This invention relates to sailing vessels, and more particularly to the rigging of such vessels.

Different kinds of rigging for sailing vessels are available, each kind having its advantages and disadvantages. Thus, for example, there is square or lug rigging in which the sail is held by a spar that is suspended at mid-point from the mast. With this type of rigging the forces acting on the sail on opposite sides of point at which the spar is suspended balance. The forces required to hold the sail in a desired setting are, as a consequence, relatively small. A disadvantage with this type of rigging, however, is that the aspect ratio of the sail is relatively low, making the sail inefficient when sailing to windward.

A Bermuda rig, on the other hand, has a relatively high aspect ratio and is therefore much more efficient when sailing to windward. When sailing downwind, however, the Bermuda rig is not very efficient and it is for this reason that use is then made of a spinnaker.

Another type of rigging that is available is the one that is used on sailboards. This type of rigging comprises a mast whose foot end is mounted on the board via a pivotal connection. This type of rigging has the advantage that it enables the sail to be held in such a position that a certain amount of lift is obtained. In other words, the boardsailor can to a certain extent hang from the sail, reducing the downward forces on the board.

It has also been proposed to make use of a

kite to provide the necessary propelling force for a boat, and at the same time provide a certain amount of lift. Whilst this works well in heavy winds, problems arise when the wind drops, in that the kite collapses and the lines tangle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rigging which has the advantages of various of the existing kinds of rigging, but not the attendant disadvantages.

According to the invention there is provided a sailing vessel which comprises a hull and rigging, the rigging comprising a mast which is mounted so as to be pivotally displaceable about a first pivot axis which extends in the fore-aft direction of the hull, and a spar to which there is attached a sail, the spar being mounted on the mast so as to be pivotally displaceable with respect to the mast about a second pivot axis spaced from the first pivot axis.

The vessel may comprise mast pivot control lines leading from the mast at a point remote from the first pivot axis, for use in adjusting the. pivotal position of the mast about the first pivot axis.

The vessel may comprise a pair of said pivotally displaceable masts, one being located fore of the vessel and the other one aft, a stringer which extends between the head ends of the masts, and a plurality of said spars, each spar having a sail attached thereto and each being mounted pivotally on the stringer.

The masts may be independently pivotally displaceable about the first pivot axis.

Each spar may be pivotally displaceable with respect to the stringer about the longitudinal direction of the stringer and about a third pivot axis which is perpendicular to both the longitudinal direction of the spar and the longitudinal direction of the stringer.

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a sailing vessel with rigging in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the vessel with part of the rigging removed; Figure 3 is a stern view of the vessel with part of the rigging removed, to illustrate the mast supports;

Figure 4 is a stern view of the vessel, showing the position of the sails when reaching; Figure 5 is stern view of the vessel, showing the position of the sails when sailing downwind;

Figure 6 is plan view of the hull of the vessel, showing various controls;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the hull, showing some of the controls in more detail;

Figure 8 is a side view showing tilt control lines of the vessel;

Figure 9 is a plan view of a more complex form of sail assembly for rigging in accordance with the invention;

Figure 10 is an oblique view of part of the sail assembly of Figure 9; and

Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10, but showing a cowl of the assembly in a partly cut-away condition.

Reference numeral 10 in Figure 1 generally indicates a sailing vessel whose rigging 12 is mounted on a pair of supports 14, one of which is located fore of the vessel's hull 15 and the other one aft. Each support 14 comprises an M-shaped part 14.1, an inverted V-shaped part 14.2, and a pivot 14.3 between them. The rigging further comprises a pair of movable masts 16.1 and 16.2, each mounted pivotally on the pivot 14.3 of the respective support 14, a stringer 18 extending between the head ends of the movable masts 16.1 and 16.2, and a series of sail assemblies 20 which are spaced apart along the stringer 18. Each of the movable masts 16.1, 16.2 is thus pivotally movable about a fore-aft axis, in the direction of arrows A (Figure 3). Provision is made for the movable masts 16.1 and 16.2 to pivot independently of one another. Thus, for example, the head end of the aft mast 16.2 may carry a sleeve in which the aft end of the stringer 18 is slidable. The stringer 18 can be in the form of a hollow beam.

