US Patent 7270583 High efficiency watercraft propulsion system

A propulsion system for a watercraft includes a concavity formed in a hull of the watercraft. The concavity has a minimum depth at its leading end and a maximum depth at its trailing end. An impeller is mounted in the trailing end of the concavity and a stator trails the impeller. A nozzle having a radius only slightly less than a radius of the impeller is disposed in trailing relation to the stator. An elongate drive shaft extends from an engine mounted fore of the concavity to the impeller. An intake grate is disposed in a mouth of the concavity. Water flowing through the intake grate flows through the concavity in a laminar flow and encounters no obstacles other than the elongate drive shaft before encountering the impeller.