Sail furling and reefing apparatus
OwnerRalph S. Hoodinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus for supporting and furling a sail wherein a hollow mast having a chamber therein is provided with a slot leading into the chamber and a rotatable inner mast in the chamber arranged to bear the weight of the sail in compression. Rotating the inner mast furls the sail. The inner mast is also relatively rigid against torsional bending, its diameter is relatively large. The width of the slot is also relatively large and contoured so that the sail slides freely through the slot even though wrinkled. As a result, the sail can employ adequate fullness, and risk of jamming while furling is minimized.
Claims7
Apparatus for supporting and housing a sail comprising a substantially vertical stayed mast, walls forming a chamber in said mast and a rear facing slot leading from the outside into said chamber, a hollow cylindrical member in said chamber having an outside diameter greater than the width of said slot, means connecting said sail to said cylindrical member and supporting the entire weight of said sail, means for rotating said cylindrical member whereby the sail is drawn into said chamber to furl said sail, said cylindrical member being substantially rigid, extending in said chamber the full vertical length of said sail, means supporting the weight of said cylindrical member against downward forces applied thereto by said cylindrical member and the weight of said sail only at the base of said cylindrical member independently of said mast, and means at the top of said chamber for supporting said cylindrical member only against forces applied laterally thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.