SAIL OR SURF BOARD TO KAYAK CONVERSION KIT

TROUSSE DE CONVERSION D'UNE PLANCHE A VOILE OU D'UNE PLANCHE DE SURF EN KAYAK

English Abstract

A seat and foot rest assembly to convert a surf board or sail board into a
kayak
type paddling craft. The assembly comprises a chassis, connectors to easily
secure said
chassis to the top wall of the water buoyant board, a seat secured to the rear
portion of the
chassis and a foot rest adjustably mounted on the front section of the
chassis. The connectors
include suction cups and board encircling straps or screws to be screwed
within screw inserts
carried by the board top wall. The conversion kit can easily be detached to
allow the user to
use the board in its original configuration. An optional steering mechanism is
provided for
more precise directional control of the craft. The steering mechanism includes
a stern
mounted rudder and a control stick operable by the user's feet and connected
to the rudder
by adjustable cables.

Claims

8
CLAIMS
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION, IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED, ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An accessory arrangement for converting a water buoyant board such as a
sail
board or surf board into a kayak type paddling craft, said board having a bow,
a stern and a
top wall, said arrangement comprising a chassis including a pair of spaced
generally parallel
rails; first connectors to firmly secure said chassis to said board over said
top wall with said
rails extending longitudinally of said board, each rail having a rear end
portion and a front end
portion, a seat extending transversely of and secured to said rear end
portions, a foot rest
extending transversely of and slidable on said front end portions; and
adjustable second
connectors for releasably securing said foot rest to said front end portions
in longitudinally
adjusted position therealong, whereby a user, seated on said seat with his
legs on said foot
rest and facing towards said bow, may use a double paddle oar for propulsion.
2. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said foot rest has
a
user's feet engaging surface facing said seat and downwardly rearwardly
inclined.
3. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said chassis
defines
a rectangular frame, said rails forming the longer sides of said frame and
further including
cross-members rigidly interconnecting the front and rear end portions of said
rails and forming
the shorter sides of said frame.
4. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 1, wherein said first
connectors
include at least a few suction cups secured to and located under said chassis
for adhering to
said top wall.
5. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said first
connectors
further include board encircling flexible straps attached to said chassis and
strap tighteners for

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said straps.
6. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 4, wherein said first
connectors
further include screws carried by said chassis to be screwed into screw
inserts in said top wall.
7. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said first
connectors
include suction cups located under and secured to said chassis for adhering to
said top wall,
board encircling flexible straps attached to said chassis and straps
tighteners for said straps.
8. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein said first
connectors
include at least a few suction cups located under and secured to said chassis
for adhering to
said top wall and screws carried by said chassis to be screwed into screw
inserts in said top
wall.
9. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 2, further including a
steering
mechanism comprising a rudder mounting plate to be secured to said stern, a
rudder pivotally
carried by said plate, a rudder actuator lever rearwardly portruding from said
feet abutting
surface and located centrally thereof, transversely of said chassis, an
upright pivot rod
journaled in said foot rest forwardly of said surface and to the upper end of
which said lever
is secured, and a cable system connecting said pivot rod and said rudder to
transmit feet
induced pivoting movement of said lever to said rudder.
10. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein each of said rails
forms a channel, said cable system including a pair of cables extending under
the respective
channels.
11. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 9 wherein said cable system
includes a pair of cables and effective cable length adjusters to maintain
said cables taut

10
between said pivot rod and rudder in any selected adjusted position of said
foot rest.
12. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 10, further including cross-
members
rigidly interconnecting the front and rear end portions of said rails.
13. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 12, wherein said first
connectors
include at least a few suction cups located under and secured to said cross-
members, for
adhering to said top wall, board encircling flexible straps attached to said
chassis and strap
tighteners for said straps.
14. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 12, wherein said first
connectors
includes at least a few suction cups located under and secured to said cross-
members for
adhering to said top wall, and screws carried by said chassis to be screwed
into screw inserts
in said top wall.
15. A kayak type water craft comprising a water buoyant, narrow, elongated
board, such as a sail board or surf board, and an arrangement to convert said
board into a
kayak type paddling craft, said board having a bow, a stern and a top wall,
said arrangement
comprising a chassis including a pair of spaced generally parallel rails;
first connectors firmly
securing said chassis to said board over said top wall with said rails
extending longitudinally
of said board, each rail having a rear end portion and a front end portion, a
seat extending
transversely of and secured to said rear end portions, a foot rest extending
transversely of and
slidable on said front end portions; and adjustable second connectors
releasably securing said
foot rest to said rails in longitudinally adjusted position therealong,
whereby a user, seated on
said seat with his legs on said foot rest and facing towards said bow, may use
a double paddle
oar for propulsion.

