Watercraft Propeller Safety Cover

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The disclosure relates to watercraft accessories and more particularly pertains to a new watercraft propeller safety cover to protect persons, especially swimmers in the water adjacent a submerged watercraft propeller, from being cut by sharp edges of the watercraft propeller.

The prior art relates to watercraft accessories. The prior art, as best understood, does not disclose a protective cover for boat propellers that is comprised of a cover, such as a canvas cover, with a sleeve, such as a foam sleeve, which is configured to encircle the propeller on a boat motor, where the device is secured to the lower portion of the boat motor using a securing structure, such as a hook and loop strap assembly.

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above in a watercraft propeller safety cover generally comprising a cover sleeve designed to fit around a watercraft propeller to protect persons from being cut by sharp edges of a watercraft propeller, and a securing structure designed to releasably secure the cover sleeve to a watercraft propeller.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular tothereof, a new watercraft propeller safety cover embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeralwill be described.

As best illustrated in, the watercraft propeller safety covergenerally comprises a cover sleevedesigned to fit around a watercraft propellerto protect persons from being cut by sharp edges of a watercraft propeller, and a securing structuredesigned to releasably secure the cover sleeveto the watercraft propeller.

The cover sleevecan be of most any design provided that it completely covers the sharp bladesof the watercraft propellerand is durable enough to protect persons, such as swimmers, from being cut by the blades.show an exemplary embodiment, though variations are within the scope of the disclosure. The cover sleeveis made of a solid material. The solid material could be metal or plastic, though in the exemplary embodiment the solid material is a hard foam, such as polystyrene, polypropylene, or polyethylene foam. The foam material could be slightly deformable and resilient to provide a gripping effect on the bladesof the watercraft propellerto help secure the cover sleeveto the watercraft propeller. The cover sleevecould be made of a waterproof material since it will usually be submerged in water, though it is not necessary for the material to be waterproof.

The cover sleevecould be virtually any shape, though in the exemplary embodiment the cover sleeveis cylindrical to closely follow the outer profile of the watercraft propeller. In the exemplary embodiment, the cover sleevehas a closed endand an open end, though the cover sleevecould be open on both ends.

Like the cover sleeve, the securing structurecan be of most any design. In the exemplary embodiment shown in, the securing structureincludes a flexible sheath, which is essentially like a bag or pouch. The flexible sheathhas a body portionthat encloses the cover sleeveand a neck portionthat extends from the body portion. As shown inthe neck portionhas a maximum diameter greater than an outer diameter of a watercraft propellerto permit insertion of the watercraft propellerinto the cover sleeve. As shown in, the neck portionis designed to be collapsed and gathered around a shaftof the watercraft propeller. The collapsed neck portionalso serves as a visual indicator that the watercraft propeller safety coveris secured in place. The flexible sheathcan be made of a tear-resistant material, such as a canvas material or other durable material. In the event the bladesof the watercraft propellerwere to pierce through the cover sleeve, the flexible sheathcould serve as another layer of protection. The cover sleevecan be permanently attached to the body portionof the flexible sheath, such as by adhesive or stitched inside a pocket. Alternatively, the cover sleevecan be seated snugly but removably inside the flexible sheath.

In order to secure the cover sleevein place on the watercraft propeller, the securing structureincludes a strap assembly. In the exemplary embodiment in, the strap assemblyis designed to wrap around the shaftof the watercraft propeller, and includes a first strapof hook material and a second strapof loop material designed to matingly engage with one another. However, other securing structurescould be used, such as snaps, clips, or zippers. In another possible embodiment, the strap assemblycould be a pull cord threaded through the top edge of the flexible sheaththat could be tightened to cinch the neck portion.

With reference to, the watercraft propeller safety coveris placed over the watercraft propellerof a boat or other watercraftthat is not currently operating and is moored or anchored or floating in the water. The watercraft propeller safety coveris slid onto the watercraft propellervia the neck portionand the cover sleeveis seated onto the watercraft propeller, as shown in. The securing assembly cinches the neck portionaround the shaftof the watercraft propeller. When done using the watercraft propeller safety cover, it is removed to allow use of the watercraft propellerto propel the boat.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.