GB2162483A - Sailing craft - Google Patents

Abstract

A one-man wind-surfing craft has a generally flat hull (19), a rudder (1) and a central mast trunk (9) having a tube for receiving a mast. A control seat (21) forward of the mast, includes a back rest formed by the forward wall of the mast trunk (9). The rudder (1) is controlled by a joy-stick (12), while a sail boom (not shown) pivotable about the mast in a horizontal plane to the rear of the mast, is controlled by way of a boom rope guided to the control seat by plastics tubing (23). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sailing craft This invention relates to sailing craft, for example one-man craft for recreational purposes.

Wind-surfing craft are well known, and generally comprise a floating board with a mast on which is mounted a sail, the craft being sailed by one man standing on the board and gripping the sail. The use of such craft requires considerable skill, and inexperienced wind surfers frequently capsize the craft and fall into the water.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a sailing craft comprises a mast, a rudder, a control seat forward of the mast, and a joystick rudder control accessible from the control seat.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a sailing craft comprises a hull, means supporting a mast with a sail, a seat forward of the mast supporting means, a rudder and controls for adjusting the orientation of the sail and of the rudder, the controls being arranged at a location such that they can be operated by a person occupying the seat.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a sailing craft has a generally flat hull, a mast, a centre board and a boom pivoted at its front end portion at a base portion of the mast for horizontal movement relative to the mast, and a control seat forward of the mast from which the boom is controllable by means of a boom rope attached to the boom rearwardly of the mast and guided to the control seat by a guide positioned centrally in the craft and beneath the point of attachment to the boom.

In order that the invention may be better understood, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sailing craft according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, excluding the mast and boom; Figure 2 is a plan view of the sailing craft of Figure 1; Figures 3A and 3B are a side elevation and plan view respectively of a mast head float; Figures 4A and 4B are a side elevation and a plan view respectively of a boom; Figures 5A and 5B are side and front elevations respectively of the joy-stick rudder control of the sailing craft of Figures 1 and 2; and Figure 6 is a sketch showing the rigging of a sail between the boom and the mast head float of the sailing craft of Figures 1 and 2.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, a oneman sailing craft comprises a glassfibre hull 1 9 and a glassfibre deck 17, together forming a closed structure, and the whole craft having a substantial degree of buoyancy to prevent or at least resist capsizing and sinking.

The hull 1 9 has a pointed bow and a flat stern and is generally fish-shaped, in plan view.

The hull 1 9 is finished at its periphery with an edge trim 1 8. A central mast trunk 9, again of glassfibre, has a tube 39 for receiving the lower end of a mast 30 (Figure 6).

The upper portion of the mast trunk is shaped to allow the horizontal pivoting movement of a boom 32 (Figure 6) attached to the mast 30. An upper portion of the mast trunk has a generally triangular prismatic configuration, as seen most clearly in Figure 2, while its lower portion, which rises from the deck 17, is generally rectangular in plan view.

A control seat forward of the mast is defined by a glassfibre-covered marine ply seat 21, supported on a marine ply brace 24, and a back rest formed by the forward wall of the mast trunk 9. A curved, raised wall 48 extending around the bow of the craft has a shallow-sloping front portion for resisting waves, and a steeply-sloping inner portion which acts as a foot rest for a user in the control seat.

A fin-shaped board 49 extends aft from the mast trunk 9, and iies in a vertical plane lengthwise of the craft. Beneath this finshaped board 49, a triangular, coplanar extension 50 serves to give the craft extra stability by extending below the upwardlysloping hull bottom.

A marine ply rudder 1 is pivotally mounted on an aluminium rudder plate 2 by means of a stainless steel nut, bolt and washer 3, enabling the rudder 1 to be swung upwardly through approximately 180 and thereby retracted from its operative position. The rudder plate 2 is mounted aft by means of a stainless steel pintle pin 4, retained by a pintle retaining clip 5. The rudder plate 2 is rigid with a horizontal plate 29 (Figure 2) which effectively acts as two opposed horizontal levers extending laterally of the rudder.

The rudder is steered by means of a joystick 1 2 with a hand grip 13, mounted on the centre line of the craft by means of a fulcrum 1 4 protected by a gaiter 11 at the control seat. Two ropes 7 are attached to the lower end of the joy-stick 1 2 and are connected to respective ends of the horizontal portion 29 of the rudder plate 2 by way of a pair of guides 10 disposed laterally on opposite sides of the joy-stick. The ropes 7 also pass through holes in the mast trunk 9, the rope being protected by nylon deck bushes 20. The joy-stick 1 2 pivots about the fulcrum 14 in a plane perpendicular to the length of the craft.Manual movement of the hand grip 1 3 to theleft (downwards in Figure 2) tensions the rope 7 on the port side, and tends to turn the horizontal plate 29 of the rudder plate 2 in a clockwise direction, thus turning the rudder 1 to port and correspondingly steering the craft to port. Similarly, movement to starboard steers the craft to starboard.

The fulcrum arrangement 14 is depicted more clearly in Figures 5A and 5B. Figure 5A is a side elevation to an enlarged scale from the same side as shown in Figure 1, of the joy-stick 12. Figure 5B is a front elevation of the same joy-stick 12. The joy-stick 1 2 comprises a lever pivoted at a pair of angle brackets 37 by means of a stainless steel nut, bolt and washer (not shown). The lower end 38 of the joy-stick 1 2 is flattened and has two holes to which the ropes 7 are cleated.

It is envisaged that a solid mechanical linkage could be used to connect the rudder plate 2 to the joy-stick 12, in place of the ropes 7.

