WO2003101819A1

WO2003101819A1 - Motor sailer trimaran

Info

Publication number: WO2003101819A1
Application number: PCT/ES2003/000259
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gonzalo FERNÁNDEZ PUENTES
Original assignee: Inversail, S.A.
Priority date: 2002-06-01
Filing date: 2003-05-29
Publication date: 2003-12-11
Also published as: ES2221775B1; AU2003232852A1; ES2221775A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor sailer trimaran with a similar habitability to that of a single-hulled vessel of equal length. The inventive trimaran comprises a very narrow central underwater hull and lateral floats, some of the latter can be deployed for sailing while others are fixed for travelling under motor. Said trimaran can travel at speeds greater than 10 knots under sail and at speeds greater than 20 knots under motor and can be used to make quick, comfortable and efficient journeys both under sail and motor. Moreover, the inventive vessel comprises devices which are used to retract the propellers and other mechanical element which are used to facilitate sailing as well as devices which are used to withdraw the luffs and rudders so as not to impede the vessel under motor. Furthermore, the invention comprises an easy-to-use automatic system for folding and extending the lateral floats for the use thereof under motor or sail and in order to reduce the breadth of the vessel for the purpose of berthing.

Description

TRIMARAN MOTOVELERO

I - BACKGROUND

The invention aims to achieve an ideal pleasure boat, a boat that does not exist today, a boat that needs to be invented. A boat capable of sailing at more than 20 knots with motor and at more than 10 knots under sail. A pleasant sailing boat, that does not hit pantocazos, that can enter shallow bays, that is suitable for fishing or strolling, in which inexperienced people can sail, that does not cause fear because it can navigate by motor and without sails with bad weather. A multi-purpose boat. A boat that consumes little, has great autonomy, has adequate habitability, and can be put in a normal berth.

In order to be able to sail at high speeds, motor boats need, apart from increasing their power, to overcome the speed barrier produced by the stern wave that is created in displacement boats. This is achieved by making the boat have flat bottoms, using air mattresses as in the "hovercraft", using submerged wings "hidrofoils" or by very thin hulls in which the floating length exceeds the order of ten times the sleeve of floatation.

The current sailing boats are mostly monohulls under sail, and therefore clearly displacement boats, and cannot be used in any way as high speed motor boats. Hovercrafts and hydrophoils have been used with considerable success, but always in protected waters with little swell, and their use in open water is problematic. In any case, they are not very suitable for sailing.

Most pleasure boats are gliders, with large engines and wide, flat-shaped hulls underwater. All you have to do is go to any boat show: most of the boats on display are luxurious motorboats. They are not at all usable as sailing boats. They also hit hard when they are gliding with a little rough sea, they sail badly when they cannot glide, they make noise and they consume and pollute a lot (these boats are actually we want to replace them).

The use of thin hulls does allow a more pleasant and less fuel-efficient navigation and fast motorized navigation even if the water surface is not smooth. They are also good for sailing. Of course, they need more than one helmet to have stability. So we are talking about multihulls: catamarans and trimarans. Power catamarans are having a lot of success. There are all kinds and sizes. They have a much more pleasant navigation than monohulls and they also spend much less fuel. The ones that behave the best are the big ones, so much so that they are replacing with advantage the old monocoque "ferries". If they are small, their behavior and habitability are very limited by the separation that the bridge must have with the water.

Catamarans under sail are also having a great boom, especially as charter boats with great habitability. Due to the heeling torque produced by the sails, they are usually too wide for normal berths. Their problem is similar to that of motor catamarans; if they are small, their behavior in unprotected waters and / or their habitability are greatly affected.

There are very few motor trimarans. However, there have been very interesting experiments such as:

• Gino Morrelli's "Yanmar Endeavor" with 12m float length, 1.2m float beam, 2,000kg displacement and two 27hp outboard diesel engines; that in 1990 he managed to establish the record of crossing without refueling the 2,250 nautical miles that separate San Francisco from Honolulu.

