초록

Apparatuses and methods useful for helping to center watercraft--such as personal watercraft, ski boats, fishing boats, luxury boats, and the like--as they are docked (such as on trailers or watercraft-lifting systems), especially in rough waters and/or strong crosswinds.

대표청구항 ▼

I claim: 1. An apparatus comprising: a pair of float arms configured to help center a watercraft having a longitudinal watercraft axis, each float arm having a passageway that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal watercraft axis; and a frame to which both float arms are pivotally coupled,

I claim: 1. An apparatus comprising: a pair of float arms configured to help center a watercraft having a longitudinal watercraft axis, each float arm having a passageway that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal watercraft axis; and a frame to which both float arms are pivotally coupled, the frame having a bar to which one of the float arms is pivotally coupled, the bar being long enough for at least two float arms to be pivotally coupled to the bar. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further including: a second pair of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 3. An apparatus comprising: a pair of float arms configured to help center a watercraft having a longitudinal watercraft axis, at least one of the float arms having a length and a first structure that is configured to be pivotally coupled to a watercraft docking structure, the first structure being not centered along the length; and a frame to which both float arms are pivotally coupled, the frame having a bar to which one of the float arms is pivotally coupled, the bar being long enough for at least two float arms to be pivotally coupled to the bar. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, where the float arm having the first structure also has a portion having a width, and the first structure is a wall defining a passageway that spans the width. 5. The apparatus of claim 3, further including: a second pair of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 6. An apparatus useful for centering a watercraft, comprising: a first float arm having a first float arm length, the first float arm being configured to (a) be pivotally coupled to a watercraft docking structure, and (b) pivot about a first axis that is not centered along the first float arm length; and a second float arm having a second float arm length, the second float arm being configured to (a) be pivotally coupled to a watercraft docking structure, and (b) pivot about a second axis that is not centered along the second float arm length, the first and second axes being laterally spaced apart from each other; where the first and second float arms are configured to be pivotally coupled to a frame that is configured to be pivotally coupled to a trailer. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, where the first and second float arms are pivotally coupled to the frame, the first float arm pivots about the first axis, and the second float arm pivots about the second axis. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, where (i) the frame includes a back portion to which the first and second float arms are pivotally coupled, and a front portion that is pivotally connected to the back portion along a lateral axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first and second axes; and (ii) the front portion of the frame is configured to be pivotally coupled to a trailer. 9. The apparatus of claim 7, where the frame is configured to pivot about a frame axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first and second axes. 10. The apparatus of claim 7, where (i) the frame includes two substantially parallel bars, (ii) the first float arm pivots about one of the substantially parallel bars, and (iii) the second float arm pivots about the other substantially parallel bar. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, where one of the parallel bars comprises different bars connected together. 12. The apparatus of claim 10, where (i) the first float arm includes a first float arm passageway through which one of the substantially parallel bars runs, and (ii) the second float arm includes a second float arm passageway through which the other substantially parallel bar runs. 13. The apparatus of claim 10, where the first and second float arms comprise a pair of float arms, and the device also includes: a second pair of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame, one float arm from the second pair being pivotally coupled to one of the substantially parallel bars, and the other float arm from the second pair being pivotally coupled to the other substantially parallel bar. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, the apparatus including at least three pairs of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, the apparatus including at least four pairs of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 16. The apparatus of claim 6, where (i) the first float arm includes a first float arm passageway that is not centered along the first float arm length, and (ii) the second float arm includes a second float arm passageway that is not centered along the second float arm length. 17. An apparatus useful for centering a watercraft, comprising: a first float arm having a first float arm length, the first float arm being configured to (a) be pivotally coupled to a watercraft docking structure, and (b) pivot about a first axis that is not centered along the first float arm length; and a second float arm having a second float arm length, the second float arm being configured to (a) be pivotally coupled to a watercraft docking structure, and (b) pivot about a second axis that is not centered along the second float arm length, the first and second axes being laterally spaced apart from each other; where the first and second float arms are configured to be pivotally coupled to a frame that is configured to be pivotally coupled to a watercraft-lifting system. 18. The apparatus of claim 17, where the first and second float arms are pivotally coupled to the frame. 19. The apparatus of claim 18, where the frame is configured to be pivotally coupled to a lift tank system. 20. The apparatus of claim 19, where the frame is configured to pivot about a frame axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first and second axes. 21. The apparatus of claim 18, where (i) the frame includes two substantially parallel bars, (ii) the first float arm pivots about one of the substantially parallel bars, and (iii) the second float arm pivots about the other substantially parallel bar. 22. The apparatus of claim 21, where one of the parallel bars comprises different bars connected together. 23. The apparatus of claim 21, where (i) the first float arm includes a first float arm passageway through which one of the substantially parallel bars runs, and (ii) the second float arm includes a second float arm passageway through which the other substantially parallel bar runs. 24. The apparatus of claim 21, where the first and second float arms comprise a pair of float arms, and the apparatus also includes: a second pair of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame, one float arm from the second pair being pivotally coupled to one of the substantially parallel bars, and the other float arm from the second pair being pivotally coupled to the other substantially parallel bar. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, the apparatus including at least three pairs of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 26. The apparatus of claim 25, the apparatus including at least four pairs of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 27. The apparatus of claim 26, the apparatus including at least five pairs of float arms pivotally coupled to the frame. 28. The apparatus of claim 17, where (i) the first float arm includes a first float arm passageway that is not centered along the first float arm length, and (ii) the second float arm includes a second float arm passageway that is not centered along the second float arm length.