Powered aquatic vehicle

Claim 1

A power-driven aquatic vehicle that is operated by a user when in a standing position thereon, said vehicle including: a. an elongate hollow hull that is defined by a bottom, stern, sidewalls and upwardly extending forward and rearward spaced walls that partially define a bow portion of said hull, said bottom including a longitudinal center section and at least one pair of longitudinal side sections on opposite sides of said center section, and a panel supported from the upper extremities of said forward and rearward walls; b. an internal combustion engine mounted in said hull said engine including a discharge manifold; c. a deck mounted on said hull and cooperating therewith to define an engine-containing compartment, said deck having a hatch opening therein through which access may be had to said engine; d. an air exhaust and air intake structure in said bow portion that are in communication with the ambient atmosphere and said compartment, said structure having air discharge and air intake openings in said rearward wall that are so positioned as to be above the surface of a body of water when said hull is floating in a sidewise position thereon; e. an electrically operated blower in said engine compartment, with the discharge from said blower connected to said air exhaust; f. a muffler box assembly in said engine compartment connected to said manifold, said muffler box including an inverted generally U-shaped exhaust tube that has a first leg that extends downwardly through a top of said box to a position adjacent to the bottom thereof, and a second leg that is connected to a port formed in one of said sidewalls; g. a pivotally movable nozzle assembly disposed rearwardly of a center portion of said stern; h. first means in said hull that is powered by said engine for drawing water through an opening in said bottom and directing said withdrawn water as a high-velocity jet through said nozzle to drive said vehicle forwardly, and said jet when said nozzle is pivoted guiding said vehicle; i. a hatch cover pivotally connected to said deck and extending across said opening in said deck; j. resilient means for holding said hatch cover in a closed position on said deck; k. a battery in said engine compartment; l. second means for starting saiD engine from the exterior of said hull; m. third means for discharging water from said first means to said manifold to cool the exhaust gases from said engine discharging therethrough, said water and exhaust gases concurrently discharging into said muffler box, and said water in said muffler box discharging through said exhaust tube when the water level in said box rises above the lower end of said first leg; n. a vented fuel tank assembly in said engine compartment, which assembly is connected to said engine; o. at least one buoyant body in said engine compartment to minimize the volume of air therein that may be contaminated with fumes of fuel from said engine to form an explosive mixture; p. electric circuit means connecting said battery, electrically operated blower and the ignition of said engine; q. a first normally open electric switch forming a part of said circuit, said first switch when closed completing a circuit to said blower to activate the same and purge said engine compartment of air and fuel fumes; r. a second normally open electric switch forming a part of said circuit, said second switch when closed completing a circuit to said engine to permit the operation thereof; and s. control means adjacent to said panel for controlling the rate of flow of fuel to said engine and to pivot said nozzle to guide said vehicle, said control means being operable by a user standing on said deck, and said hatch cover should an explosion occur in said engine compartment pivoting upwardly due to said resilient means to relieve the excess pressure therein without doing damage to said hull or deck.