The invention relates to a method and a device for fasten¬ ing slides in sails for a sailboat.

Present day masts and grooved forestay pieces (head foils) are provided at their after edge with a groove. The luff (forward) edge of the sail is usually provided with a rope or wire edge to take up forces along the luff edge. This rope or wire edge can be slipped into the groove. This has the disadvantage that the sail must be removed when dropped. In order for the sail to remain in place ready for raising, on the boom or the foredeck, slides in the form of bodies have been used which are slidable in the groove and spaced along the edge of the sail. When dropped, the sail can fold between the slides and lie neatly on the boom or the fore¬ deck, with a lock at the bottom of the groove holding the slides in the groove.

Several methods of fixing slides to the sail are known.

They can be sewn to the rope sail edge, or be attached by means of shackles through grommets in the sail material etc. These known methods require, however, skilled hand work and are therefore time-consuming and expensive.

Attempts have been made to pre-enclose a slide in a strip of sail material and then apply the parts of the strip on either side of the luff edge of the sail. The slides are thus spaced by sewing the strip to the sail. This method is also time-consuming and expensive.

The invention solves the problem by a method for fastening slide elements, which is characterized in that the spaced elements are placed in a portion of the sail material running along the entire sail edge, that the sail material is folded over about the elements and that the folded-over sail material is joined together by a seam running along the edge.

_OMPI

In one embodiment of the invention, the elements are fastened, by gluing for example, to the sail material before it is folded-over about the elements.

Prior to emplacement of the elements in the sail material, the elements can be joined by a thread to determine their spacing in the sail.

In order to enable the sail material, when the sail is dropped, to more easily form soft folds on either side of the groove, a portion of the folded-over edge of the sail material between the elements can be cut out, leaving the continuous seam unbroken however.

The invention also comprises a means for applying slides to a sail according to the method and consists of a special band, along the center portion of which the slide elements are spaced. The band is folded over to enclose the slide elements and is joined together with a continuous seam. The two parts of the band are then placed on either side of the sail edge and are fixed to the sail with a continu¬ ous seam. A portion of the folded-over band between the slide elements can, as previously, be cut out in order to enable the sail to more easily form folds when dropped.

The sail material can also consist of a portion integral with the sail.

The slide elements for use according to the method of the invention can assume any suitable shape, such as cylindri¬ cal with rounded end edges, ellipsoid, or quite simply spherical. It is also possible to apply several spherical slide elements next to each other to form a single slide.

The material for the slide elements can be metal orplastic of sufficient hardness to prevent deformation of the slide when subjected to loads in the groove.

O PI

The invention will be described below with the aid of a suitable embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which

Fig 1 is a schematic side view showing the forward portion of a sailboat with a grooved forestay piece (head foil) , a mast and a boom with grooves for sails with slides.

Fig 2 shows the same sailboat as in Fig 1 with the sail dropped and laid in folds on either side of the slides in the grooves.

Fig 3A shows a side view of slides applied according to the method of the invention and with the slide elements connected by a thread.

Fig 3B is a view from the front of a slide shown in Fig 3A, Fig 3C is a view from above of the slide in Fig 3B,

Fig 4A is a side view similar to Fig 3A but with a portion of the sail material and the thread between the slide elements cut away, and

Fig 4B is a view from above of a slide shown in Fig 4A.

The slide elements 1 in Fig 3 are made of a hard plastic material, for example by cutting a rod material in short lengths and rounding off the end edges of the cylindrical portions to provide better insertion and sliding in the groove (not shown in Fig 3) . A thread 8 runs through a hole in the slide element 1 , to which the elements 1 are fixed at predetermined intervals, e.g. 40 cm.

The sail material 3, which can be integral with the rest of the sail or consist of a separate band, is folded over about the slide elements 1 and is joined by means of a seam 4 closely adjacent to the slide elements 1 as shown in Figs 3A and 3C. A rope edge 5 is enclosed in the sail material by means of two continuous seams 6.

Fig 4 shows a similar application of the slide elements 1 , although without a rope edge. In this case as well there

have been cut out a portion of the sail material along the edge and the thread 8, so that the sail material behind the elements 1 , which when the sail is raised is immediately outside the groove (not shown) , will more easily be able to form folds on either side of the mast or the grooved forestay piece when the sail is dropped.

In both of these embodiments (Fig 3, Fig 4) the slide elements 1, before being applied to the sail material, are coated with a suitable glue, which produces firm adhesion to the sail material. It can also be desirable to coat the area of the sail material with glue where the slide elements are to be placed. The folded edge portion of the sail material is thereafter pressed together immediate- ly beneath and above the slide elements as shown in

Fig 3B, so that the adjacent sides of the sail material adhere together. This makes it easier for the slide elements to enter the groove and prevents, when the edge portion is cut away as shown in Fig 4, the sail material from being ripped apart as it enters the groove.