• The "flan" of Nigel Irens of 21 m in length, 5,500 kg of displacement and a 240 hp diesel engine; manages in 1988 to break the record of going around England without refueling. It does so at an average speed of 21.5 knots and a consumption of just over a liter per mile.

• And later, and also by Nigel Irens, the "Cables & Wireless" 35 m long, 14 m wide, 40 Tm of displacement and that with two diesel engines of only 350 hp achieves a speed of up to 25 knots. This boat breaks the record of the motorized world tour in the late nineties.

Sailing trimarans are not as popular today as catamarans. The main reasons are (1) being even cuter than those, although there are some capable of folding their side floats for mooring or transport: Farriers, Dragonflys, Trikalas, etc., (2) having a higher cost and (3) having a very narrow central hull in order to be able to tow them without too many problems, to be able to use cheap mooring spaces and weigh little to navigate with speed. II - SYNTHESIS OF THE INVENTION

None of the existing boats is the ideal boat described at the beginning. Displacement monohulls, gliders, hovercraft, and hydrophools are not worth us at all. Catamarans are not worth us either; if they are small they have no habitability and if they are large they do not enter the normal berths.

We therefore have the trimarans. But motorists have not bothered to develop a float folding system and cannot sail; and the sailing ones are not prepared to sail with a motor at high speeds, they have a very low habitability and they are quite unstable when they have collected the floats to the maximum by folding them to the central hull and they continue with the mast raised.

These are precisely the problems we want to solve. We therefore propose a trimaran that can navigate at high motor speeds, capable of folding the floats to be able to dock a monocoque of the same length, that has the habitability of a monocoque of the same length, and that can sail acceptably under sail.

We do not want a sleek and fast racing trimaran that is also towable and can be minimally motorized. We want a spacious, comfortable, fast and safe motor trimaran, which can also sail acceptably. We are sacrificing the one for the other to have a boat that has an advantage to replace the current motors.

Finally, if we have renounced to be able to tow the trimaran, and we are obliged to maintain a minimum sleeve with the floats folded to ensure that the boat does not capsize; It seems logical to take advantage of this by making the central hull have precisely said minimum sleeve to achieve a maximum of habitability and so that the arms connecting to the floats are shorter.

III - BASIS OF THE INVENTION

Specifying more:

(1) A boat consisting of a central hull with a ratio of float beam to float length of the order of 1 to 10 minimum, which uses a pair of side floats to have sufficient stability to sail.

Floats that can be folded to dock in the plaza of a monocoque of the same length. (2) A boat capable of motor sailing in practically any kind of weather at more than 20 knots. Not only for having sufficient motor power, but also for having:

• an ideal central hull for fast, comfortable and efficient motor navigation, typical of fine hulls.

• Strong side floats and link arms capable of fast motorized navigation.

• one or more propellers (or any other mechanical propulsion transmission system, eg jets, Z-tails, outboards, etc.) and a wheelhouse suitable for fast motorized navigation.

(3) A ship capable of sailing at more than 10 knots, not only for having the adequate sailing rig, but also for having:

• an ideal central hull for fast, comfortable and efficient sailing, typical of fine hulls. • side floats that allow the use of a minimum sail rig.

• daggerboards and one rudder that allow you to sail properly.

(4) An ambivalent boat: that can fold or pick up the propellers or the mechanical transmission system it has, if necessary, so as not to slow down sailing and pick up daggerboards and rudders, if necessary, so as not to slow down navigation at motor.

(5) A boat that also has a central hull with a sleeve wide enough to:

• have a habitability similar to that of a monocoque of the same length. • have sufficient stability so as not to capsize despite having the floats fully retracted and the mast erect in strong winds.

• have arms to join the smaller floats to better withstand high speeds and to facilitate the collection of the floats.

(6) A boat in which the collection and extension of floats can be carried out safely quickly and easily (in principle automatically with manual "back up"), to prevent people from becoming tired and hating this work. The tasks of collecting daggerboards, propellers, rudders, etc., should also be simplified and fully automated. (7) An efficient and simple light sailing rig, which due to its low resistance to wind and its low moment of inertia does not make it too difficult for fast motorized navigation and allows its use by someone who is not a specialist in sailing.

