Convertible bank anchor and mooring device with locking means for watercraft

摘要

A convertible bank anchor and mooring device with a locking cylinder is shown for use with watercraft. The anchor has an elongated tube, or pole, having a ball and socket coupling at one end joined to the side of the boat and an inverted, downturned hook member at the opposite end of the pole for engagement with a tree bough or trunk on shore. There is a lock and key cylinder associated with the socket of the coupling to prevent the unauthorized disengagement of the coupling when the bank anchor is reversed and used as a mooring device. The hook member has a longitudinal swivel connection to the pole, and the ball and socket coupling comprises a stationary socket mechanism attached to one sidewall of the boat having a housing supporting a fixed clamping jaw and a spring- biased clamping jaw urged toward the fixed jaw to provide a female socket. The adjacent end of the pole supports a male ball pivot member having a reduced neck above the ball to be engaged between the two clamping jaws for creating a ball and socket pivoting action between the socket housing and the pole. The lock and key cylinder is in cooperation with the spring- biased clamping jaw for disabling this jaw against unauthorized disconnection of the coupling when the anchor is used as a mooring device between a boat and its dock. The hook member is a wire member that is capable of engaging a tree bough or trunk, or a piling of the boat dock. The mooring device has a ball and socket pivoting action at opposite ends which is important when the tide and waves cause the watercraft to float between high and low relative to the dock.