US 5,231,943 AGranted

Sail plan for sailing craft

OwnerTheodore A. Benzeinventor

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Abstract

A plan for a sail of a sailing craft such as a sailboat, an iceboat and a land yacht having a hull. At least one mast is mounted on an end of the hull and the mast angles upwardly over the hull. A boom is pivotably mounted approximately amidships of the hull. The boom is rotatable through 360.degree. about the mounting point, and the ends of the boom avoid contact with the at least one mast. A triangular sail has a lower edge connected to the boom and an upper corner releasably connected to the top of the at least one mast. The boom, preferably, has an upper member and a lower member. The upper member is rotatable, and the sail may be roller reefed about the upper member. A steering system for the vehicle is provided which is collocated with the controls for the sail whereby the vehicle may be controlled by one individual at a single location. In a catamaran type sailboat, a control ring is connected to the boom whereby pivotal and rotational movement of the sail may be controlled by a person seated on the hull.

Claims33

Dependent claims

A sailing craft having a hull, the hull having a bow and a stern in a longitudinal plane and an amidships between the bow and the stern, the craft comprising:

a forward mast mounted near the bow of the hull, and aft mast mounted near the stern of the hull, each mast having a respective top, both masts angled inwardly wherein the top of the forward mast and the top of the aft mast are joined at a juncture above the hull;
a boom having a length, a first end, a second end and a midpoint, the midpoint of the boom being rotatably mounted approximately amidships of the hull, wherein the boom is disposed between the forward mast and the aft mast and may rotate about a vertical axis through 360.degree. in a plane parallel to the plane of the hull, so that the ends of the boom avoid contact with the masts;
a substantially triangular sail having side edges free of attaching means to the mast, a foot, a first corner, a second corner and a third corner, the foot of the sail being defined between the first corner and the second corner of the sail, the first corner of the sail being movable laterally and being connected to the first end of the boom, the second corner of the sail being movable laterally and being connected to the second end of the boom, the foot of the sail having a midpoint, said midpoint being substantially collocated with the midpoint of the boom wherein the foot of the sail is disposed along the length of the boom symmetrically about the vertical axis, means for movably mounting the third corner of the sail at the juncture at the top of the masts, wherein the sail may be raised and lowered with respect to the top of the mast, and means for reefing the sail to the boom.

A sailing craft having a hull, the hull having a bow and a stern in a longitudinal plane and an amidships between the bow and the stern, the craft comprising:

a forward mast mounted near the bow of the hull, an aft mast mounted near the stern of the hull, each mast having a respective top, both masts angled inwardly wherein the top of the forward mast and the top of the aft mast are jointed at a juncture above the hull;
a boom having a length, a first end, a second end, a midpoint, a first upper member and a substantially parallel second lower member, the members being connected at the respective ends of the boom, the midpoint of the boom being rotatably mounted approximately amidships of the hull, wherein the boom is disposed between the forward mast and the aft mast and may rotate about a vertical axis through 360.degree. in a plane parallel to the plane of the hull so that the ends of the boom avoid contact with the masts;
a triangular sail having side edges free of attaching means to the mast, a foot, a first corner, a second corner and a third corner, the foot of the sail being defined between the first corner and the second corner of the sail, the first corner of the sail being movable laterally, and being connected to the upper member of the boom at the first end thereof, the second corner of the sail being movable laterally and being connected to upper member of the boom at the second end thereof, the foot of the sail having a midpoint, said midpoint being substantially collocated with the midpoint of the boom, wherein the foot of the sail is disposed along the length of the upper member of the boom symmetrically about the vertical axis, the midpoint of the lower member of the boom being pivotally mounted approximately amidships of the hull whereby the boom may pivot above and below the plane parallel to the plane of the hull through the 360.degree. rotation of said boom such that the sail may be pivotally adjusted to equalize pressure on the side edges of the sail, means for movable mounting the third corner of the sail at the juncture at the top of the masts, wherein the sail may be raised and lowered, and a crank means attached to the upper member of the boom to permit rotation of the boom such that the sail may be roller reefed about the upper member of the boom.

A sailing craft having a hull, the hull having a first end, a second opposite end and an amidships between the first end and the second end, the craft comprising:

a mast having a top, the mast mounted near the first end of the hull and angled upwardly therefrom, wherein the top of the mast is approximately above the amidships of the hull, a sprit extending outwardly from the first end of the hull, a stay having a first end connected to the sprit and a second end connected to the top of the mast to support the mast, wherein the stay may be tightened and loosened to permit adjustments to the mast, a cable having a first end connected to the second opposite end of the hull and a second end connected to the top of the mast to further support the mast;
a boom having a length, a first end, a second end and a midpoint, the midpoint of the boom being rotatably mounted approximately amidships of the hull, wherein the boom is disposed between the cable and the mast and may rotate about a vertical axis through 360.degree. so that the ends of the boom avoid contact with the cable and the mast;
a triangular sail having side edges free of attaching means to the mast, a foot, a first corner, a second corner and a third corner, the foot of the sail being defined between the first corner and the second corner of the sail, the first corner of the sail being movable laterally and being connected to the first end of the boom, the second corner of the sail being movable laterally and being connected to the second end of the boom, the foot of the sail having a midpoint, said midpoint being substantially collocated with the midpoint of the boom, wherein the foot of the sail is disposed along the length of the boom symmetrically about the vertical axis, means for movable mounting the third corner of the sail to the top of the masts wherein the sail may be raised and lowered, and means for roller reefing the sail about the boom.

A sailing craft having a hull, the hull having a first end, a second opposite end in a longitudinal plane with the first end and an amidships between the first end and the second end, the craft comprising:

a mast having a bottom and a top, the bottom of the mast being mounted near the first end of the hull and the mast angled upwardly therefrom, wherein the top of the mast is approximately above the amidships of the hull, support means connected the top of the mast to the hull or further support for the mast;
a boom having a length, a first end, a second end and a midpoint, the midpoint of the boom being rotatably mounted approximately amidships of the hull, wherein the boom is disposed between the support means and the mast and may rotate about a vertical axis through 360.degree. in a plane parallel to the plane of the hull so that the ends of boom avoid contact with the support means and the mast;
a triangular sail having side edges free of attaching means to the mast, a bottom edge and an upper corner between the side edges, the bottom edge of the sail being connected to the boom, the bottom edge o the sail having a midpoint which is substantially collocated with the midpoint of the boom, the upper corner of the sail being releasably connected to the top of the mast wherein the sail may be raised and lowered with respect to the top of the mast.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.