and the rear vertical plate, and a platform mounted to an outer surface of the horizontal plate and designed to support the trolling motor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure, operation, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures (Figs.). The figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Certain elements in some of the figures may be omitted, or illustrated not-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. The cross-sectional views may be in the form of “slices”, or “near-sighted” cross-sectional views, omitting certain background lines which would otherwise be visible in a “true” cross-sectional view, for illustrative clarity.

In the drawings accompanying the description that follows, both reference numerals and legends (labels, text descriptions) may be used to identify elements. If legends are provided, they are intended merely as an aid to the reader, and should not in any way be interpreted as limiting.

FIG. 1 is a side, three dimensional view of the boat motor mounting, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear, three dimensional view of the boat motor mounting with a boat motor mounted thereto and secured to a boat, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded, three dimensional view of the boat motor mounting, the boat motor, and the boat, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded, three dimensional view of the boat motor mounting, the boat motor, and the boat, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the description that follows, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations of these specific details are possible while still achieving the results of the present invention. Well-known processing steps are generally not described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obfuscating the description of the present invention.

In the description that follows, exemplary dimensions may be presented for an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The dimensions should not be interpreted as limiting. They are included to provide a sense of proportion. Generally speaking, it is the relationship between various elements, where they are located, their contrasting compositions, and sometimes their relative sizes that is of significance.

In the drawings accompanying the description that follows, often both reference numerals and legends (labels, text descriptions) will be used to identify elements. If legends are provided, they are intended merely as an aid to the reader and should not in any way be interpreted as limiting.

The boat motor mounting 10 relates to an apparatus for mounting a trolling motor 11 to the transom portion 20 of a boat 12. It must be noted that may be located on eith the stern or the bow of the boat 12. The boat 12 of the present embodiment is typically of the type sometimes called “bass boats,” generally characterized by a fishing seat above decks near the bow portion 14. The bass boat 12 also includes a floor 16, an elevated fishing deck area positioned at the forward end of the bow portion, and a stern portion 20.

The boat 12 is powered by a trolling motor 11 configured to provide a propulsion force for moving the boat through the water. Typically, bass boats 12 include an outboard trolling motor 11 mounted directly thereon with their propellers 13 positioned close to the surface of the water on which the boat is riding. This position allows air as well as water to pass through the propeller. However, these types of trolling motors outfitted to this variety of boat result in a boat that is ineffectually powered. This is due to the motors 11 not providing an adequate amount of power to properly maneuver the boat 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the boat motor mounting 10 is designed to alleviate the issue of an inadequately powered bass boat 12. The boat motor mounting 10 is designed to provide a mounting platform to attach a new motor that replaces the original motor that was previously equipped on the boat 12. In general terms, the boat motor mounting 10 comprises a bracket that is secured to the transom 20 of the boat 12, for example by bolting the motor mounting 10 directly to the transom, located on either the stern or the bow of the boat 12, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a replacement trolling motor 11 can be mounted and then removed from the transom of the bass boat 12. Trolling motors are relatively small in comparison to the types of primary motors designed to propel watercraft at significant speeds. Trolling motors are mounted directly to the transom of the boat. The principal function of the trolling motor 11 is to enable movement of the craft at relatively slow speeds in order to permit fine control of that watercraft movement.

The trolling motor 11 has a shaft 26 with a propeller 13 disposed thereon. The propeller 13 is attached to the motor housing 30 and journaled in the boat 12 to hold the trolling motor 30 and propeller 28 in the water underneath the boat for trolling. When the trolling motor 24 is not in use, the shaft 26 with the propeller 28 and motor housing 30 are preferably raised out of the water as shown in FIG. 2 where the tiller 29 is pulled towards the floor 16 and the propeller 13 is raised out of the water.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the boat motor mounting 10 is designed to easily and readily mount directly to a trolling motor 11. The motor 11 and the boat motor mounting 10 can be attached as a unit to the transom 13 and then removed together from the transom. The boat motor mounting 10 is preferably constructed of metal, although any appropriate material may be utilized. The boat motor mounting 10 includes a U-shaped bracket 32 that is designed to be mounted to the transom wall 20 of the boat 12.

The U-shaped bracket 32 is composed of a front vertical plate 34, a rear vertical plate 36, a horizontal plate 38 adjoining the front vertical plate and rear vertical plate, and a platform 40 that is mounted to the outer surface 38b of the horizontal plate 38. The platform 40 is mounted, typically by bolting to the trolling motor 11. The interior surface 38a of the horizontal plate 38 is mounted upon and supported by the upper surface 20a of the transom 20. The front vertical plate 34 extends into the interior of the boat 12 and has an inner surface 34b disposed against the interior wall 20b of the transom 20. The front vertical plate 34 includes one or more openings 35 extending therethrough to allow bolts or other fasteners to be attached to holes through the transom. Preferably, there will be holes through interior wall 20a of the stern or transom wall 20.

The front vertical plate 34 has exemplary dimensions of a height of about 2 inches to about 3 inches and width of about 3 inches to about 7 inches. The rear vertical plate 36 extends downward from upper surface 20a of the transom 20 and is adjacent the exterior wall 20c of the transom 20. The rear vertical plate 36 has exemplary dimensions of a height of about 4 inches to about 6 inches and width of about 3 inches to about 7 inches. The rear vertical plate 36 includes one or more openings 37 extending therethrough.

The one or more openings 35 through the front vertical plate 34 are aligned with the one or more openings 37 extending through the rear vertical plate 36. When the U-shaped bracket 32 with a motor 11 is mounted onto the transom 20, holes 39 through the transom are aligned with the openings 35 through the front vertical plate 34 and the openings 37 extending through the rear vertical plate 36. Bolts or other fasteners can be inserted through openings 35 through the front vertical plate 34, openings 37 extending through the rear vertical plate 36 and holes 39 through the transom to securely mount the U-shaped bracket 32 to the transom.

The U-shaped bracket 32 includes two ¾″ radius longitudinal bends 42 and 44, as seen in FIG. 1. Exemplary overall dimensions of the U-shaped bracket 32 include a height H of 5 inches from the front vertical plate 34, 11″ to the first ¾″ radius longitudinal bend 42, up a height H of approximately 5″ to a vertical leg 32 that is canted inward 10 degrees off perpendicular, and 11″ to from the second ¾″ radius longitudinal bend 25 to the top horizontal leg 29.

The platform 40 is disposed atop the horizontal element 38 and is designed to accommodate the trolling motor 11. The platform 40 has exemplary dimensions of a length L of about 7 inches to about 9 inches, a width W of about 3 inches to about 5 inches and a height h of about 0.25 inches to about 0.5 inches. The platform 40 includes one or more openings 41 extending therethough to allow for bolts or other fasteners to attach the replacement trolling motor 11 to the platform.

In use, the original motor is removed from the bass boat 12. Then, the boat motor mounting 10 with the motor 11 attached thereto is secured to the transom of the boat 12 such that the front vertical plate 34 extends into the interior of the boat 12 adjacent the interior wall 20a of the transom 20, the rear vertical plate 36 extends outward of the transom, and the horizontal element 38 is disposed on top of the top wall 20a of the stern wall.

The replacement trolling motor 12 and the boat motor mounting 10 is then securely fastened to the transom with bolts or other fasteners platform 40 through openings 35 through the front vertical plate 34, openings 37 through the rear vertical plate 36 and holes 39 through the transom. This securely but removably mounts the U-shaped bracket 32 with the motor 11 to the transom 20.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, certain equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, etc.) the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more features of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.