Glider sail assembly

A glider sail assembly comprising:

• a center boom with a fore end for directing into a wind;
• means for mounting the center boom generally horizontally at the top of a mast and directed at an upward angle towards the fore end, the means for mounting comprising an outer shell hingedly connectable to the top of the mast and extending about the center boom and a resilient member comprising a tubular insert between the outer shell and the center boom, the resilient member allowing lateral tilting of the sail about the center boom;
• two side booms, each of the side booms having a fore end connected to the center boom near the fore end of the center boom and flexible portions near an aft end of each side boom, the side booms being extendible to diverge away from each other in a V-shaped arrangement;
• and
• a generally triangular sail securable to the booms, so the sail extends between the side booms, and having skirt portions at each side thereof adjacent the flexible portions of the side booms, the skirt portions extending downwardly when the flexible portions of the side booms are deflected downwardly, so one of the skirt portions provides a propulsive force when the center boom is directed into the wind.

A glider sail assembly comprising:

• a center boom with an aft end and a fore end for directing into a wind;
• means for mounting the center boom generally horizontally at the top of a mast and directed at an upward angle towards the fore end;
• two side booms, each of the side booms having a fore end hingedly connected to the center boom near the fore end of the center boom and flexible portions near an aft end of said each side boom, the side booms being extendible to diverge away from each other in a V-shaped arrangement;
• a pair of struts for holding the side booms outwardly away from the center boom in the V-shaped arrangement, each said strut having a first end connectable to the center boom and a second end connectable to one of the side booms;
• a generally triangular sail securable to the booms, so the sail extends between the side booms, and having skirt portions at each side thereof adjacent the flexible portions of the side booms, the skirt portions extending downwardly when the flexible portions of the side booms are deflected downwardly, so one of the skirt portions provides a propulsive force when the center boom is directed into the wind;
• first and second slide members slidably received for axial movement along the center boom, the fore ends of the side booms being hingedly connected to the first slide member, the first ends of the struts being hingedly connected to the second slide member and the second ends of the struts being hingedly connected to the side booms;
• means for releasably securing the slide members at fixed positions on the center boom, so the side booms diverge in said V-shaped arrangement;
• a pair of braces, each said brace having a first end hingedly connected to the center boom between the first and second slide members and a second end hingedly connected near the center of one of the struts;
• a third slide member slidably received on the center boom near the aft end;
• a pair of tail rods, each of the tail rods extending between the center boom and one of the skirt portions of the sail near the aft end of the center boom, having an inner end hingedly connected to the third slide member and an outer end connectable to the sail adjacent the one skirt portion;
• a pair of skirt booms, each of the skirt booms having an outer end connected to the aft end of one of the side booms and an inner end securable adjacent to the outer end of one of the tail rods;
• and means for releasably securing the third slide member at a fixed position near the aft end of the center boom.

A glider sail assembly comprising:

• a mast, means for rotatably mounting the mast on a vessel or vehicle for axial rotation and means for rotating the vessel or vehicle relative to the mast;
• a center boom with a fore end for directing into a wind;
• means for mounting the center boom generally horizontally at the top of a mast and directed at an upward angle towards the fore end;
• two side booms, each of the said booms having a fore end connected to the center boom near the fore end of the center boom and flexible portions near an aft end of said each side boom, the side booms being extendible to diverge away from each other in a V-shaped arrangement;
• and
• a generally triangular sail securable to the booms, so the sail extends between the side booms, and having skirt portions at each side thereof adjacent the flexible portions of the side booms, the skirt portions extending downwardly when the flexible portions of the side booms are deflected downwardly, so one of the skirt portions provides a propulsive force when the center boom is directed into the wind;
• and
• means for folding the mast to a generally horizontal position comprising fore and aft hinged mast supports, each said mast support having a lower end with means for hingedly connecting the support to the vessel or vehicle and having an upper end hingedly connected to the mast, the mast supports being inverted V-shaped, the upper end of said fore support being higher on the mast than the upper end of the aft support, so the top of the mast folds forwardly when the supports are folded rearwardly on the vessel or vehicle.

A glider sail assembly comprising:

• a flexible center boom with a fore end for directing into a wind and an aft end;
• means for mounting the center bore generally horizontally at the top of a mast and directed at an upward angle towards the fore end;
• two side booms, each of the side booms having a fore end hingedly connected to the center boom near the fore end of the center boom and flexible portions near an aft end of said each side boom, the side booms being extendible to diverge away from each other in a V-shaped arrangement;
• a pair of struts for holding the side booms outwardly away from the center boom in the V-shaped arrangement, each said strut having a first end connectable to the center boom and a second end connectable to one of the side booms;
• a generally triangular sail securable to the booms, so the sail extends between the side booms, and having skirt portions at each side thereof adjacent the flexible portions of the side booms, the skirt portions extending downwardly when the flexible portions of the side booms are deflected downwardly, so one of the skirt portions provides a propulsive force when the center boom is directed into the wind;
• and
• a first cable for strengthening the assembly, the first cable being connected at each end to one of the side booms near the struts and being extendable downwardly in a V-shaped arrangement and slidably received by a guide means near the bottom of the mast, second and third cables extending downwardly from the fore and aft ends of the center boom to be secured near the bottom of the mast, the second and third cables being tensioned to adjust the upwards angle of the center boom and to bend the center boom in a bow shape and thereby providing increased lift for the sail, and fourth and fifth cables connected to the aft ends of the side booms, one of said fourth and fifth cables being tensioned to deflect the flexible portion of one of the side booms downwardly with one of the skirt portions of the sail to provide said propulsive force.