US3310018A

US3310018A - Triangularly-shaped sail launching and retracting means

Info

Publication number: US3310018A
Application number: US584756A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr William C Roberts; Walter B Kerr
Original assignee: W C ROBERTS JR
Current assignee: W C ROBERTS JR
Priority date: 1966-10-06
Filing date: 1966-10-06
Publication date: 1967-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 1984-03-21

Description

M r 1967 w. c. ROBERTS, JR, ETAL. 3,310,018

TRIANGULARLY-SHAPED SAIL LAUNCHING AND RETRACTING MEANS Filed Oct. 6, 1966 INVENTORS. WILL/QM a. ROBERTS JR, 7 WALTER B. KERR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,310,018 TRIANGULARLY-SHAPED SAIL LAUNCHING AND RETRACTING MEANS William C. Roberts, In, North Palm Beach, and Vvalter B. Kerr, West Palm Beach, Fla; said Kerr assignor to W. C. Roberts, Jr., North Palm Beach, Fla.

Filed Oct. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 584,756 9 Claims. (Cl. 114-104) This invention relates to a device adapted for use in launching and retracting triangularly-shaped sails, such as spinnakers, or of the type often referred to as balloon spinnaker sails.

In the past, launching and retracting sails of the type here involved has been a difficult operation on sailboats, and the present invention is of an improved means for performing this operation with a minimum of difliculty and danger of sail ensnarlment, and, in the case of some large boats, with a reduced number of personnel.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide a spinnaker sail launching and retracting means which includes a storage compartment means for a generally triangularly shaped sail which includes a diffuser section with an open funnel mouth which smoothly merges and blends with a main body section so as to extend depthwise and rearwardly in a smooth curve from the upwardly opening mouth and of a length to substantially house a sail and a sail retract line to connect to the central area of a spinnaker sail and extends through the storage compartment so that the sail may be furled by pulling the central zone into the mouth of the compartment means to lead it into nesting relation in the sternmost portion of the compartment means and with the corners of the sail at the mouth of the compartment means,

It is another object of this invention to provide a storage compartment for a triangularly shaped sail as set forth in the preceding paragraph wherein the diffuser section is of rigid material such as Fiberglas and the body section is of flexible material and comprises an elongate sail storage sack.

It is another object of this invention as set forth in the preceding paragraph wherein the sail storage sack is provided with an open first end and strings to constrict the open first end whereby it is adapted to fit over and mate with the confronting end of the diffuser section for removable attachment thereto and the second end is provided with an opening therethrough to accommodate passage of the retract line and means on the end of the sack to hold or anchor the second end of the sack in position with respect to a fixed point on a boat on which it is installed while the sail is being launched.

It is another object of this invention to provide a spinnaker sail launching and retracting means which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and is readily adapted to be installed on existing boats and which is adapted for use in retracting, housing and launching spinnaker sails with existing ship hardware in a conventional manner.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view partly in cross section to illustrate the details of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view of the bow of the ship substantially as seen in plan;

FIGURE 3 is a view in cross section to illustrate the spinnaker sail in a stored condition.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the funnel shaped section of the compartment storage means; and

lCC

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of that portion of FIGURE 1 with the arrowed line 55 therearound.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, and referring particularly to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that a triangularlyshaped sail 12, such as a spinnaker sail, is depicted in its ordinary position supported forward of the jib, not shown, by a halyard 14, quite commonly a nylon lanyard, and

lines

16 and 18 connected to the

clews

20 and 22 respectively at the lower corners 24 and 26 of the sail. It is apparent that it is ordinarily quite diflicult to furl such a sail which is commonly used for running before the wind. In the present invention the deck 30 of the boat or ship is provided at the forward end 32 adjacent the bow with a depending storage compartment means 33 having (a) a funnel diffuser section 36 having an upwardly opening mouth 34, the said section being of diminishing cross-sectional area and extending depthwise and rearwardly in a smooth curve to an opening 37 in the flared end 38 and (b) a body section 39 of generally tubular form with an opening 41 in the end thereof. A spinnaker sail retract line 40 is connected to the central zone 42 of the spinnaker sail by means of the force distributing patch 46 shown in FIGURE 5 and extends through the compartment means and out the opening 41 running toward the rear of the ship as do the

lines

16 and 18.