11
16. A kayak type water craft as defined in claim 15, wherein said foot rest
has a
user's feet abutting surface facing said seat and downwardly rearwardly
inclined and wherein
said first connectors include at least a few suction cups located under said
chassis, secured
to the same and adhering to said top wall flexible straps encircling said
board and attached
to said chassis and strap tighteners for said straps.
17. A kayak type water craft as defined in claim 15, wherein said foot rest
has a
user's feet abutting surface facing said seat and downwardly rearwardly
inclined, said first
connectors including at least a few suction cups located under, secured to
said chassis and
adhering to said top wall, and screws carried by said chassis and screwed into
screw inserts
in said top wall.
18. A kayak type water craft as defined in claim 15, wherein said foot rest
has a
downwardly rearwardly inclined user's feet abutting surface facing said seat,
and further
including a steering mechanism comprising a rudder mounting plate secured to
said stern, a
rudder pivotally carried by said plate, a rudder actuator lever rearwardly
portruding from said
feet abutting surface and located centrally thereof, transversely of said
chassis, an upright
pivot rod journaled in said foot rest forwardly of said surface and to the
upper end of which
said pivot rod is secured and a cable system connecting said pivot rod and
said rudder to
transmit feet induced pivoting movement of said lever to said rudder.
19. A kayak type water craft as defined in claim 18, wherein each of said
rails
forms a channel, said cable system including a pair of cables extending within
the respective
channels.
20. An accessory arrangement as defined in claim 18, wherein said cable system
includes a pair of cables and effective cable length adjusters to maintain
said cables taut
between said pivot rod and rudder in any selected adjusted position of said
foot rest.

Description

CA 02244354 1998-07-30
1
TITLE : SAIL OR SURF BOARD TO KAYAK CONVERSION KIT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an accessory arrangement for converting a
water buoyant board such as a sail board or surf board into a kayak type
paddling craft.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Water sports are becoming increasingly popular. Costs and physical size
constraints can prevent the use of kayaks in a large number of cases and use
of surf and sail
boards is often prevented due to lack of wind or waves.
A conversion kit to convert a sail or surf board into a water bicycle is
described in U.S. patent 4,511,338 dated April 16, 1985 entitled "Water
bicycle and
detachable device therefor", inventor Noel Fanelli.
Another conversion kit is described in U.S. patent 5,377,607 dated January
3, 1995 entitled "Conversion arrangement for sail board with seat", inventor
Gerald S. Ross.
Still another conversion kit is described in U.S. patent 4,752,261 dated June
21, 1988 entitled
"Auxiliary seat for surf boards", inventor Michael A. Rosello Zoya.
The Fanelli patent describes the use of board encircling straps to secure the
conversion kit to the board but otherwise has no relation to a kayak type
paddling craft. The
Ross patent shows in figure 3 the board used as a kayak, however the seat is
adjustable but
not the foot rest, therefor the seat cannot be conveniently positioned in the
region of the
buoyant center of the board irrespective of the user's height.
The Zoya patent shows an arrangement in which the distance between the foot
rest and seat can be adjusted to suit the height of the user but the kit frame
rests flat on the
surf board and therefore could not conveniently clear feet anchoring straps
and mast anchors
normally portruding form the top wall of a sail board. Also, adjustment of the
distance
between the foot rest and seat is difficult to achieve.