IV - EXAMPLE OF A PREFERRED REALIZATION

As an example, we describe the ship that we are going to build as a prototype. It is a trimaran with approximately the following characteristics:

It has a central hull of 12 m of total length and a maximum beam of 4 m. It has a float length of 11.90 m and a maximum float beam of 1 m. It has a retractable luff in the center of the hull and a rudder hung aft with a blade that can be raised and lowered to adapt to sailing or motor navigation.

It has two side floats that when extended give the boat a maximum beam of 8 m and 4 m when they are collected. These floats are shaped like a banana to prevent them from sticking with the motor boat at high speeds and to avoid splashing too much. The goal is for the central hull to take care of longitudinal stability, leaving the floats exclusively with transverse stability.

However, we would like to point out that if we want to favor sailing, to the detriment of motorized sailing, the floats should lengthen further forward. We are thinking above all of the "wave piercing" type. The floats are collected by forcing them down, making them rotate around an axis that is initially horizontal and parallel to the axis of symmetry of the boat and automatically pushing them from the center of the boat. This system offers the advantage of providing more stability to the boat with the floats up, it facilitates the automation of the process and could allow some flexibility around the folding axis. There are two small nets, one on each side of the central hull, to facilitate access to the respective floats.

The ship, built in composites, we calculate that it will have a displacement of about three tons and will be totally unsinkable.

It is motorized with an internal diesel engine of about 200 hp, coupled to a variable pitch propeller, located under the central hull, duly protected and towards the stern. We expect a top speed of the order of 30 knots, and an optimal cruising speed of 15 knots. The pneumatic auxiliary motor may be aft for use as an emergency or fishing motor, since due to the fineness of the boat and its low weight, it can be moved at about 5 knots.

For its propulsion to the wind it has a Rotating Rigging in Spindle (SPINDLE RIG, according to Spanish patent number P990563), consisting of a sail rigging in which the boom is extended by a rod in front of the mast, there being a jib that therefore rotates together with the mainsail. At the base of the mast there is a bushing or base that supports the entire rig, including the mast, shrouds, stands, etc .; and all this rig rotates together with said hub, being able to rotate 360 °.

This type of rig greatly facilitates the control of navigation since it allows the control of the two sails with a single sheet, absorbs the tensions upwards of the sheets when they are connected to the rotating hub, has a small pair of horizontal rotation, maintains constant the opening between sails, eliminates the overspill of the largest on the jib in the stern directions, allows to always receive the wind by the gratil, avoids the dangerous gybes and can let the wind pass by orienting itself like a weather vane before sudden gusts of wind .

In addition, this Rigging in Spindle has, compared to other rotating rigs, the advantages of allowing the possibility of using a rotating sheet to tension the mainsail and indirectly to the forestay of the jib, being able to have older people with large moon landing, mounting masts lighter by having rotary shrouds connected to the base, being able to adequately control rotation from the base and thanks to this control being able to mount light jibs for the bow when there is little wind.

All the habitability is in the central hull, using only the floats for the storage of fenders, ladders, sails, etc., etc. On the deck there is a cabin that protects the crew at the rear from water sprays, which allows access by an entrance staircase to the interior, and accommodates the seats and the steering wheel, as well as other motor-type controls. Below and aft is a cockpit from which you can access the rudder and from where you can optionally steer the boat using a rod.

Inside the wide sleeve of the boat allows a loose distribution; and the wide back sleeve also allows two full double cabins aft. V - POSSIBLE VARIANTS

Although we think that the prototype described above might be the most suitable, certain variants could be of interest:

One or more "flaps", or hull extenders, could be used to artificially increase the float length of the central hull when sailing, picking them up for docking.

Other types of sail rigging could be used, such as the Pyramidal Rigs developed by Manners-Spencer, but we think that the Spindle Rig is the most suitable, as it is efficient, light and easy to use by people with little experience in sailing. .