In operation, to launch the sail the halyard is drawn around the pulley 48 supported in the upper region on the mast 50 and the

lines

16 and 18 are controlled as is the retract line 40 and, thereafter, the sail is trimmed in the ordinary manner. To retract the spinnaker type sail the reverse procedure is followed: that is, the retract line 40 is used to pull the central Zone of the spinnaker sail into the mouth of the funnel as the halyard is slacked and, thereafter, the

lines

16 and 18 are slacked as the sail is drawn into the nested and housed position shown in FIGURE 3.

While the diffuser section and body section may be of smooth, continuous one-piece construction of rigid material, such as Fiberglas, which is shown in FIGURE 3, the preferred embodiment is shown in FIGURE 1 in which the said section 36 provides the smooth, funnelshaped entrance curving downwardly and rearwardly from a flared mouth which is preferably provided with an extending lip 56 to rest on the marginal edge 57 of an opening in the deck. The extending edge is provided with a flange 59 by reason of which it is adapted to receive the open end of a flexible sail storage sack generally designated 39 in FIGURE 1. The mouth 61 of the sail storage sack is preferably provided with a draw string to tighten it and hold it in position over the extending end of the diffuser section. The end cap 66 of the sack is provided with an opening 66' generally facing in the stern-wise direction and the sack is adapted as by the external tie strings 71 to be anchored in a predetermined position with respect to the hull of the ship. Anchoring means composed of either suitable nuts and bolts as shown in FIGURE 3 or cement or epoxy resin means such as shown in FIGURE 1 may be used to hold the lip in position with respect to the deck. FIGURE 4, it will be seen, illustrates the preferred construction for the diffuser section and FIGURE 5 illustrates the force distributing patch which it is seen is adapted to connect to the hook means 73 on the distal end of the retract line 46 with the said patch comprising a main body 81 having diagonal straps such as 82 and 83 secured thereto as by the seams 85 and 86 which are raised at the point of intersection to define the partial loop 91 to engage the bite of the hook 73. The patch is then seamed along its marginal edges as by the seams 96 so as to distribute the forces over a central zone of the sail, the central zone being defined as that portion of the sail area on the altitude line which is substantially equidistant from all corners.

The sail is most easily loaded into the funnel-shaped diffuser section and body section, which in the preferred embodiment is the storage sack, by two persons. One person at the rear of the boat pulls the sail in with the down-haul halyard or retract line which has been attached to the central zone of the sail on that side which will be down wind when the sail is flying. The other, at the bow of the boat, holds the sail to assure that it is flowing into the funnel orderly and keeps the three corners of the sail properly arranged. The port and starboard corners are kept at their respective sides and the top of the sail should be in the front center of the tunnel in leading position. The sail should be pulled in until the three corners are at deck level in the funnel. Thereafter, the down-haul halyard is cleated in this position and the leading central zone of the sail will have run to the distal end of the sack or bottom of the sail storage sack. The last step is to attach each line to its respective corner of the spinnaker sail and, thereafter, take the slack out of each line.

To launch the sail, the spinnaker halyard line is cleared and released from the down-haul halyard cleat. The up-haul halyard is utilized to raise the sail as the crew pulls the leeward spinnaker sheet at the same time for approximately the first three or four feet of sail movement out of the funnel-shaped mouth to make the whole spinnaker move as one body and flow easily out of the storage compartment means. Pulling only the up-haul halyard causes the sail to tend to slide over itself while it is deep in the tube or storage compartment means and this results in a very hard initial pull being required to move the sail. After the spinnaker has been pulled to the desired height the crew trims the sheets. The spinnaker pole may then be put up or at the option of the user it may be put up before the sail has been hoisted. In the vent that it has been put up before the sail has been hoisted, pole fittings will be utilized which allow the spinnaker sheet to slide through them.

In retracting the sail, the spinnaker halyard is cleared. By pulling in both

spinnaker lines

16 and 18 the spinnaker sail is broken across the jib luff or forestay approximately symmetrically to cause the bottom portion of the spinnaker sail to ride up the forestay or jib luff. At this time the up-haul halyard cleat is released to free the up-haul halyard so that the sail will respond to tension on the down-haul halyard. The top area of the spinnaker sail will fall an amount equal tot he excess halyard line in the range of 5 to feet which is such that the upper spinnaker sail will not fall into the water. The central region or zone of the sail will be the first part of the sail to enter the mouth of the compartment storage means. The upper spinnaker sail area will flow into the funnel in an orderly fashion since it is being lowered as fast as the rest of the spinnaker is being pulled into the funnel and down the tube; and preferably the line and line 14 constitute a continuous up-haul down-haul halyard or line. The crew releases the lines as necessary to allow the sail to flow into the funnel and the downhaul halyard is pulled until the sail hits the end of the sail sack, and at that point the down-haul halyard is cleated and the slack is pulled out of the up-haul halyard which is then cleated. At this point the crew may take down the pole and take the slack from the spinnaker sheets.