Whilst the hull 15 that is shown in the drawings is a conventional boat hull, it will be appreciated that a hull which is designed to take maximum advantage of the new rigging may be provided. Thus, for example, a planing hull may be provided rather then the keeled hull shown in the drawings.

Each of the sail assemblies 20 comprises a spar 26, a pair of booms 28, and a sail 30. The booms 28 of the foremost sail assembly are extended forward, to meet at an apex 29. If desired, the sail of the foremost sail assembly may also extend forward, beyond the spar 26, to the apex 29. The booms 28 of the other sail assemblies 20 terminate at the respective spar 26. Each spar 26 is mounted on the stringer 18 so as to be pivotally movable in the direction of arrows B (Figure

4) about the longitudinal direction of the stringer 18 and, in addition, in a direction which is at right angles to the stringer and also at right angles to the spar, i.e. in the direction of arrows C in Figure 2.

Before dealing with the more detailed construction of the rigging, the basic operation will now be described.

When reaching, the movable masts 16.1, 16.2 are pivoted so that their head ends are both on the leeward side of the boat, and the sail assemblies 20 are set so that the spars 26 are at an angle to the vertical, as illustrated in Figure 4. By suitable setting of the sail assemblies 20 the forces F acting on them can be made to pass approximately through the centre of gravity of the boat, tending to lift the boat out of the water rather than causing it to heel over.

When tacking, the movable masts 16.1, 16.2 will be swung over to the other side of the boat. During this movement the sail assemblies 20 are pivoted about the longitudinal direction of the stringer 18, to maintain them in an upwardly inclined condition, although they will now be set at an opposite angle to the vertical.

When running before the wind, the movable masts 16.1, 16.2 are pivoted so that their head ends are on opposite sides of the boat, as illustrated in Figure 5. With this setting the stringer 18 extends diagonally, at an angle to the fore-aft direction of the boat.

To adjust the setting of the sail assemblies

20, four different controls are provided, as will be described hereunder.

First, for setting the pivotal position of the masts 16.1 and 16.2, each of them is provided with a pair of pivot control lines 120 (Figure 3). The pivot control lines 120 extend from the respective mast head to opposite apices of the M-shaped part 14.1, from where they lead to a pivot control winch. The pivot control lines 120 of the fore mast 16.1 lead to a fore mast pivot control winch 122, and those of the aft mast 16.2 to an aft mast pivot control winch 124 (Figure 6).

Second, for setting the rake of the sails, i.e. the angle which the spars 26 form with the longitudinal direction of the stringer 18, rake control lines 126 are provided (Figure 2), which extend from opposite ends of one of the spars 26 (the second one from the front in the embodiment illustrated) to the mast head of the fore mast 16.1. In Figure 2 only the second and third spars 26 are shown. The rake control lines 126 then extend down the mast up until the pivot 14.3, at which point they leave the mast and lead to a rake control winch 128. The various spars 26 are interconnected by lines 130 (Figure 2), so that, when the rake of the spar 26 to which the rake control lines are connected is adjusted by operating the rake control winch 128, the other spars 26 move in unison. It is to be understood that, instead of the lines 130, the sail assemblies can be interconnected by slender link rods, one set of link rods interconnecting the ends of the spars and another set interconnecting the ends of the booms 28.

Third, to adjust the tilt of the sails, i.e. the angle of the spars 26 about the longitudinal direction of the stringer 18 (in the direction of arrows B), tilt control lines 132 are provided (Figures 4 and 8 ) . There are a pair of these tilt control lines 132 which operate in parallel. Each end of each of the

tilt control lines 132 is split into three, with the use of a runner 133, to extend to the corresponding ends of the spars 26 as shown in Figure 8. In extending from one side of the vessel to the other, the tilt control lines 132 pass around a common, first tilt control drum 134 (Figure 7). The first tilt control drum can be rotated by means of a winch 136 (Figure 6).

