ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,312,045, issued on May 27.
"Steady docking whip" was invented by Samuel Lewis Graham Stevens (Ithaca, N.Y.) and Liam F. Pillsbury (Providence, R.I.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A steady mooring whip includes a lower mooring whip arm mounted below a standard traditional mooring whip. The lower whip arm can be mounted directly to a dock or seawall, and can extend below the base of the mooring whip. By having a point below the traditional mooring whip, the system can have a loop of line between the vessel, the traditional upper mooring whip, and the additional lower mooring whip arm. This loop allows for consistent tension in the line and...