ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,252,221, issued on March 18, was assigned to ORU KAYAK INC. (Emeryville, Calif.).
"Collapsible watercraft" was invented by Anton Willis (Oakland, Calif.) and Forrest Nelson Harvey (Oakland, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A collapsible kayak may include a single-piece hull including a plurality of crease lines along which the hull is foldable. A floorboard lines a midship portion of the hull between a bow portion and a stern portion, and the floorboard includes a base and a pair of outboard walls permanently fixed at distal ends to port and starboard gunwales of the hull. The bow, stern, and midship portions are configured as a tr...