Bow thruster for watercraft

Abstract

A bow thruster includes a pump connected to an inlet opening in a bottom of the boat hull, lines extending from the pump to opposing side outlet openings in the hull below the water line, and a control (normally closed) valve for selectively controlling water flow through each line. A bow thruster control includes on-off switches for operating the inlet pump and simultaneously directing water from pump toward a selected one of the lines to steer a bow of the hull. The bow thruster can be used on V-hulls, flat-bottom hulls for river boats, pontoons, and other watercraft.

1 . A bow thruster for watercraft having a hull with an inlet opening, and opposing side outlet openings, comprising:
 a pump connected to the inlet opening;   lines extending from the pump to the opposing side outlet openings;   at least one valve for selectively controlling water flow through each line; and   a control for operating the pump and simultaneously directing water from pump toward a selected one of the outlet openings to steer a bow of the hull.   
   
   
       2 . The bow thruster in  claim 1 , wherein the control includes at least one on-off switch for controlling operation of the at least one valve. 
   
   
       3 . The bow thruster in  claim 2 , wherein the at least one switch includes a first switch with a steer-right position and a second switch with a steer-left position. 
   
   
       4 . The bow thruster in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one valve includes first and second valves each operably connected to one of the side openings. 
   
   
       5 . The bow thruster in  claim 4 , wherein the first and second valves are normally-closed control valves. 
   
   
       6 . The bow thruster in  claim 5 , wherein the valves are 12V valves. 
   
   
       7 . The bow thruster in  claim 1 , wherein the pump is a 12V DC pump. 
   
   
       8 . The bow thruster in  claim 7 , wherein the pump has an output of at least about 3.4 gal/min. 
   
   
       9 . A boat including a boat hull and a bow thruster as defined in  claim 1 , the hull being a V-bottom design. 
   
   
       10 . A boat including a boat hull and a bow thruster as defined in  claim 1 , the hull being a flat-bottom design. 
   
   
       11 . A boat including a boat hull and a bow thruster as defined in  claim 1 , the hull including pontoons with the bow thruster installed thereon. 
   
   
       12 . The bow thruster in  claim 1 , wherein the outlet openings are defined by marginal material of the hull, the outlet openings including a pipe stem extending through the marginal material and clamped to the marginal material and that extends generally perpendicular to a plane defined by the marginal material. 
   
   
       13 . The bow thruster in  claim 12 , wherein the outlet openings define generally round holes through the hull. 
   
   
       14 . The bow thruster in  claim 1 , wherein the lines are made of flexible material. 
   
   
       15 . A watercraft comprising:
 a hull having an inlet opening, and opposing side outlet openings;   a pump connected to the inlet opening and to the opposing side outlet openings;   at least one valve for selectively controlling water flow to the side outlet openings; and   a control for operating the pump and simultaneously directing water from pump toward a selected one of the side outlet openings to steer a bow of the hull.   
   
   
       16 . The watercraft in  claim 15 , wherein the side outlet openings are defined by marginal material of the hull, the side outlet openings including a pipe stem extending through the marginal material and clamped to the marginal material and that extends generally perpendicular to a plane defined by the marginal material. 
   
   
       17 . The watercraft in  claim 16 , wherein the side outlet openings define generally round holes through the hull. 
   
   
       18 . The watercraft defined in  claim 15 , wherein the boat hull is a V-bottom design. 
   
   
       19 . The watercraft defined in  claim 15 , wherein the boat hull is a flat-bottom design.