IP Library › Granted Patent US 12709359

Granted Patent B2

US 12709359 · App. 18/212,185 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Personal watercraft

Inventor: Tetsuya Iwata (Akashi, JP)

Assignee: KAWASAKI MOTORS, LTD.

B63B34/10 B63B43/04 B63B43/14 B63B2231/44

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12709359
App. No.: 18/212,185
Granted: Aug 18, 2026
Kind: B2

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Abstract

A personal watercraft includes: a watercraft body; a handlebar provided on an upper front part of the watercraft body; a seat provided on an upper part of the watercraft body and extending in a front-rear direction behind the handlebar; and a pair of floats provided so as to protrude outward in a watercraft width direction from left and right side surfaces of the watercraft body in order to additionally give buoyancy to the watercraft body. Each of the floats extends in the front-rear direction alongside the seat and is arranged limitedly in a region behind the handlebar.

Claims (48)

1 . A personal watercraft comprising:

a watercraft body;

a handlebar provided on an upper front part of the watercraft body;

a seat provided on an upper part of the watercraft body and extending in a front-rear direction behind the handlebar; and

a pair of floats provided so as to protrude outward in a watercraft width direction from left and right side surfaces of the watercraft body in order to additionally give buoyancy to the watercraft body,

wherein each float extends in the front-rear direction alongside the seat and is arranged only in a region behind the handlebar,

the watercraft body includes a hull and a deck joined on the hull, and

each float includes a first coupling portion coupled to the hull and a second coupling portion coupled to the deck.

2 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

each float is arranged in a region behind a front end of the seat.

3 . A personal watercraft comprising:

a watercraft body;

a handlebar provided on an upper front part of the watercraft body;

a seat provided on an upper part of the watercraft body and extending in a front-rear direction behind the handlebar;

a pair of stabilizers protruding outward in the watercraft width direction from left and right side surfaces of a rear part of the watercraft body, wherein

the pair of floats extend in the front-rear direction alongside the seat and above the pair of stabilizers, and are arranged only in a region behind the handlebar, and

the pair of floats are separated from the pair of stabilizers in an up-down-direction.

4 . The personal watercraft according to claim 3 , wherein

each float includes a rear part positioned behind a front end of the pair of stabilizers and a front part positioned in front of the front end of the pair of stabilizers.

5 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

each float has a substantially flat upper surface extending in the front-rear direction.

6 . The personal watercraft according to claim 5 , wherein

the upper surface of each float is inclined so as to become higher toward an outer side in the watercraft width direction.

7 . The personal watercraft according to claim 5 , wherein

a width dimension of the upper surface of each float is larger than a width dimension of a gunwale, which is a joint portion between the hull and the deck.

8 . The personal watercraft according to claim 5 , wherein

the upper surface of each float is attached with an antislip member having a friction coefficient larger than a friction coefficient of the float.

9 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

an outer side surface of each float is attached with a protective member made of a material softer than a material of the float.

10 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

each float is detachably attached to the watercraft body via a fastening member.

11 . The personal watercraft according to claim 10 , wherein

the fastening member for each float includes a bolt inserted into a first bolt hole formed in the float and a cap nut fixed to the watercraft body so as to seal a second bolt hole formed in the watercraft body, and

each float is detachably attached to the watercraft body by screwing the bolt to the cap nut.

12 . The personal watercraft according to claim 11 , wherein

the fastening member for each float further includes a collar having a tubular shape capable of receiving the bolt and extending over an axial length of the first bolt hole.

13 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

a front end part of each float is formed such that a width dimension decreases toward a front side.

14 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

a bottom surface of each float is inclined so as to become higher toward a front side.

15 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

a front part of each float includes a bulging part bulging downward to a position below a rear part lower end of the float.

16 . The personal watercraft according to claim 1 , wherein

the side surfaces of the watercraft body has an exposed region in front of each float and below the handlebar.

17 . The personal watercraft according to claim 3 , wherein

each float is a hollow integrally molded product having a closed cross section extending in the front-rear direction.

18 . The personal watercraft according to claim 3 , wherein each float is filled with a foam.