Weight steerable self-propelled personal watercraft

Abstract

A self-propelled personal watercraft. The watercraft includes a hull with a middle narrower than a bow and a stern of the watercraft and with a bottom of the bow being raised with respect to the middle and the stern, and a propulsion device within the hull. While the watercraft is propelled through water by the propulsion device with a rider on board, shifting of the rider's weight to either side of the watercraft increases contact of the bow with the water on that side, the increased contact resulting in increased drag and turning the watercraft to that side. While the watercraft is propelled through water by the propulsion device with the rider on board and the watercraft is not turning, the bottom of the bow makes contact with the water across a narrower distance than the bottom of the middle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A self-propelled personal watercraft, comprising:
 a hull with a middle narrower than a bow and a stern of the watercraft and with a bottom of the bow being raised with respect to the middle and the stern; and   a propulsion device within the hull;   wherein while the watercraft is propelled through water by the propulsion device with a rider on board, shifting of the rider's weight to either side of the watercraft increases contact of the bow with the water on that side, the increased contact resulting in increased drag and turning the watercraft to that side.   
     
     
         2 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , wherein while the watercraft is propelled through water by the propulsion device with the rider on board and the watercraft is not turning, the bottom of the bow makes contact with the water across a narrower distance than the bottom of the middle. 
     
     
         3 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 2 , wherein while the watercraft is propelled through water by the propulsion device with the rider on board and the watercraft is not turning, the bottom of the middle makes contact with the water across a narrower distance than the bottom of the stern. 
     
     
         4 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising a hinged bow area with a hatch to an internal storage compartment accessible when the hinged bow area is raised. 
     
     
         5 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising chest support for the rider while laying prone on the watercraft. 
     
     
         6 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising recessed forearm supports for the rider while laying prone on the watercraft. 
     
     
         7 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising elbow stops for the rider while laying prone on the watercraft. 
     
     
         8 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising recessed knee pockets for the rider while laying prone on the watercraft. 
     
     
         9 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising an internal chassis support within the hull. 
     
     
         10 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 9 , further comprising a removable chassis installed in the chassis support, the removable chassis including at least a power source for the propulsion device. 
     
     
         11 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 10 , wherein the propulsion device further comprises an electric water jet and the power source further comprises one or more batteries. 
     
     
         12 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 11 , wherein the one or more batteries further comprise a swappable sealed battery module; and wherein the removable chassis further comprises a mount or tray for the battery module. 
     
     
         13 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising a remote throttle system for the propulsion device. 
     
     
         14 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 13 , wherein the remote throttle system further comprises a potentiometer protected in a waterproof housing. 
     
     
         15 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 13 , further comprising a receiver and a controller connected to the remote throttle system, wherein the controller determines a strength of a signal received by the receiver, determines a range from a source of the signal, and limits a maximum throttle level of the remote throttle system if the range exceeds a predefined limit. 
     
     
         16 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 13 , further comprising an interface to the remote throttle system for a mobile computing device, whereby the remote computing device controls a maximum throttle level of the remote throttle system. 
     
     
         17 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , further comprising a receiver, a controller, and a remote steering system controlled by the controller based on a signal received by the receiver;
 wherein the remote steering system further comprises a servo-motor and weight that the servo-motor shifts from side to side inside the hull under control of the controller based on the signal.   
     
     
         18 . The self-propelled personal watercraft as in  claim 1 , wherein the hull comprises a translucent material and a light that shines through the translucent material.