The invention also relates to a mooring arrangement for carrying out the method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART The use of leisure boats often entails temporary mooring of the boat at a selective mooring site, for instance when disembarking on islands and beaches.

The risks and difficulties entailed with disembarking and embarking vary considerably, depending on the design of the boat and on the mooring site.

Such factors as water depth, wind conditions and wave formations have considerable influence on the choice of mooring site, and particularly on the distance chosen between the mooring site and the point of disembarkation.

When a boat is moored excessively far from the shore line, disembarkation and embarkation involve serious risks, with varying degrees of the risk of accidents that can lead to serious injury.

On the other hand, mooring of a boat too close to land involves the risk of damage to the boat. Concern about the boat and the not essential costs that would be involved in repairing even small damage to the boat means that, in practice, the mooring distance to the shore is chosen primarily with a view to the safety of the boat, which can increase the risk of injury to persons disembarking from the boat.

Known shock absorbers used for mooring in home ports, for instance alongside boat jetties, are normally intended to constitute a part of cordage adapted for mooring purposes and are therefore unsuitable for use in conjunction with temporary mooring of a boat since it is not possible to anticipate the length of cordage required to this end. Moreover, the shock absorbing force and the distance through which the shock absorbers are able to move are normally insufficient to satisfy the requirement of flexibility that prevails in conjunction with the temporary mooring of a boat.

In summary, the lack of resilient devices that permit safer disembarkation and embarkation and which provide a sufficient margin with regard to boat safety so as to prevent damage/injury at unfavourable water depths and in unfavourable wind conditions and wave formations constitutes a serious drawback in conjunction with the temporary mooring of leisure boats.

Available patent literature fails to suggest any solutions that would avoid the aforesaid drawbacks.

For example, US-A 3,817, 507 (Derman et al) and US-A 5,307, 753 (Besonen, Sr. et al) and US-A 4,955, 309 (Ciccone) describe different types of simple resilient shock absorbers intended primarily for use when land mooring a boat in a home port.

None of these known devices enable safe mooring of a boat, particularly a leisure boat, at a selective mooring site, so as to facilitate disembarkation and embarkation while avoiding the aforesaid risks and difficulties dependent on the conditions prevailing at said site.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of the kind defined in the introduction with which difficulties and risks to the boat and its passengers can be avoided, and which facilitates the different operations that must always be undertaken when temporary mooring a boat of the kind concerned in this document.

According to another aspect, an object of the invention is to provide a flexible mooring arrangement that can be selectively applied to the mooring cordage of the boat with a

variable distance to the land mooring site of the boat, as a normal handling operation in the absence of tools.

A further object of to provide a safe mooring method and a safe mooring arrangement that prevent unintentional or accidental release of the mooring arrangement attachment members from the boat cordage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are fulfilled by a method according to the present invention of the kind described above and defined by the method steps set forth in the characterising clause of Claim 1.

Because the mooring arrangement used when applying the method is able to generate an outward force from the mooring site, it is possible to moor the boat at a safe distance from the land mooring site and, when necessary, to reduce said distance by temporarily adapting the mooring arrangement for safe and comfortable disembarkation or embarkation.

Moreover, because the active range of the force generating member is much greater than its length, greater safety and greater flexibility is achieved in relation to known devices and arrangements, particularly in the case of varying wind conditions and varying current conditions at the mooring site.

The load acting sea mooring of the boat can also be reduced in conjunction with disembarkation and embarkation, which provides an additional safety factor.

Moreover, since final mooring of the boat can normally be effected selectively and approximately, it is unnecessary to make one or more adjustments, as is the case with normal rigid mooring arrangements, the invention also achieves a considerable saving in time.

In the case of a method of applying the invention preferred in practice, the mooring arrangement includes or co-acts with an elastic element for generating said force outwardly from the mooring site. This elastic element can be designed in different ways to satisfy varying requirements in different use situations. For instance, the force generated can

remain constant or be linear or may increase progressively as the distance of the boat from the mooring site decreases.

According to another aspect, the invention also provides a mooring arrangement for carrying out said method, wherein the mooring arrangement is adapted for co-action with a land and sea mooring line and has the features set forth in the characterising clause of Claim 3.

The force generating member is conveniently designed for the incorporation of module units with adaptation to different degrees of load resulting from occurring variations in the weight of the boat and in wind-catching surfaces and also in wind conditions and water currents.

The device conveniently includes or co-acts with an elastic element that can be actuated in varying phases of the mooring operation.

The mooring arrangement may also include a pre-tensioning element that can contribute towards the storage of kinetic energy.

