This invention relates to a device for application to cables, ropes and/or strength members (hereinafter 'rope') to reduce chafe / wear of both the member and the chafing agent, reduce aerodynamic / hydrodynamic drag of the stay, which is easily fitted or removed to the stay in situ and thus provides a sacrificial outer cover for stays. A preferred application is for standing rigging on a yacht where this cover will reduce chafing both of the standing rigging ('stays') and the chafing element such as sails and sheets, whilst reducing 'windage' or aerodynamic drag of the rigging and such that it can easily be fitted and removed/replaced with the stay in situ. Further applications would include a cover for submarine cables, mooring ropes, bridge stays and any other cable, rope strength member which may be subject to either abrasion, wear or drag or where the provision of a sacrificial and easily replaceable outer cover is advantageous.

As an example of prime usage, standing rigging as used on yachts has been chosen to illustrate this invention. Standing rigging (also called 'stays', or in the case of athwartships stays, 'shrouds') on both sailboats and power boats includes stays, made of either metal wire, solid metal rod or composite material, and turnbuckles or similar fittings for attaching the shrouds to the boat. Standing rigging has this name because it is fixed in relation to the yacht and is not free to move, unlike the running rigging which is used to control the sail positions. Generally, standing rigging is used to support the mast both in the fore and aft direction and also the athwartships planes and in the fore and aft direction only give shape to the mast, therefore the integrity of these stays is vital to the safety of the yacht. Running rigging, variously

called lines or sheets, often rub against the stays when the lines are adjusted or in response to wave action. In the case of sailboats, the sails also can rub against the standing rigging, particularly headsails such as jibs. Rubbing of lines or sails against shrouds can result in abrasive chafe or wear of the lines, sails and/or standing rigging. Particularly relevant to this invention is the use of composite shrouds which are increasingly being used to support the mast in preference to steel wire or rod. These composite stays typically have the requisite stretch and strength of steel rod/wire and much lower weight, but do not have the same resistance to chafe or wear as steel rod/wire, which can lead to damage of the stay and in turn to premature shroud and ultimately mast failure.

Various types of devices have been previously made available to fit about standing rigging in order to prevent or lessen the foregoing problems of chafe or abrasion. Covering devices for shrouds include shroud rollers. Known shroud roller constructions include for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,318,277. Such covers can be difficult to insert about a shroud, can be over complicated, are expensive and significantly increase 'windage' or aerodynamic drag, both because of the increased size and the presence of seams or joints. Some prior shroud rollers require that the shroud be detached from its mountings before the roller can be applied in position about the shroud. Also, some prior shroud rollers need adhesive tape or other fasteners in order to hold two parts of the device together about a shroud. A two part alternative of this method is contained in US patent 4,473,024 which allows for retrospective and/or replacement installation. Alternative chafe protection for composite standing rigging includes an overbraid or wrap of

abrasion resistant fibre material such as polyester, dyneema, spectra, kevlar, P. B. O. or other high performance material with suitable characteristics.

All of the above solutions increase the diameter of the stay, thereby increasing windage. Rough fabric solutions as with over-braiding increase the roughness of the surface increasing windage further. Most of the above solutions cannot be replaced in situ should any damage occur. The two part roller mechanisms further present seams that increase windage and can be caught and ripped open by the chafing object, presenting additional safety and longevity concerns.

According to the present invention a cover for a rope comprises a unitary member of elongate form having a lateral opening along a longitudinal axis, the unitary member defining an internal channel to receive the rope, in which the lateral opening is provided with a first edge adapted to overlay or overlap a second edge of the lateral opening.

Preferably, an outer surface of the cover is of teardrop or aerofoil cross- section.

Preferably, the cover is formed as a plastics extrusion.

Preferably, one of the first and second edges is provided with a male element and the other of the first and second edges is provided with a female element.

This has as an advantage that the first and second edges can be connected to one another.

More preferably, the male element comprises a tongue and an enlarged main portion, and the female element comprises a neck and an enlarged main portion corresponding in shape to the enlarged main portion of the male element. More preferably, the enlarged main portion of the male element is provided with a groove.