While the invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment in FIGURE 2, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which invention is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be ac corded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is:

1. In a boat of the type adapted to use a spinnaker sail of generally triangular configuration and having three sail corners having an attachment means for a line to extend from each corner, a spinnaker storage compartment means comprising: a diffuser section having an enlarged open funnel mouth facing upwardly and smoothly accessible through an opening in the deck and extending depthwise and rearwardly in a smooth, continuous curve, and a main body section, said sections merging and blending, and said body section terminating in a generally sternwise facing opening, and a sail retract line to connect to the central area of said spinnaker to extend through the storage compartment and opening and to the rear of the boat so that the sail may be retracted by pulling the said sail retract line and drawing the central zone of the sail as the leading portion into a nested position adjacent the opening with the sail extending toward the mouth, the center line of the said storage compartment from a plane across the mouth and a plane across the opening of the body section being of a length at least substantially equal to the distance between the center of the central zone of the spinnaker and the margin at the corners of the sail so the sail is adapted to be housed in the compartment when not in use and is adapted to be withdrawn from the compartment by three lines connected to the attachment means respectively.

2. A device as set forth in claim it wherein lip means are provided to connect the storage compartment means in depending relation through a hole in the deck of a boat adjacent the how.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein fastening means are provided to connect the lip to the margin of the opening in the deck.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein means are provided on the end of the retract line to connect to the central zone of a spinnaker sail.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the retract line is provided with a force distributing patch to connect to the central zone of the spinnaker sail.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said force distributing patch includes a first and a second diagonally extending strip, each having a raised intersecting center portion defining a bite and being secured along their lengths extending outwardly of the bite to said patch.

7. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the body section comprises a flexible sail storage sack of tubular form and anchoring means to connect the distal end of the body section to the boat.

8. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said diffuser section is provided with a flanged end to connect to the body section.

9. A device as set forth in claim 8 wherein said body section comprises a flexible sail storage sack of tubular form and anchoring means to connect the distal end of the body section to the boat and includes a mouth adapted to fit over the flanged end and means to secure the mouth over said flanged end.

No references cited.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

T. M. BLIX, Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A BOAT OF THE TYPE ADAPTED TO USE A SPINNAKER SAIL OF GENERALLY TRIANGULAR CONFIGURATION AND HAVING THREE SAIL CORNERS HAVING AN ATTACHMENT MEANS FOR A LINE TO EXTEND FROM EACH CORNER, A SPINNAKER STORAGE COMPARTMENT MEANS COMPRISING: A DIFFUSER SECTION HAVING AN ENLARGED OPEN FUNNEL MOUTH FACING UPWARDLY AND SMOOTHLY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE DECK AND EXTENDING DEPTHWISE AND REARWARDLY IN A SMOOTH, CONTINUOUS CURVE, AND A MAIN BODY SECTION, SAID SECTIONS MERGING AND BLENDING, AND SAID BODY SECTION TERMINATING IN A GENERALLY STERNWISE FACING OPENING, AND A SAIL RETRACT LINE TO CONNECT TO THE CENTRAL AREA OF SAID SPINNAKER TO EXTEND THROUGH THE STORAGE COMPARTMENT AND OPENING AND TO THE REAR OF THE BALL SO THAT THE SAIL MAY BE RETRACTED BY PULLING THE SAID SAIL RETRACT LINE AND DRAWING THE CENTRAL ZONE OF THE SAIL AS THE LEADING PORTION INTO A NESTED POSITION ADJACENT THE OPENING WITH THE SAIL EXTENDING TOWARD THE MOUTH, THE CENTER LINE OF THE SAID STORAGE COMPARTMENT FROM A PLANE ACROSS THE MOUTH AND A PLANE ACROSS THE OPENING OF THE BODY SECTION BEING OF A LENGTH AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CENTER OF THE CENTRAL ZONE OF THE SPINNAKER AND THE MARGIN AT THE CORNERS OF THE SAIL SO THE SAIL IS ADAPTED TO BE HOUSED IN