In theory, "jets", retractable propellers, outboard motors, etc. etc. could also be used. We believe that the current folding propellers used by sailing ships (Gori, Maxprop, Autoprop, etc.) are not very efficient for fast motorized navigation. In any case, according to our news, they cannot exceed 16 knots. We also want to indicate that other ways of collecting the floats could be used. Specifically, we think that a solution based on the arms moving upwards along the axis of rotation, when turning them beyond a certain angle, would allow not having to submerge the floats as much. It would be valid any solution that allowed to sail at high motor speeds, fully collect the floats and do it automatically.

Finally we want to point out the possible convenience of using already known procedures such as: liquid ballast in the windward float, hydrophoils in the floats, flexibility due to deformation of material in the floats, retractable masts, etc., etc.

VI - EXPLANATION OF THE CONTENTS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of the example boat, with the floats extended.

Fig. 2 shows a cross section of the boat in which the situation with the floats extended, and the situation with the floats folded are superimposed. I know show the different water levels for both situations. And the interior habitability is also schematically shown.

Fig. 3 shows the boat sailing, with the luff down, the rudder fully down, and the propeller blades oriented to produce a minimum of resistance to water. Sail with head winds, carrying a rotating rig and a light fixed jib. In Fig. 4, it is sailed with stern winds and with a rotating rig only. And in Fig. 5, with stern winds, rotating rigging and light fixed jib.

Fig. 6 is equivalent to Fig. 1, but with elongated "wave piercing" floats. In the drawings the meaning of the numbers is as follows:

1 - central helmet

2 - floats

3 - cabin

4 - arms 5 - theoretical axis of rotation of the arms

6 - folding mechanism

7 - networks

8 - rudder

9 - rudder bar 10 - Spindle rig base or bushing

11 - steering wheel

12 - cross seats

13 - water level with floats extended

14 - water level with floats collected 15 - ground level inside the boat

16 - cover

17 - variable pitch propeller

18 - luff

19 - boom 20 - dick

21 - older

22 - jib

23 - rotating shrouds - rotating sheet - lightweight fixed jib - mast

Claims

I ^to .- Trimaran motovelero I characterized by having a central hull with a thin hull, which uses a pair of side floats when under sail floats can be folded for docking, and which can also have other floats on the hull central, fixed and monolithic with it, that give stability to the ship when it sails motor or when it is docked.

Also characterized by being able to navigate the engine at more than 20 knots, not only for having sufficient engine power, but also for having:

• an ideal central hull for fast, comfortable and efficient navigation on the motor of fine hulls.

• strong side floats capable of fast motor navigation.

• one or more propellers (or any other mechanical propulsion transmission system, e.g. jets, nozzles, outboards, etc.) and a wheelhouse suitable for fast motor navigation. Also characterized by being able to sail at more than 10 knots by having the appropriate equipment and have:

• an ideal central hull for comfortable and efficient fast sailing, typical of fine hulls.

• side floats that allow the use of a minimum rigging.

• Ozas and one rudders that allow you to sail properly. Also characterized by having a central helmet with a sleeve wide enough to:

• have a habitability similar to that of a monocoque of the same length • have sufficient stability not to capsize despite having the floats fully collected, the erect mast, and strong winds.

• and to be able to have a few arms of connection to the smaller floats, to better withstand the high speeds, and to facilitate the collection of the floats.

2 ^a. - Trimaran motorsailer, according to previous claims, characterized by being able to fold or collect the propellers or the mechanical transmission system that it has, if necessary, so as not to stop sailing, and pick up rims and rudders, if necessary, not to stop motor navigation. 3 .- motovelero Trimaran according to previous claims, characterized in that the collection and extension tubes can be performed safely, quickly and easily

(in principle automatically with manual "back up"), to prevent the crew from getting tired of performing these heavy tasks. The tasks of collecting orza, propellers, rudders, etc., must also be simplified and automated to the maximum.

4 ^a. - Trimaran motorsailer, according to previous claims, characterized by having a light, efficient and simple sail equipment, which due to its low wind resistance and low moment of inertia does not hinder rapid motor navigation, and allows its use by those Do not be specialists in sailing.