Alternatively, the male element comprises a hook shaped member having a shank and a headed portion and the female element comprises first and second limbs defining a generally L-shaped recess. More preferably, the male element further comprises a recess against which the first limb of the female element rests.

Preferably the lateral opening is located toward a trailing edge of the cover.

The present invention detailed herein was developed with the objective of providing a new improved cover for stays (including fibrous or steel rope, steel rod, cable - including electric and/or data transmission elements or other strength member or combination of the foregoing cables and strength members generally used either in either air and/or water) and that does not exhibit the deficiencies of prior devices. It provides for a covering device for a stay which:

• is capable of being extruded in highly chafe resistant plastic,

• is made as a single self aligning unit

• reduces friction with any running rigging and hence reduces chafe on the running lines as well as protecting the standing rigging,

• is easily fitted either by hand or by rollers (pressing the tail edges together) and easily removed by hand or by a V shaped section inserted between the tail edges,

• is self locking and securely held once locked in position about a shroud,

• reduces the overall windage (drag) of the stay by up to 90% through an enhanced aerodynamic / hydrodynamic profile and virtually seamless shape,

• will self align in the presence of changing wind direction to ensure minimum drag surface is always presented,

• will automatically position the seam away from contact with a chafing rope or object keeping the seam protected

• can easily be installed or removed with stays in situ if required without requiring the removal of the stay

• can be used as a sacrificial cover

• can be fabricated / used in 'infinite' lengths

• can be usefully stored in rolls and need not be fabricated or stored in sections

• can be cut to length for complete length flexibility

In addition as the cover is not fixed to the rope, the cover is free to rotate about such rope under the influence of external forces, such as wind, or other fluid flow or chafing action. Also, the cover may be installed and/or removed and/or replaced multiple times about a rope while the rope remains in situ.

The invention is described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial, simplified perspective view of a known sailboat;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of sailboat perspective with the addition of cover in accordance with the present invention about the stay.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view showing the cross-sectional configuration of the covering device before being locked together;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing the cross-sectional configuration of the covering device when locked together;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view showing a covering device attached to a shroud;

FIG 6 is an enlarged partial perspective view showing a covering device attached to a strength member with secondary data/power cable included;

FIG 7 is a close up perspective of the cover in situ on a stay both with and without a washer to act as bearing;

FIG 8 shows horizontal sectional views of the cross-sectional configuration of a simplified form of the covering device before and after being locked together;

FIG 9 shows a further embodiment of the cover in accordance with the present invention.

The covering device of this invention, the 'cover', as set forth more fully in the following detailed description, in a first embodiment comprises a single plastic extrusion having a central axial channel that accommodates a rope (fibrous or steel rope, steel rod, composite rod/rope, cable including electric and/or data transmission elements or other strength member or combination of the foregoing), on one side of the trailing edge of the cover a projecting axially-extending split tongue and along the other side of the trailing edge an axially-extending groove. The tongue of one side directly aligns with and fits into the groove of the other side in order to hold the device in place about the stay. The tongue and groove are designed in such manner that two elements interlock with one another to hold the trailing edges together and complete the teardrop shape. This teardrop shape combined with the rotational ability of the cover ensures that should a rope or other chafing object rub against the cover the rear 'tail' of the teardrop including the only seam of this construction will be rotated away from the position of chafe contact, thus damage to this seam becomes unlikely. This teardrop shape also permits the simple mating of the tongue and groove joining mechanism, by bringing the two parts naturally together and only requiring a small compressive force to then mate them. This teardrop shape also provides reduced flow resistance (aerodynamic or hydrodynamic drag/resistance) to the fluid it is moving through.

The cover may be manufactured from two (or more) materials in a dual (multi) extrusion process, whereby the properties of the two materials are used in selected areas of the cover only. In a preferred form of this invention, the tongue or groove or both could be extruded from a softer plastic such as pvc which would allow more flexibility in the mating process and an easier join, with the remainder of the cover extruded from acetal for its hard

wearing, low friction properties, the two (multiple) extruded sections would then be bought together and bonded to form the single profile of this invention.