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OBJECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a
conversion
kit of the character described which obviates the above noted disadvantages,
more particularly
in which the foot rest is adjustable with respect to the seat for maximum
comfort and
performance.
Another object of the invention is to provide a conversion kit of the
character
described in which the foot rest and seat are mounted on a chassis which is
spaced above the
top wall of the board so as to clear the feet anchoring straps and the mast
anchor normally
found on a sail board.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a conversion kit of the
character described incorporating a steering assembly including a foot rest
mounted control
stick accessible to the user's feet and connected to the stern mounted rudder
via adjustable
cables, maintained taut despite the variable distance between the adjustable
foot rest and the
seat.
Another object of the invention is to provide a converted craft which,
depending on the type of basic board being used, emulates closely the
performance of river
flat water racing and recreational kayaks and surf ski and wave ski kayaks and
as such may
be used for training and recreational purposes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an accessory arrangement for converting a
water buoyant board such as a sail board or surf board into a kayak type
paddling craft, said
board having a bow, a stern and a top wall. Said arrangement comprises a
chassis including
a pair of spaced generally parallel rails; first connectors to firmly secure
said chassis to said
board over said top wall with said rail excending longitudinally of said
board, each rail having
a rear end portion and a front end portion, a seat extending transversely of
slidable and

CA 02244354 1998-07-30
secured to said rear end portions, a foot rest extending transversely of and
slidable over said
front end portions, and adjustable second connectors for releasably securing
said foot rest to
said front end portion in longitudinaly adjusted position therealong, whereby
a user, seated
on said seat with his legs on said foot rest and facing towards said bow, may
use a double
paddle oar for propulsion.
Preferably, said foot rest has a user's feet engaging surface facing said seat
and
downwardly rearwardly enclined.
Preferably such chassis defines a rectangular frame, said rails forming the
longitudinal sides of said frame and further including cross-members rigidly
interconnecting
said front and rear end portions and forming the shorter size of said frame.
Preferably, said first connectors includes four (4) suction cups located at
each
corner under said chassis for adhering to said top wall.
Preferably, said first connectors further include board encircling flexible
straps
attached to said chassis and strap tighteners for said straps.
The straps may be replaced by screw inserts in said board top wall and screws
carned by said chassis to be screwed into said screw inserts. Save for the
screw inserts, no
help, no tools and no external device is required to secure the invention to a
board.
Preferably, the accessory arrangement further includes a steering mechanism
comprising a rudder mounting plate to be secured to said stern, a rudder
pivotally carried by
said plate, a rudder actuator lever rearwardly protruding from said feet
abuting surface and
located centrally thereof, transversely of said chassis, an upright pivot rod
journaled in said
foot rest forwardly of said surface and to the upper end of which said lever
is secured, and
a cable system connecting said pivot rod and said rudder to transmit feet
induced pivoting
movement of said lever to said rudder.
Preferably, each of said rails forms a channel, said cable system including a
pair
of cables extending within the respective channels.