Another major embodiment of the invention is defined by the features set forth in. Claim 10. In this major embodiment, there is used a retention element that may consist of a resilient material, such as a metal or a plastic material, for example stainless spring steel.

As line is fed out from the mooring arrangement, energy is stored in the actual retention element by virtue of bending of said element, i. e. so that its height increases, at the same time as the distance between the line pulleys is reduced.

In an alternative design of this major embodiment, the retention element is a piston- cylinder device, e. g. an air spring, wherein one of the line pulley shafts is mounted at one end of the cylinder and the other line pulley shaft is mounted at the outer end of the piston.

As the line is fed out, kinetic energy is stored in the air spring during a length change, although no change is made in the height of the mooring arrangement.

This enables a mooring arrangement of the aforesaid kind to be attached adjacent the anchor, and possibly also to form an integral part of the anchor.

A mooring arrangement of this latter embodiment may also be used as a shock-absorbing device in connection with a towline used for towing a boat or some other vehicle.

Other characteristic features of the invention and advantages afforded thereby will be apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof. The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which mutually corresponding elements have been identified by the same reference signs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a leisure boat provided with a first embodiment of an inventive mooring arrangement.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding perspective view of a leisure boat provided with a mooring arrangement according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3a is a perspective view of the rear section of the mooring arrangement according to the first embodiment, including a rubber rope storage element.

Fig. 3b is a perspective view of the attachment unit co-acting with the rubber rope storage element shown in Fig. 3 a.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a front section or land mooring part of a mooring arrangement according to the invention, said part being applicable to both embodiments.

Figs. 5a-5c are side views illustrating different steps of the inventive mooring method using a mooring arrangement according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the rear section of a mooring arrangement according to said second embodiment, said rear section being equipped with a line-winding drum.

Fig. 7 is a perspective part view of the line winding drum according to Fig. 6, with the crank-equipped outer pulley being moved away so that the interior of the drum can be seen at least partially.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view from the other side of the line winding drum according to Fig.

6, and shows an anchor line affixed by means of a jamming cleat associated with the drum.

Figs. 9a-9d illustrate the inventive mooring method when using a mooring arrangement according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a line winding drum according to the second embodiment, said drum being capable of accommodating a very long anchor line of the so-called plain strap type.

Figs. 11a)-e) show different views of a modified main embodiment of the inventive mooring arrangement provided with a retention element that is able to store kinetic energy when feeding out the mooring line, concurrently with a variation in the distance between two line pulley shafts on the mooring arrangement.

Figs. 12a) -e) show different views of a variant of the main embodiment according to Fig.

11, in which the retention element consists of an air spring.

Figs. 13a) -c) show three alternative embodiments of the mooring arrangement connected to or integrated with an anchor.

Figs. 14a) and b) are intended to illustrate problems that occur when mooring to a buoy at high water and low water respectively in relation to normal water levels, and to illustrate how the inventive mooring arrangement can provide a solution to such problems.

Figs. 15a) and b) are intended to illustrate problems encountered in conjunction with strong stresses when towing a vessel in rough water.

Figs. 16a) and b) illustrate how an inventive mooring arrangement is coupled to the towing line and also the possibility of significantly lengthening said line.

Figs. 17a) -c) illustrate an example of the principle construction of a mooring arrangement according to Fig. 11, in which one shaft carries four line pulleys and the other shaft carries three line pulleys, and wherein an elastic line serves as the mooring line. The figures also disclose a formula for extending the mooring line depending on the number of line pulleys used on the front shaft.

DESCRIPTION OF DIFFERENT EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Shown in Fig. 1 is a leisure boat 1 equipped with a first embodiment of an inventive mooring arrangement. The mooring arrangement includes two main parts, namely a front section or land mooring part 2 for co-action with one or more land mooring lines 4, and a rear section 3 adapted for co-action with the boat anchor line 5 to which an anchor 5a is attached.

The front section 2 of the mooring arrangement includes a plate 6 which carries one of two co-acting elements consisting of a known jamming cleat 7 and a so-called fairlead 8 which guides the mooring line 4 passing therebeneath.

The jamming cleat functions to fixate the mooring line 4 immediately the inwardly acting tension force therein ceases. The boat can be pulled onto the shore by the line fixated in the jamming cleat, wherein the line is released and transferred to the so-called fairlead 8; see Fig. 4.

It is preferred in practice that at least parts of the land mooring line 4 are comprised of rubber rope, wherein the rubber rope 4 can also be released from the jamming cleat 7. Two or more lines or rubber ropes can be used for mooring purposes.

