Ships – Sail or control means therefor – Reefing and furling
Patent
1995-02-10
1996-10-08
Basinger, Sherman
Ships
Sail or control means therefor
Reefing and furling
114108, 114112, B63H 908
Patent
active
055620639
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to yacht sails and in particular to support means by which a luff of a sail, particularly a foresail or jib, can be mounted to a yachts rigging. The invention utilises a sail support slide mounted in a track element for raising or lowering a sail, the combination being suitable for use with a roller furling means.
BACKGROUND ART
It is known to provide single and double track elements along a forestay to carry a sail thereon rather than the sail be carried directly on the stay. A double track element enables a first sail to be pre-loaded on one track in readiness for substitution for an already raised second sail on the other track. Further, sail furling means for such tracks are known, these operating by rotating a track member about a supporting stay and thereby roll-furling a sail about with the track. Devices relating to these arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,609 and other patents referred to therein and also in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,755.
Each of these known devices have drawbacks, for example, a disadvantage with a headsail having a luff edge incorporating a bolt rope slidingly mounted in an associated track such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,609 can be the lack of control over the sail immediately upon lowering. More particularly, the continuous nature of the bolt rope requires substantially complete withdrawal of the luff of the sail from the associated track to achieve lowering. The result can be an unrestrained sail on a fore deck until appropriate storage can be achieved. To some extent this problem is overcome with a sail where the luff rope thereof is retained by spaced apart slides such as disclosed in my earlier patent aforesaid. However, such slides are not particularly suitable for use with roller furling apparatus as they form protrusions which can be detrimental to the fabric of a sail rolled thereabout. Further, as such slides are subject to tensile forces they are prone to fracture necessitating a generally robust structure utilising relatively expensive materials. For these reasons and because my earlier device incorporates a removable "pre-loadable" magazine which registers with a lower end of the supporting stay my earlier arrangement, in particular the slide, is not considered particularly suitable for use with roller furling apparatus.
Another unit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,728 which has a similar removable "pre-loading" section, but with only one track, and is thus also not suitable for use with roller furling. Further, the slide of this patent includes an extending section by which a sail is affixed thereto and this would cause protrusions if used with roller furlong apparatus.
An object of this invention is to provide a sail support means which enables the advantages of sail track elements to be utilised With roller furling means and which also provides for controlled retention of a luff of a sail with lowering of a sail down an associated track. In particular it is an object of this invention to provide a sail support slide for use in such mechanisms.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of this invention there is provided a sail support slide comprising an open ended elongate hollow body incorporating a longitudinally disposed aperture through a peripheral wall thereof, a projection formed on an exterior face of the wall adjacently about the aperture to form an extension thereof, a sail attachment restraint mountable in the open ends of the body to extend therebetween in substantially parallel disposition to the aperture and in spaced relationship to an inner face of the peripheral wall as can anchor a sail attachment means, inserted through the aperture into the interior of the body, to the slide.
According to a second aspect of this invention there is provided sail support means comprising a track element adapted for longitudinal mounting to a yacht rigging stay and incorporating at least one longitudinally extending groove to slidingly retain therein a plurality of slides each having an open ended
REFERENCES:
patent: 1647813 (1927-11-01), Reckmann
patent: 3658025 (1972-04-01), Hood et al.
patent: 4159007 (1979-06-01), Pelletier
patent: 4823720 (1989-04-01), Foster
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