Sailboats and methods

Details Sailboats and methods Sailboats and methods

1999-12-06

2001-02-20

Basinger, Sherman (Department: 3617)

Ships

Watercraft with means used in providing sailpower

C114S098000, C114S102150, C114S102190, C114S102210, C114S112000, C114S204000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06189471

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of sailing. More specifically, the invention relates to the operation and management of sails on sailboats.
Sailing has long been a popular sport. One particular type of sailboat which is of interest to the present invention is illustrated generally in FIG.
1
. It is identified by referenced numeral
10
. Sailboat
10
comprises a hull (not shown) and a deck
12
disposed on top of the hull. At a back end of boat
10
is the stern
14
, while at the front end is the fore peak
16
. Extending between fore peak
16
and stern
14
(i.e., along a center of deck
12
) is a central axis
18
. Central axis
18
divides sailboat
10
into port side
20
and a starboard side
22
. At the front end of sailboat
10
is the bow
24
.
Extending generally vertically upward from deck
12
is a mast
26
. Mast
26
is aligned with central axis
18
and is held in place by a forestay or headstay
28
, a backstay
30
, and pair of shrouds
32
and
34
. However, it will be appreciated that multiple stays and shrouds may be employed in various arrangements and combinations. Forestay
28
is attached to deck
12
at a stemhead fitting
36
which lies on central axis
18
. Since the opposite end of forestay
28
is attached to mast
26
, forestay
28
is generally parallel with central axis
18
. Backstay
30
is attached to deck
12
by a backstay fitting
38
. At its opposite end, backstay
30
is attached to mast
26
at a masthead
40
.
The current method for rigging a foresail, such as a jib, on sailboat
10
is by use of forestay
28
. The foresail is raised along forestay
28
which in turn serves as the axis point for rotating the foresail. However, because forestay
28
has the additional function of securing mast
26
, forestay
28
cannot be moved from its securing points on mast
26
and deck
12
. Although a variety of methods may be employed to attach the foresail to headstay
28
, headstay
28
remains the axis point of the foresail. Since headstay
28
is the attachment point of the foresail, the axis of rotation of the foresail is always fixed at central axis
18
. Such a configuration can limit the usefulness of the foresail and its cooperation with the main sail. For example, in some cases the main sail may block a significant amount of wind from the foresail to limit the speed of the sail boat.
Another drawback to sailboat
10
is the difficulty encountered by a sailor when changing the foresail. Changing of the foresail with current rigging equipment requires one or more of the crew members to exit a cabin
42
and proceed onto bow
24
so that the foresail can be removed from forestay
28
and replaced with another sail. However, the addition of one or more crew members on the bow
24
will cause a change in the attitude of the boat in the water, thereby slowing the speed of the boat. Another disadvantage is that it may become dangerous for crew members to be positioned on bow
24
, particularly when another sail also occupies bow
24
. A further disadvantage is that it is time consuming to have a crew member exit cabin
42
and proceed to forestay
28
to change the sail. One significant disadvantage in changing foresails is that the speed of the boat is reduced because of the time in which no foresail is in place.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide improved sailboats which will greatly reduce or eliminate the problems associated with prior art sailboats. For example, in one embodiment, it would be desirable to provide a sailboat having a more versatile foresail arrangement and where the use of the foresail and its cooperation with the main sail were optimized. It would further be desirable to provide a more efficient way to manage the foresail, including providing an easy and convenient way to raise and lower the foresail.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides improved sailboats and methods for their construction and use. One important feature of at least some embodiments of the invention is that the foresail is provided with an axis of rotation (typically at the luff of the foresail) that can be located essentially anywhere on the bow of the boat. The axis of rotation of the foresail will preferably be variable so that its location may be varied both toward and away from a central axis of the boat as well as in the fore and aft directions. In this way, both the head and the tack of the foresail may be moved away from the longitudinal axis on both sides of the boat, regardless of the direction of the wind. As such, both the head and the tack may be moved to a windward side of the sailboat such that wind may engage the foresail and not be substantially blocked by the mainsail when traveling downwind. Preferably, such features will be provided by coupling the foresail to a wire, cable, line or the like which is separate from the forestay or headstay. In this way, the axis of rotation of the foresail may be located away from the central axis of the boat. Further, various tracks may be provided on the boat or the mast to allow for the location of the cable to which the foresail is attached to be varied.
In one exemplary embodiment, the invention provides a sailboat which comprises a hull and a deck which is operably attached to the hull. The deck includes a longitudinal axis which extends along a center of the deck. A mast is further provided and is generally aligned with the longitudinal axis. A luff cable is coupled to the mast and the deck, with the luff cable being movable relative to the longitudinal axis. Further, a foresail is coupled to the luff cable such that at least a portion of the foresail is movable relative to the longitudinal axis upon movement of the luff cable.
The luff cable is preferably coupled to the mast and the deck such that the luff cable can be moved toward and away from the central axis, in the fore and aft directions, or both. In this way, the location of the rotational axis of the foresail may be positioned essentially anywhere fore of the mast. With such a configuration, the speed of the sailboat may be increased regardless of the direction of the boat in relation to the wind. More importantly, such a configuration improves the direction of the sailboat relative to the direction of the wind.
Typically, the foresail includes a head, a tack, and a clue, with the foresail being coupled to a luff cable between the head and the tack. Preferably, the luff cable is movably coupled to the deck to allow the tack to be movable relative to the longitudinal axis. In another aspect, the luff cable may be movably coupled to the mast to allow the head of the foresail to be movable relative to the longitudinal axis.
In one particularly preferable aspect, a track is operably attached to the deck, with at least a portion of the track being at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis. The luff cable is coupled to the track so that the location of the luff cable along the bow of the deck may be varied. The track may be disposed at various locations along the deck and may have various configurations, including straight tracks, angled tracks, curved tracks and the like. For example, the track may be conveniently disposed about a periphery of the deck. Typically, a carriage will be coupled to the track, with the luff cable being coupled to the carriage. The carriage may be moved by one or more lines or cables that are coupled to the carriage. Alternatively, the carriage may move along the track depending on the direction of the wind to allow the foresail to automatically adjust its position depending on the wind direction.
In one alternative aspect, a turret is rotatably coupled to the deck, and an arm is translatably coupled to the turret. The luff cable is coupled to the arm to allow the tack of the foresail to be moved both rotationally and radially relative to the turret. Use of such a turret is particularly advantageous in that it may be employed to move the tack of the foresail to an angle of up to approximately 45 to 50 degrees relative to the mast and the longitudinal a

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