As shown in Figure 6, the boom 32 and a mast head float 31 are pivotally mounted on the mast 30 a lower portion of which fits into the tube 39 in the mast trunk 9. A generally trapezium-shaped sail 40 is rigged taut between the boom 32 and the mast head float 31, so that it presents a generally flat surface to the wind, and acts as an aileron. The mast head float 31 is shown more clearly in Figures 3A and 3B. The float 31 is formed with a circular aperture 47 to fit over the mast head 30; it is secured in place by means of a pin (not shown) through a hole 28 in the mast head. Rigging is secured onto the mast head float 31 with the aid of an aperture with a nylon bush 46 and a cleat 27.

The boom 32 is shown in more detail in Figures 4A and 4B; it is formed with an aperture 33 enabling it to pivot around the lower end of the mast 30. Nylon bulls eyes 34, 35 are used for sail rigging, and nylon bulls eye 36, to be referred to hereinafter, is used to control the position of the boom.

The position of the boom 32 is controlled from the control seat as follows. A rope (not shown), whose end is attached to a deck eye 8, is threaded through the bulls eye 36 on the boom 32, and is guided through a nylon deck bush 6 into a plastics tube 23, centrally disposed lengthwise of the craft. The deck bush 6 guides the boom to a central position when the rope is pulled. The plastics tube 23 extends through the mast trunk 9, has an upward bend 22, and terminates at the front end at a nylon deck bush 1 6 in or adjacent the control seat 21. The rope for controlling the boom emerges from the bush 16, which is slightly to the left-hand side of centre, and may be anchored by means of a cleat 1 5.

A marine ply centre board 26 pivots about a stainless steel pin 25, between a fully retracted position (as in Figure 1) and an operative position at right angles to this position. Both the centre board 26 and the rudder 1 are retractable automatically in the event that the craft enters shallow water or hits an obstacle, and to facilitate the beaching of the craft.

The control ropes and rigging are conveniently of polyester cord. The craft may be moored by means of a rope attached to a stainless steel deck eye 51. A handle 52 on the bow assists in the carrying or the beaching of the craft.

The hull 1 9 of the craft is typically 3.2 metres long, and the mast 4 metres high. The mast is conveniently of aluminium tube, contributing to the very light-weight structure of the sailing craft.

The craft is sailed from the seated control position, with legs astride the joy-stick 12, by pulling on the boom control rope and by appropriate movement of the joy-stick 12.

It has been found that the sailing craft is easily manoeuvrable and responds to waves and wind similar to a wind surfer, yet its buoyancy and shape prevent it from capsizing. Its simplicity of control gives it immediate appeal to the beginner, while its performance will still give pleasure to an experienced wind surfer.

Claims (11)

1. A sailing craft having a mast, a rudder, a control seat forward of the mast, and a joystick rudder control accessible from the control seat and connected to the rudder.

2. A sailing craft according to Claim 1, wherein the joy-stick rudder control comprises a joy-stick lever pivoted for movement in a generally vertical plane at right-angles to the length of the craft, the rudder has opposed levers extending laterally thereof, and the joystick rudder control is connected to the rudder by ropes extending from the end of the each opposed lever to the joy-stick lever below the pivot point by way of a pair of guides disposed laterally on opposite sides of the joystick lever, whereby movement of the lever above the pivot point to port or starboard causes the rudder to turn in the same direction.

3. A sailing craft according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the joy-stick rudder control is mounted on the centre line of the craft to enable a user to control the rudder with legs astride the joy-stick rudder control.

4. A sailing craft according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, the craft being generally flat-bottomed, with a mast trunk amidships, the centre board being retractable into a recess below the mast trunk.

5. A sailing craft according to Claim 14, wherein the mast trunk has a forward wall serving as a back rest for the control seat.

6. A sailing craft according to any preceding claim, wherein the rudder is vertically retractable by pivoting about a horizontal pivot.

7. A sailing craft according to Claim 4 as appendant to Claim 2, wherein the ropes are further guided through holes in the mast trunk.

8. A sailing craft comprising a hull, means supporting a mast with a sail, a seat forward of the mast supporting means, a rudder and controls for adjusting the orientation of the sail and of the rudder, the controls being arranged at a location such that they can be operated by a person occupying the seat.

9. A sailing craft having a generally flat hull, a mast, a centre board and a boom pivoted at its front end portion at a base position of the mast for horizontal movement relative to the mast, a control seat forward of the mast from which the boom is controllable by means of a boom rope attached to the boom rearwardly of the mast and guided to the control seat by a guide positioned centrally in the craft and beneath the point of attachment to the boom.

10. A sailing craft according to Claim 9, comprising a channel extending lengthwise of the craft from the control seat to terminate at the said guide beneath the point of attachment to the boom.

11. A sailing craft according to Claim 10, wherein the channel is a hollow tube.

1 2. A sailing craft according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, comprising a mast trunk amidships receiving a lower portion of the mast and having a forward wall serving as a back rest for the control seat.

1 3. A sailing craft according to any of Claims 9 to 12, comprising a sail tensioned between the mast and the boom to present a substantially flat and substantially taut surface, and thereby to act as an aileron.

1 4. A sailing craft according to Claim 13, wherein the sail is generally trapeziumshaped.

1 5. A sailing craft according to any of Claims 9 to 14, comprising an elongate mast head float extending substantially parallel to the boom, the sail extending between the mast, the boom and the float.

1 6. A sailing craft according to Claim 12, comprising a centre board mounted for retraction into a recess below the mast trunk.

1 7. A sailing craft according to any of Claims 9 to 16, comprising a rudder and means connecting the rudder to a rudder control at the control seat.

1 8. A sailing craft substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.