The front section 2 of the mooring arrangement may be the same in both of the examples described in more detail below with reference to the rear section of the mooring arrangement co-acting with the anchor line.

Fig. 3a illustrates the main part of the rear section of the mooring arrangement 3 according to the first embodiment.

This rear section comprises a parallelepipedic box 10 which includes two mutually parallel shafts 11,12 which each carry a respective line capstan 13,14. A rubber rope 15 is attached to a coupling 29 fixedly attached in the box 10, and passed over a rear capstan 14, from which it runs back to a front capstan 13. The rubber rope 15 then again passes around the rear and the front capstan 14,13 once more, prior to exiting from the box 10 through an opening and thereafter fixed in a separate fastening unit 16 which is reciprocatingly movable relative to the box 10 during stretching and contraction of the rubber rope 15.

The fastener unit 16 is also connected to the anchor line 5 via a jamming cleat 17 on the underside of said unit. The anchor line 5 then continues-with slack when the rubber rope has contracted-on the underside of the box, and a forwardly located part of the anchor line 5 is fastened to the front end of a jamming cleat 18 at the front end of the box 10.

Fig. 3b illustrates in chain lines the lower locking plate 19 of the fastener unit 16, from which it will be seen that said plate can be swung outwards about a shaft 23 from an abutment 28, against the action of a spring 24. This outward swinging of the lower locking plate 19 takes place when applying the anchor line 5, whereafter the plate 19 returns to its locking position against the abutment 28.

The rear mooring arrangement 3 co-acting with a rubber rope and illustrated in Fig. 3a is significantly space saving and easy and simple to handle. It will be understood that the box may accommodate more than the four capstans shown in Fig. 3a, and, of course, the number of shafts may be greater than the two illustrated shafts 11,12. An increase in the number of capstans and shafts with a corresponding increase in the length of the rubber rope will increase the flexibility of the mooring arrangement in its entirety.

Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of the various steps that are relevant when mooring a boat 1 in accordance with the invention, while using a mooring arrangement that has a rear section constructed in accordance with Fig. 3 a.

As evident from Fig. 5a, step 1 of a mooring procedure involves first mooring the boat provisionally by securing the front mooring line 4 both to the shore and to the boat 1, namely to the front section 2 of the mooring arrangement. At the same time, the anchor

line 5 is connected to the fastening unit and also to the front end of the box 10 in the aforedescribed manner, including slack in said line 5. The rubber rope keeps the boat land mooring tensioned.

As evident from Fig. 5b, in step 2 the boat is pulled towards the shore, for debarkation or embarkation of the boat passengers. This step can either be effected with the land mooring line 4 passing through the fairlead 8 or the jamming cleat 7. In this latter case, the procedure may be stopped temporarily without the boat being drawn away from the shore.

When all passengers have either disembarked or embarked, the land mooring line is released from the jamming cleat, whereupon the rubber rope 15 draws the boat away from the shore, to the position shown in Fig. 5c.

In this stage of the mooring sequence, the rubber rope 15 keeps the boat land mooring line and the anchor line 5 taut. There no longer exists any risk of damage to the boat, regardless of water depth, wind conditions and wave formations.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the rear section 3 of the mooring arrangement. This embodiment mainly comprises an anchor line winding drum 20 which is carried by a stand 21 which includes front and rear upstanding pins 22 for guiding the anchor line 5.

The line winding drum 20 includes a front pulley 20b fitted with a handle 20a, this pulley being spaced away in the Fig. 7 illustration in order to enable the drum interior to be seen.

As shown in chain lines in Fig. 6, the handle 20a can be swung to a position parallel with the pulley 20b.

Fitted inside the drum 20 is a torsion spring 25 which runs around the drum shaft 20f and which has attachment points 25a, 25b which are tensioned as the drum rotates. The pivotal handle 20a co-acts with an engagement element 20c located inside the drum and co-acts with one of a number of teeth 20d in said drum, preferably automatically, as the handle is swung in. In this state of the drum, the torsion spring is tensioned as the drum rotates such as to store kinetic energy that can be used later in conjunction with the mooring operation.

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the line winding pulley 20, from which it can be seen that the pulley 20g includes a slot 20h through which the anchor line 5 is passed and held releasably fixated in position by means of a jamming cleat 23.

Figs. 9a-9d illustrate schematically a number of different steps carried out in conjunction with mooring a boat with the aid of a mooring arrangement according to Figs. 6-8.

It will be seen from Fig. 9a that the anchor line 5 wound up on the drum 20 has been allowed to run out in conjunction with a provisional land mooring of the boat, where the land mooring line 4 is allowed to slacken so that the boat can then be drawn away from the shore.

