The concept of rudders for steering boats is well known in the art. Typically the rudders for steering boats take two main configurations: a propellor flanking configuration where the rudders are pivoted about a stationary axis propellor and a non-propellor flanking position wherein both the propellor and the rudder are pivoted together. Both of these type of rudder systems have an inherent inefficiency in that the thrust generated by the motor during the turning or steering of the boat is inefficiently used. In the propellor flanking configuration thrust is used inefficiently since the axis of thrust direction must be non parallel to the rudders in order for one to turn the boat. In most instances, the outboard motors have sufficient power so that the loss of thrust during turning produces little effect. However, in the use of electric trolling motors which have limited thrust, the inefficiencies of the known rudder systems provide noticeable loss of control in steering a boat.
The present invention is a thrust director that substantially eliminates the power loss due to conventional rudder systems and also provides protection for the motor propeller as well as providing a stand for the motor when the trolling motor is removed from the boat.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds