1. A buoyant board for water sports, which board comprises a vertically flattened elongated body having a lower face for contact with water, and an upper face for supporting a person, the lower face and the upper face meeting along a peripheral edge of the body, the body being constituted by a pair of end parts and at least one intermediate part located between the end parts, the parts being arranged in series in abutment, and being separable such that each intermediate part is removable and optionally replaceable to permit adjustment of the length of the body and to facilitate transport of the board when the various parts are separated, the abutments between adjacent parts of the body having zig-zag or wave-form profiles, each part, at each abutment, having an abutment face defining a plurality of crests alternating with a plurality of valleys, when seen in plan view, each abutment face of each part being provided both with a plurality of transverse rods and with a plurality of tranverse slots, the rods alternating with the slots across the width of the board, the rods being provided adjacent the floors of the valleys and the slots being provided in the peaks of the crests, the rods of each abutment face being received in the slots of the associated opposed abutment face, each rod and the associated slot providing a connection formation connecting the abutting parts together, the slots opening outwardly in the longitudinal direction of the board.
2. The buoyant board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection formations include securing formations for preventing separation of the parts of the body.
3. The board as claimed in claim 2, wherein a clamp is located in at least one of the slots in each part, each clamp being fast with the part of the body in which the slot is provided, a locking mechanism being associated with each clamp and locking the associated clamp so that each rod received in a slot provided with a clamp is help captive and clamped in said slot, the clamps and locking mechanisms providing said securing formations and each securing formation forming part of an associated connection formation, the connection formations connecting together the parts of the body.
4. The board as claimed in claim 3, wherein each locking mechanism comprises an over-centre cam mechanism.
5. The board as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an impact guard extending at least partially along the peripheral edge of the body, protecting the peripheral edge of the body against impact damage and protecting a user against injury caused by impact with the peripheral edge of the body.
6. The board as claimed in claim 5, wherein the impact guard is in the form of a shock and impact-absorbing flexible strip extending along the entire peripheral edge of the body.
7. The board as claimed in claim 6, wherein the flexible strip is divided into a plurality of parts respectively fast with the peripheral edge of the respective parts of the body.
8. The board as claimed in claim 1, further comprising seals in each abutment between adjacent parts of the body for sealing the abutment between said parts.
9. The board as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one attachment formation on at least one of the end parts of the body, for releasably attaching at least one fin or skeg to the lower face of said body.
10. The board as claimed in claim 9, comprising a said attachment formation on each of the end parts of the body, to provide for use of the board as a bi-directional board.
11. The board as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one anchoring formation on the upper face of the body for anchoring at least one foot strap to the upper face of the body.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having electronically controlled airflow comprising:
measuring an internal engine condition;
determining if the internal engine condition indicates a limited torque output condition, the limited torque output condition not being based on current ambient temperature or pressure conditions;
limiting a currently available maximum engine torque if the internal engine condition indicates the limited torque output condition;
determining a driver demanded torque based on a current accelerator pedal position; and
controlling the engine to deliver the driver demand torque if the internal engine condition does not indicate the limited torque output condition or to deliver a calibratable percentage of the currently available maximum torque if the internal engine condition indicates the limited torque output condition.
2. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein:
the internal engine condition is engine knock.
3. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 2, wherein:
the internal engine condition is engine knock at full throttle.
4. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein:
the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine further includes an electric motor having a battery having a maximum voltage output; and
the internal engine condition is a level of voltage output from the battery at a predetermined amount below the maximum voltage output.
5. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein:
the internal engine condition is a working condition of the engine.
6. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein:
the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine further includes a turbocharger; and
the internal engine condition is a temperature of the turbocharger.
7. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 1, wherein:
the internal engine condition is a percentage of coolant in the engine.
8. A method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine having electronically controlled airflow comprising:
limiting a currently available maximum engine torque below maximum torque based on a limited torque output condition, the limited torque output condition not being based on current ambient temperature or pressure conditions;
determining a driver demanded torque based on a current throttle position; and
controlling the engine to deliver the driver demand torque if the internal engine condition does not indicate the limited torque output condition or to deliver a calibratable percentage of the currently available maximum torque if the internal engine condition indicates a limited torque output condition.
9. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein:
the internal engine condition is engine knock.
10. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 9, wherein:
the internal engine condition is engine knock at full throttle.
11. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein:
the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine further includes an electric motor having a battery having a maximum voltage output; and
the internal engine condition is a level of voltage output from the battery at a predetermined amount below the maximum voltage output.
12. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein:
the internal engine condition is a working condition of the engine.
13. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein:
the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine further includes a turbocharger; and
the internal engine condition is a temperature of the turbocharger.
14. The method for controlling a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine of claim 8, wherein:
the internal engine condition is a percentage of coolant in the engine.
15. A method for controlling an engine comprising:
measuring a vehicle condition;
determining if the vehicle condition indicates a limited torque output condition whereby the torque output availability of the engine is below a maximum output availability of the engine, the limited torque output condition not being based on current ambient temperature or pressure conditions;
limiting a currently available maximum engine torque if the vehicle condition indicates the limited torque output condition;
determining a driver demanded torque based on a throttle position; and
controlling the engine to deliver the driver demand torque if the vehicle condition does not indicate the limited torque output condition or to deliver a calibratable percentage of the currently available maximum torque if the vehicle condition indicates the limited torque output condition.
16. The method for controlling the engine of claim 15, wherein:
the internal engine condition is engine knock at full throttle.
17. The method for controlling the engine of claim 15, wherein:
the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine further includes an electric motor having a battery having a maximum voltage output; and
the internal engine condition is a level of voltage output from the battery at a predetermined amount below the maximum voltage output.
18. The method for controlling the engine of claim 15, wherein:
the internal engine condition is a working condition of the engine.
19. The method for controlling the engine of claim 15, wherein:
the internal engine condition is a percentage of coolant in the engine.
20. The method for controlling the engine of claim 15, wherein:
the multi-cylinder internal combustion engine further includes a turbocharger; and
the internal engine condition is a temperature of the turbocharger.