New, useful and can be done

Robert,
One can’t expect to always understand a patent from first reading or without serious knowledge of patent laws as well as the details of prior inventions and products. This is why it is not a good idea to file a patent application without a patent lawyer or editor and a technical editor working as a team with you, and without doing a very serious research on “prior art”:
1. The US Patent and Trademark Office examiners will reject your claims.
2. You might get a claim that has no merit allowed, which is worse for you in the long run.The actual intellectual property is defined in the “Claims” section of the patent. This particular US patent (#6871608) mentions some 70 prior inventions and products in its introduction and discussion on “prior art”*.
Some of those inventions and products that are particulary relevant to understanding why this invention is “New, useful and can be actually applied” are discussed in detail in the patent itself, as required by the USPTO.
When applied in small paddle craft like kayaks and canoes this new technology (see “Claims” section) improves stability, comfort, versatility and speed, or shortly: hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, ergonomics and biomechanics.

This invention also allows most people to participate in a new family of paddle sports practiced in the standing position I.E. to paddle-ski in optimal conditions.