With incomplete fastening or complete failure of the mating of these two trailing edges for whatever reason, as the cover is of unitary construction, once over the stay it will sit with naturally restoring forces on its trailing edges around the shroud, such that without significant radially separating force it will remain in place about the shroud and continue to rotate about the shroud with changing wind direction.

During installation the cover is first cut to length, then the two trailing edges at one end of the cover are separated and the cover progressively wrapped around the stay. The wall thickness of the cover is designed to provide excellent chafe protection to the underlying stay while still allowing the trailing edges to be easily separated locally thereby allowing the stay to be easily inserted into the cover. The trailing edges are then pushed together starting at one end and progressing along the length of the cover in a similar fashion to a zip, this mating of the tongue and groove then pulls the edges together creating a strong interlocking join which improves the windage profile of the cover (and hence stay) and overall chafe resistance of the cover (due to the now virtually seamless nature of the cover).

Removal is the reversal of the above which can be done again by starting at one end of the cover, separating the tongue and groove by hand or by inserting a V shaped member between the edges and then to progressively 'unzip' the cover and remove it from the stay.

It will be noted that within the axial chamber of the cover there is room for the strength member and a smaller secondary cable which could include electric wire 28 and/or fibre optics 29 for the transmission of power and/or data in their own sheath 30. (see FIG 5). An alternative configuration could include the strength member and electric/fibre optic elements all encased within a single sheath before application of the cover. Such a configuration could be used for example in marine seismic cable 'lead ins' or the umbilical connection to a Semi- Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (S. A. U. V.) or submarine or drone.

It will be further noted that should this cover be employed on cables constantly deployed and retrieved, such as (S. A. U. V.) towing cables/umbilicals or marine streamer 'lead-ins', that installation and removal of the cover about the umbilical can be performed mechanically / automatically to allow the separate storage of strength member and cover.

It will be further noted that in long term immersion situations, such as a cover for mooring ropes for buoys or oil rigs then not only will this cover significantly reduce drag and hence loading on the system, the cover will provide protection to the underlying stay (rope) from marine attack, be that short term severe attack for example shark bites, but also long term attack from barnacles, mollusks, seaweed and other sea life. In this latter scenario, it will be noted that the cover when itself significantly covered in marine life can be stripped away and replaced with a new cover again while the rope remains in situ. This applies to cables/ropes even in the deepest of water depths as the cover can be fabricated in a single 'infinite' length and could even be manufactured on site thus negating the need to transport very large reels of the cover to remote, deep water locations.

FIG. 1 illustrates a sailboat 1 with a mast 2 supported by a pair of shrouds 3 (the 'vertical') and 4 (the 'diagonal') on the port side. A similar pair of shrouds, not shown, support the mast on the starboard side of the boat. These shrouds attach to the base of the lower 'spreader' 5 at its tip and mast junction. Similar shrouds connect the end of this lower spreader 5 to the spreader above it, and so on to the top of the mast. Each end of each of the shrouds 3 and 4 have sockets 26 into which are eye fittings 6 that in turn on their lower end are typically connected to turnbuckles 7 which are secured to chain plates 8 that are firmly attached to the hull of the boat. A jib 9 is supported along its luff on a headstay, which also is secured to the foreward of the hull at its lower end and attached to the mast at its upper end. The trim of the jib is adjusted by means of a jib sheet 10, comprising a length of rope or line attached to the clew of the jib, there being a similar jib sheet, not shown, on the other side of the boat.

The shrouds 3 and 4 as illustrated are made of wire cable which is formed of a plurality of twisted strands of wire; the shrouds may also be made of solid metal rod or synthetic composite material. As indicated in FIG. 1, the jib sheet 10 extends around the shrouds and it may rub against the shrouds and/or the turnbuckles when the jib is adjusted or during accidental tack or gybe. The jib sheet 10 is typically made of braided or twisted polyester, dyneema, UHMPE, spectra or nylon rope. The jib may be of such size as to overlap the shrouds, so that it also will rub against the shrouds or turnbuckles particularly when the boat comes about or may be clamped before the shroud in a cleat 11. The jib will usually be made of coated polyester cloth, UHMPE cloth, nylon cloth, carbon or aramid laminate film or a composite of the preceding and/or similar materials in cloth or film matrix. Both the jib 9 and the jib sheet

10 can become abraded or chafed when they rub against the standing rigging; also, the shroud itself can become chafed after repeated rubbing contact with the jib sheet 10 or the jib or sail battens used to 'flatten' the sail shape and typically fabricated from hard fibre reinforced plastic composite, wood or aluminium.

