CBTF Patent: Bogus?

One thing that is very clearly understood in the patent law field is the concept of existing art -- technology that anyone deeply involved in the industry may easily take for granted is generally a waste of time to patent. Oh sure, the patent office may grant a patent, but that doesn't mean its actually valuable.

My professional career is computer science. I recently came across a patent, granted in the last couple of years, describing a technique that appears in many, if not all, textbooks on data structures and algorithms. The US Patent Office granted the patent -- apparently, someone in the office just wasn't on the ball.

Let's consider this CBTF thing.

The two steerable rudders: Dick Carter implemented this concept on an Admiral's Cup boat in the mid or early 70's: it had a spectacular failure, where the forward foil (keel) broke its steering quadrant and turned sideways when under spinnaker in the Solent. So that's clearly not new.

The canting ballast combined with fore and aft foils: Clearly this had been used on many boats long before the mid 80's. For example, in the 70's there were several articles on a boat built in the mid west. I am almost certain it was named Red Witch. It was long, very narrow, wood, and I remember it being double ended. It had a canting keel with bulb. I think it was a ketch, or yawl, or schooner. It had adjustable foils forward and aft, because of course the canting keel provided no resistance to leeway (the boat would normally be sailed with the bulb very close to the surface out to windward), yet the keel was right in the middle of the boat, so the foils that prevented leeway had to be placed well forward and aft.

Gybing boards? Give me a break -- we used to set up our Sabots with gybing boards!

The adjustable linkage thing -- "collective" -- between the fore and aft rudders is clever. But its not at all unusual. All high performance catamarans have tillers that are bent inward to automatically adjust the angle of the rudders, so the inside rudder turns more than the outside. This was borrowed from the auto industry -- that's how your car works. When your front alignment is adjusted, that's what is happening. So there is nothing novel about reasonably easy to adjust multiple steering foils.

How about a boat with huge amounts of weather helm? That you control using the forward foil? What -- you've never seen an old 12 meter? Again, absolutely well known prior art.

I was amazed when the patent was granted. I think its just another example of a bureaucrat in Washington not being up on some field of endeavor, and just saying "Well, I don't know anything about boats, so here's a patent, let the attorneys fight it out."

Its an example of a bogus patent that will simply lead to money being siphoned out of the marine industry and into the pockets of lawyers. Zero value added.

Sincerely, David Smyth