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[0001] Not applicable.
[0002] Not applicable.
[0003] This invention relates to sail-powered vessels or vehicles. Although it is of general applicability, the invention has particular application to catamarans and other multi-hulled vessels, and will be particularly described by reference to its application to a catamaran.
[0004] An object of the invention is to provide a method of supporting a sail of the “crab claw” type, such that the limitations of known methods of rigging such sails are to a useful extent avoided.
[0005] The crab claw sail has been known since the ancient Polynesians. In its common form it consists of a triangular sail suspended between an upper and a lower spar, the spars converging towards the forward end of the sail where the sail is fixed in the region of the bow. The top spar is attached to a mast with the sail on the leeward side of the mast, and the bottom spar is attached to the hull.
[0006] Such a sail configuration is difficult to tack. Because the sail must be located on the leeward side of the mast, in tacking the sail must be lowered and moved to the other side of the mast, then raised again. The sail is furthermore difficult to reef.
[0007] In accordance with the present invention, the upper spar of the sail is supported by means including a support device capable of movement athwart the vessel. The support device may, in one possible embodiment of the invention, take the form of a moveable support mounted to travel athwart the vessel on a track. The path of the support device may be arcuate, in which case the track referred to may be configured in an arc extending across the vessel. (In this context it is not intended by the use of the word “arc,” that the arc must be part of a circle. For example, it may be elliptical or formed by merging two or more curves.)
[0008] Broadly, therefore, the invention resides in a wind-propelled vehicle having a rigging of the crab-claw type, the vehicle including a sail having an upper spar and a lower spar, characterized in that the sail is supported by the connection of the upper spar to means capable of movement athwart the vehicle. Preferably the support means includes a moveable support mounted to travel athwart the vessel on a track, and preferably the track is configured in an arc extending across the vessel.
[0009] An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010]
[0011]
[0012] FIGS.
[0013]
[0014]
[0015] The illustrated catamaran includes a pair of hulls
[0016] Mounted on the arch
[0017] The arch
[0018] FIGS.
[0019] A centrally located stiffening flange
[0020] While the arch
[0021] A pair of flanged rails
[0022] The fore and aft position of the arch is fixed by means of pins
[0023] A further feature of the mounting arrangement shown in
[0024] In normal sailing conditions the sail is controlled by means of a control line
[0025] As an alternative to the normal practice of reefing, in the present system, the sail can be leant into the wind by adjusting the carrier