A similar analysis can also be applied to a spinnaker sail which is an alternative sail again flown in the front of the vessel but which is more unstable in blustery conditions causing very fast and therefore abrasive spinnaker sheet movements - sometimes against the shrouds.

FIG.2 shows the same yacht carrying covers 12 made according to this invention around the shrouds and larger versions 24 around the turnbuckles so as to eliminate or reduce this chafing or abrasive wear of the jib sheets and other running rigging. These covers are resting on plastic washers 23 which facilitate the easy rotational movement of the covers. These covers also provide some protection from impact of items which may be attached to the running rigging or generally random impacts from any source. An enlarged cut out of this arrangement is seen on FIG 7 which also shows that where the socket 26 has a suitable nose or leading edge 25, then if a suitable rebate 27 is present on the nose 25 of the socket 26 then the cover 12 will fit directly onto socket 26 without the requirement for a washer 23 and provide an enhanced bearing seat for the cover. In a preferred form, the washer 23 may incorporate a raised internal rim 31 which will fit a small way into the chamber 15 of the cover, thus providing an enhanced bearing seat for the cover.

Each cover 12 is formed with a single extruded plastic profile with male 14 and female 13 mating elements respectively on the trailing edge which can be

clearly seen in FIG 3. In totality the cover includes an axially-extending central channel 15 that is to receive a cable (fibrous or steel rope, steel rod, composite rod/rope, cable including electric and/or data transmission elements or other strength member or combination of the foregoing) about which the cover is to be attached. The male mating element comprises an axially-extending tongue 14 projecting outwardly from the end wall whilst a female mating element comprises a groove 13 extending inwardly on the opposite side of the trailing edge. When the tongue and groove are mated the outer wall 16 takes the shape of a teardrop or aerofoil as illustrated in FIG 4, although other configurations may be used such as an oval shape or even square or rectangular shapes in appropriate instances. The size of the cover 12 will vary depending upon the particular size of stay which it is designed to accommodate. FIG. 5 shows an example of a cover with internal channel 15 (internal diameter) of 20mm suitable for fitting onto a strength member 9 of 18mm or less diameter; this provides a somewhat loose cover which is capable of rotating about the strength member when lines or sails rub against it, but is unlikely to cavitate or shudder. Depending on the application the cover may only be as long as those areas where chafe is likely to occur, or as the incarnation shown in FIG 2 as long as the stay, as even where no chafe protection is required, the cover does provide reduced windage.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the tongue 14 includes an enlarged head portion 17 and a narrower neck portion 18 that connects the tongue to the cover wall. The groove 13 extending along an end wall 16 is of the same cross-sectional configuration as the tongue, and includes a narrow entrance portion 21 that corresponds in shape to the neck portion 18 of the tongue and an enlarged

main portion 22 that corresponds in shape to the enlarged head portion 17 of the tongue, the entrance portion 21 and main portion 22 of the groove being sized to receive, respectively, the neck portion 18 and head portion 17 of the tongue. The internal wall of the groove is intentionally thin to allow easy- flexing and therefore entry of the tongue head 17. Similarly a groove 19 on the base of the head of the tongue 14 allows some compression of the head to facilitate easy entry of the tongue 14 into groove 13.

To assemble the cover 12 about a strength member or shroud 9, see FIG. 5, the two trailing edges are easily forced apart by hand at one end of the cover, the cover can then be 'zipped' onto the stay for its complete length, the tongue 14 and groove 13 are then brought together and squeezed either by hand or by rollers until the tongues and grooves become fully engaged with one another. It will be appreciated that the two edges are self aligning.