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Preferably, the steering mechanism includes effective cable length adjusters
to
maintain the cables taut between said pivot rod and rudder in any selected
ajusted position of
said foot rest.
The present invention also relates to a kayak type water craft comprising a
combination in water buoyant, narrow elongated board and the above defined
accessory
arrangement fitted to the board.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the annexed drawings:
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sail board fitted with the conversion kit of
the
present invention and showing a user in paddling position;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembly of figure l;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the assembly of figure 1;
Figure 4 is a front view of the assembly of figure 1;
Figure 5 is a cross-section taken along line 5-5 of figure 3;
Figure 6 is a cross-section similar to that of figure 5 but showing another
embodiment of the anchoring system;
Figure 7 is a side elevation similar to figure 1 but showing the addition of a
steering assembly;
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the embodiment of figure 7;
Figure 9 is a top plan view of the embodiment of figure 7;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of the rudder;
Figure 11 is an exploded perspective view of the foot rest and rudder control
mechanism;
Figure 12 is a perspective view of the assembled rudder and its control; and
Figure 13 is a front view of the embodiment of figure 7.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 shows a conventional sail board A, with a top wall B, a bow C and
a stern D.
5 The conversion kit or accessory arrangement in accordance with the present
invention, when installed on board, enables a user U to ride the resulting
craft as a kayak type
paddling craft, using a hand held double paddle oar O while facing toward bow
C.
The conversion kit of the invention comprises a chassis 4 of generally
rectangular shape and composed of longitudinal rails 8 and front and back
cross-members 10
rigidly interconnecting the rails 8. As shown in figure 5, a flat bar 12 is
secured by bolts 14,
underneath each cross-member 10, and suction cups 16 are secured to the ends
of each flat
bar 12 to adhere to the top wall B of sail board A; board encircling straps 18
are secured at
their ends to strap anchor bolts 20 secured to the cross-members 10 and
underlying flat bars
12. Each strap 18 is provided with strap tighteners 22 of conventional
construction. By tightening the straps, the suction cups are flattened against
the board and
yet the chassis 8, 10 is fumly held in upwardly spaced relationship with the
top wall B so that
it will clear any portruding parts of the sail board such as its foot
anchoring straps and mast
anchors.
In an alternative arrangement as shown in figure 6, the board encircling
straps
18 are replaced by another anchoring system including screw inserts 24
permanently
positioned within the top wall B and screws 26 carried by the cross-members 10
and flat bars
12 and conveniently screwed within screw inserts 24. After removal of the
chassis, screw
inserts 24 are closed by conventional plugs.
A molded seat 28 is permanently secured to the rear end portion 30 of each
rail 8, the seat extending across board A; front end portions 32 of both rails
8 support a foot
rest 34 of inverted V shape cross-section which includes a feet abutting wall
36 which faces
rearwardly of the craft and is downwardly rearwardly inclined. Foot rest 34
further includes
a pair of slide members 38 of channel shape fitting over the channel shaped
rails 8 of the

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6
chassis 4
The slide members 38 are provided with a hole 40 adapted to come in selecting
register with anyone of several locating holes 42 made in the rails 8 for
insertion of a locking
pin 41 (figure 11 ). Therefore, the foot rest can be longitudinally adjusted
and locked in
adjusted position.
It is obvious that the chassis 8,10 can be adjustably secured on the board A
longitudinally of the latter so as to position the seat 28 in the region of
the buoyant center of
the board A to obtain a minimum of water resistance when the user U is
paddling. The foot
rest can then be adjusted along rails 8 for maximum paddling efficiency and
comfort of the
user in accordance with his height.
The feet abutting surface 36 has a sufficient area to receive user's feet in
side
by side position and is conveniently downwardly rearwardly inclined so that
the user's feet can
exert a maximum pressure on the same when the user is paddling.
Since surf board A is quite narrow, and user U sits higher on the same, oar
O, when paddling, easily clears the sides of the sail board A.
The accessory arrangement 4 can be optionally fitted with a rudder system
which includes an over stern rudder 44 (see figures 7 to 12) which is secured
at 45 to a rudder
bracket 46 fitted with a pivot rod 48 pivotally mounted on a mounting plate 50
to be secured
to the stern D by suitable fasteners. A double arm 52 is secured to the top of
the pivot rod
48 and carries studs 54 which are equally spaced from rod 48. Foot rest 34 has
a front
protuberance 56 forming a journal for a control rod 58 to the lower end of
which is secured
a double arm control 60. A pair of steering cables 68 running longitudinally
of the board and
under rails 8, are attached at their ends to the outer ends of the two double
arms 52 and 60.
A control stick 70 is secured to the top end of control rod 58 by means of its
flanged split sleeve 72 and with the interposition of a washer 74. Control
stick 70 has an
enlarged free end portion 76 which extends between the user's feet so as to be
pushed right
or left by the same; control stick 70 freely extends within a top notch 78 of
foot rest 34.

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The e$'ective length of each cable 68 can be adjusted; for instance each cable
68 is terminated by a chain 80, any chain link of which can be selectively
fitted over a stud 54
of rudder double arms 52. Therefor cables 68 are maintained taut between
double arm 52 and
60 irrespective of the longitudinally adjusted position of foot rest 34.

Representative Drawing