Ships – Watercraft with means used in providing sailpower – Having specifically defined hull shape
Patent
1984-10-31
1986-01-14
Barefoot, Galen L.
Ships
Watercraft with means used in providing sailpower
Having specifically defined hull shape
114144R, B63B 3500
Patent
active
045639671
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The technical field of this invention is that of small sport sailboats, especially those usually sailed by one person, with or without one or two companions. Frequently the occupants of such boats wear wet suits or bathing suits and the operator expects to expend substantial physical energy and to be called upon to display substantial skill and ready agility to get the fastest and most exhilarating performance from the boat.
BACKGROUND ART
There are two principal sorts of boats in common use today for which a boat arranged according to my invention is a competitive replacement combining many of the virtues of each. One sort is exemplified by the well-known "Windsurfer.RTM." in which the sail is mounted on the hull by a universal joint and the sail is extended by a wishbone boom. The operator stands on top of the hull and controls the balance, speed, and direction of the boat by manipulating the angle of the mast to the hull and the alignment of the wishbone by his hands. An outrigger variant of this sort of boat is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,900. The other sort generally has a shallow, decked-over hull (referred to in the trade as a "board boat") rigged with a fixed mast, a spar-supported sail conventionally sheeted, and steered from a position abaft the mast, and on which the sailor moves under the boom, aft of the mast, when tacking.
Two interesting variants were considered during the preparation of this application. One variant is U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,442 which discloses a sailboat having two rudders, one at each opposite end A and B, that is worked to windward not by coming about but by reversing the direction of motion from A end first to B end first by manipulation of the sails and stays. The rudder at the end that is the "stern" from time to time affords the steering; the rudder at the other end is locked to provide a sort of centerboard. The other variant is U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,779. It shows a sport cat boat with a conventional rudder aft controlled by a tiller turning in a horizontal plane about a vertical pivot in the foredeck. A second rudder is provided connected to the after end of the mainsail boom. Various arrangements are shown for controlling this novel auxiliary rudder to make the boom-to-keel-line angle automatically variable in response to wind pressure. A conventional trapeze and harness abaft the mast is shown.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The arrangement of this invention relates to sailing boats, typically small, recreational catboats with a hull, a fixed mast, a centerboard, a rudder, and a mainsail. It uniquely combines a tiller attached to the hull by a universal joint, preferably on a slide track forward of the mast, and the use of a trapeze attached high on the mast by a single support line to be manipulated by the sailor also forward of the mast. The mainsheet also runs to the control station forward of the mast. The righting moment is provided by the use of a trapeze mounted high on the mast to swing freely from side to side across in front of the mast rather than by the use of hiking straps. The placement of the tiller and mainsheet allows tacking by easily changing sides in front of the mast without unhitching the trapeze harness. Because this invention utilizes the basic sailing boat features, the complex process involved in using the windsurfer example, mounting the mast on a universal joint and changing the center of effort, is eliminated. The trapeze reduces the physical strength necessary to operate the type of vessel exemplified by the "Windsurfer.RTM." . The purpose of this invention is to provide the advantages of a trapeze on a small, single-handed sailboat. Absent an ability to tack by moving in front of the mast, a trapeze is impractical on a one-man sailboat. The trapeze provides additional righting moment, which, for the first time, will allow a small boat to carry a larger sail for increased speed and better performance and will require less physical exertion. An additional advantage of the trapeze is in providing stability to the mast in st
REFERENCES:
patent: 1785971 (1930-12-01), O'Connor
patent: 3931776 (1976-01-01), Kreuger
patent: 3985090 (1976-10-01), Rineman
patent: 4054100 (1977-10-01), Rineman
Barefoot Galen L.
Morton, Jr. W. Brown
Sotelo Jesus D.
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