The two elements are held together by reason of the structure of the tongues and grooves being of a dovetail nature. The narrow neck portion 18 of a tongue becomes seated within the narrow entrance portion 21 of a groove so as to hold the two elements together in a self-locked condition wherein the two elements are restrained from radially-outward disengaging motion inasmuch as the head portion of a tongue is larger transversely of the device than the entrance portion 21 of a.groove. Further, as the tongue and groove form part of a single extruded fabrication, there is no significant force normally in operation acting to pull the two elements apart and the seam is rarely likely to be under any stress.

Consequently, neither mechanical fasteners nor adhesive tape are required to hold the cover in its assembled condition about the shroud. Furthermore, the cover can be applied around a shroud without detaching the shroud from the boat and can equally as easily be removed and replaced. In a more general case, the cover can be installed and removed about any rope or strength member while the rope or strength member remains in situ.

See FIG. 2, a suitable sized hard wearing plastic washer 23 of acetal, delrin, pvc or similar material is placed at the base of the cover 12 and above the socket or termination device of the stay. This permits the ready revolution of the cover when required by changing wind direction as this washer will act as a bearing seat for the cover. This washer 23 may be of standard construction if put in place prior to assembly of the stay, or may ^¬ be split to facilitate installation onto a pre-assembled stay. In a preferred form, the washer 23 may incorporate a raised internal rim 31 which will fit into the chamber 15 of the cover, thus providing an enhanced bearing seat for the cover.

The cover as described above can be advantageously made of any extruded hardwearing, weather resistant material, such as Acetal, polyvinyl chloride, nylon, ABS plastic or other plastics or metal or fibre reinforced plastic suitable for exterior or outdoor use. In a dual or multiple extrusion process this single profile could be fabricated from two or more materials each selected for different properties then bonded together to provide the unitary profile of this invention. In the preferred configuration for shrouds it will be fabricated from acetal.

A simplified form of this invention is illustrated in FIG 8. In this version the tongue and groove are replaced by a simple axial cut 32 near the tail. The cut is angled toward the tail of the cover 33 to prevent the possibility of the chafing line or chafing object catching on a forward facing acute angle and this angle serves to reduce the aerodynamic disturbance caused by this seam. In this form the invention does not seal to achieve a semi-permanent interlocking profile but relies on the natural set shape of the cover 33 to prevent opening of the cover 33. In normal operation no outwardly acting radial forces will be present on the two trailing edges of the profile to pull the cover 33 apart.

A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 9. References to the inside and outside refer to the inside and outside of the cover 42 when in use and similar terms should be interpreted accordingly. The cover 42 may be extruded from any suitable material such as those mentioned above. The cover 42 comprises a unitary member defining an internal axial channel 45. The cover 42 is generally of teardrop shape in cross section. A lateral opening is provided along a longitudinal axis of the cover 42. The lateral opening is located toward a trailing edge of the cover 42. The lateral opening is provided with a first edge and a second edge, the first edge having a male element 54 adapted to overlap with a second edge having a female element 53.

The male element 54 comprises a shank portion 50 having a headed portion 51 defining a shoulder 52 between the shank portion and the headed portion. In the illustrated embodiment the shank portion 50 is generally triangular and is provided with a recess 55 on its outer side.

The female element 53 comprises first and second limbs 60,62 defining a generally L-shaped recess 61, the second limb defining a recessed surface 64. In use, the male element 54 is inserted into the female element 53 such that the shoulder 52 of the headed portion is located behind the recessed surface 64. In this way the male element 54 is held within the female element 53. The first limb 60 of the female element is received in the recess 55 on the outer side of the male element. The first limb 60 of the female element and the recess 55 on the outer side of the male element are so shaped as to provide for a smooth outer surface for the cover 42 when the male element 54 is received within the female element 53.

It will be seen that the cover 42 is of greater thickness in the region of the first and second edges of the lateral opening. In particular, the first edge is provided with a thickened region 66 against which an outer surface of the second limb 62 of the female element 53 is located when the male element 54 is received within the female element 53. Also an enlarged thickness 68 in the region of the second edge to provide greater support and rigidity to the female element 53 formed there. In normal operation no outwardly acting radial forces will be present on the first and second edges of the lateral opening to pull the cover 42 open.

It can be seen that the overlapping first and second edges of the cover 42 engage with one another to releasably secure the cover about a rope.