The anchor line 5 is then secured with the aid of the jamming cleat 23 of the drum (Fig. 8), wherein the crank handle 20a is swung out and the drum rotated clockwise, as indicated in Fig. 9b. When the crank handle is swung out, the torsion spring 25 of the drum 20 is disconnected from the drum, which is then able to rotate independently of spring force.

After the drum has rotated through a suitable number of turns, the spring-loaded handle 20a is released, wherewith the handle automatically swings in so as to couple the drum torsion spring with the built-in latching elements 20c, 20d.

Fig. 9c illustrates the following steps in the mooring process, in which the land mooring line of the boat is fixated in the front section of the mooring arrangement. The anchor line 5 is therewith slightly stretched, in the absence of slack. When the land mooring line is tensioned, the latching elements 20c, 20d prevent the drum 20 from rotating without latching the torsion spring.

In Fig. 9d, the boat is shown to be drawn into the shore by the land mooring 4 for disembarkation purposes. The torsion spring in the line drum 20 successively increases the tension force in the anchor line 5, which automatically draws out the boat subsequent to disembarkation, until the land mooring line is tensioned and the boat therewith reliably anchored at a sufficient distance from the shore.

Fig. 10 illustrates a modification of the rear-mooring part, according to Figs. 6-8. This embodiment is particularly suited for accommodating a long anchor line 5'of the plain band type when such is used as an anchor line.

In Figs. lla)-e), there are shown schematically different views of a modified main embodiment of an inventive mooring arrangement 3. Fig. a) is a plan view and Fig. b) a side view of the mooring arrangement. Fig. c) is a side view that illustrates the function of the mooring arrangement in the storage of kinetic energy in conjunction with feeding out line 5.

Figs. lid) and e) are end views illustrating energy storage and the starting position, and which also show the presence of four line pulleys 14 on the shaft 12. The shaft 11 carries a corresponding number of line pulleys 13.

The two shafts 11,12 extend at right angles to the mooring line 5 and are carried by a retention element 30 that comprises two parts which are parallel in said starting position and which include outwardly projecting flanges 30a that carry respective shafts 11,12. The retention elements may be made of metal or plastic, for example from stainless spring steel. When tension is applied to the line 5, the line is fed from the mooring arrangement, causing the distance between the shafts 11,12 to decrease and kinetic energy to be stored in the retention element 30, which adopts the form shown in Fig. lie. Thus, both the length and the height of the mooring arrangement vary.

The reference sign XC in the figure indicates half the length variation. The formula given in the figure indicates the dependency on the line extension XL on the number of pulleys present, their diameter, and said measurement XC.

Figs. 12a) -d) illustrate schematically a modification of the mooring arrangement according to Fig. 11, in which the retention element consists instead of a cylinder-piston-unit 30', which in the illustrated case is a so-called air spring. In this embodiment, energy is stored in the air spring while simultaneously shortening the length of the mooring arrangement, although with the absence of any change in its height.

Fig. 12e) illustrates a simple jamming cleat arrangement for releasably fixating the line 5 in one direction while enabling the line to move in the opposite direction.

Fig. 13a) illustrates a mooring arrangement of the kind disclosed in Fig. 11, this device also including a rubber rope 15 connected to an anchor 5a.

Figs. 13b) and c) illustrate other, similar arrangements where the mooring arrangement is integrated with the anchor construction.

Fig. 14a) is intended to illustrate the problems that may arise when mooring a boat to a buoy at high water or low water in relation to normal water levels. There is a risk of the buoy 31 being submerged in the water at low water conditions.

Fig. 14b) shows how the problems are eliminated with the aid of the inventive mooring arrangement.

Figs. 15a) and b) illustrate problems that arise in conjunction with towing vessels in heavy seas, where the towing line 5'is subjected to high stresses in different phases during towing.

Figs. 16a) and b) illustrate how an inventive mooring arrangement 30 connected to a towing line 5'can avoid towing problems, by enabling significant lengthening of the towing line during concurrent storage of energy so as to significantly reduce the stresses in the towing line. <BR> <BR> <P>Figs. 17a) -c) illustrate a further principle example of the application of an inventive mooring arrangement and how the length of the line fed-out can be calculated on the basis of the number of line pulleys present and the decrease in the distance between the shafts carrying said pulleys.

It will be understood that the invention can be varied in many other ways within the scope of the inventive concept as defined in the accompanying Claims. These different methods and embodiments can achieve the aforementioned specific advantages afforded when applying the invention.