Floating skis

Claim 1

FLOATING SKIS COMPRISING: A PAIR OF ELONGATED BUOYANT MEMBERS; FOOT RECEIVING AND POSITIONING MEANS ON THE UPPER PORTION OF EACH MEMBER; ARTICULATED MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID MEMBERS TO HOLD THE SAME IN GENERALLY PARALLEL RELATION WHILE PREVENTING LATERAL SEPARATION THEREOF AND PROVIDING FOR INDEPENDENT FORE AND AFT MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER; EACH MEMBER HAVING MEANS RIGID ON THE BOTTOM THEREOF AND DEFINING A LONGITUDINAL, PERIPHERALLY CLOSED BUT OPEN-ENDED PASSAGEWAY FOR WATER; A RIGID FLAP MEMBER IN EACH PASSAGEWAY AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED THEREIN ON A TRANSVERSE GENERALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS; THE OUTLINE OF SAID FLAP MEMBER CORRESPONDING GENERALLY TO THE TRANSVERSE SECTIONAL SHAPE OF SAID PASSAGEWAY, THE AREA OF SAID FLAP ABOVE SAID AXIS BEING MATERIALLY LESS THAN THE AREA THEREOF BELOW SAID AXIS; AND SELECTIVELY RETRACTABLE STOP MEANS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID PASSAGEWAY TO ENGAGE ONE SIDE OF THE UPPER EDGE PORTION OF SAID FLAP AND THEREBY PREVENT PIVOTAL MOVEMENT THEREOF IN ONE DIRECTION FROM A GENERALLY UPRIGHT POSITION.