Fourth, there is a fore end main sheet 138 (Figures 1 and 7) which extends from the apex 29 down to the hull 15, and from there to a main sheet winch 140 (Figures 6 and 7). From the main sheet winch 140 the main sheet 138 passes around a pulley 142 at the stern of the vessel to a pulley block 144. In respect of each of the sail assemblies 20 there is an aft end main sheet 146 (Figures 4 and 7). In other words, in the embodiment illustrated, there are five aft end main sheets 146. Opposite ends of each of the aft end main sheets 146 are attached to the booms 28 of the respective sail assembly, at a point spaced from the corresponding spar 26. The aft end main sheet 146 extends from one end of the respective sail assembly down to the hull 15, from there partly around a second tilt control drum 148, from there to the pulley of the pulley block 144, and from there back to the second tilt control drum 148. It again passes partly around the second tilt control drum 148 and from there extends to the other side of the corresponding sail assembly. The five aft end main sheets 146 all run on the same tilt control drum 148 as described. The second tilt control drum 148 is coupled to the first tilt control drum 134 so that the drums 134 and 148 are constrained to rotate in unison. Whilst movement of the aft end main sheets 146 will tend to rotate the second tilt control drum 148 and hence also move the tilt control lines 132, the aft end main sheets 146 will be able to slip on the drum 148. If, as mentioned above, link

rods instead of the lines 130 are used to interconnect the sail assemblies 20, there need not be an aft end main sheet 146 for each of the sail assemblies. Instead, there can be only one that is attached to the booms 28 of the aftmost sail assembly.

Reference numeral 150 in Figure 6 indicates a rudder control of the vessel.

It is to be noted that the deck of the vessel, between the fore and aft supports 14, is completely clear.

Referring now in particular to Figures 9 to 11, there is shown a more complex form of sail assembly 20.1. The same reference numerals are used to designate part which are the same as, or similar to, those of the Figures 1 to 8 embodiment. Each of the sail assemblies 20.1 comprises a spar 26, a central cowl 42, one or more further cowls 44 on each opposite side of the central cowl, and a rectangular sail 46 between each pair of adjacent cowls 42, 44. At each end of the spar there is furthermore a triangular sail 48.

The cowls 42, 44 may be of a rigid or semi¬ rigid plastics material, or of aluminium.

There is a pivot assembly 32 which provides for movement of the spar 26 in the direction of arrows B (Figure 4) and C. It comprises a first part 50 which is pivotally mounted on the stringer 18, and a second part 52 which is in the form of a yoke and is pivotally mounted on the first part 50.

The spar 26 is mounted on the yoke 52 so that it can rotate about its longitudinal axis. It consists

of a series of spar sections 54, adjacent spar sections being interconnected by means of sleeves 56. Locking means should be provided between adjacent spar sections 54, so that rotation of the centre spar section is transmitted to the other spar sections. The centre spar section 54 is rotatably mounted in the yoke 52 and carries a drum 58. A reefing control line 60 is wound a few times around the drum and extends from the drum of one sail assembly 20 to the other. The reefing control line 60 extends in an endless loop down to the cockpit of the boat, so that reefing can be controlled from the cockpit.

The central cowl 42 is carried on the central spar section 54, the spar being rotatable with respect to the cowl. The cowl has an overhanging portion 62. On the side of the cowl there is a bolt rope track 64 for holding the edge of the sail 46, the sail being for this purpose provided along each of its edges with a bolt rope 66. The sail 46 passes underneath the overhanging portion 62 to the bolt rope track 64. The bolt rope track 64 is of aerofoil shape, thereby assisting to hold the sail in the desired aerofoil shape. The cowl 42 thus serves the purpose of a batten. The luff 68 of the sail 46 is connected to the spar 26 so that, by rotating the spar, the sail can be taken in or reefed. For purposes of unfurling the sail again, a line 70 is provided which is connected to the leech of the sail, passes around a pulley 72 at the leech end of the cowl, and from there extends back to the spar again, where it is rolled up on a roller 74 which is fixed to the spar 26. The cowl thus serves the purpose of a boom as well, assisting in maintaining the desired tension in the sail.

The construction of the further cowls 44 is similar to the central cowl 42, except that there is no

drum 58 .

The ends of the spars 26 of the various sail assemblies 20 are interconnected by means of light¬ weight link rods (not shown). On each of the cowls 42, 44 there is a fin 78, the fins of the various sail assemblies 20.1 being interconnected by means of light¬ weight link rods (not shown). The link rods interconnecting the sail assemblies 20.1 may be in the form of thin-walled PVC tubes and serve to ensure that all the sail assemblies move together, in parallel.

Whereas the sail assembly 20.1 may have a single rectangular sail 46 on each opposite side of the central cowl 42, it will be appreciated that further sections may be added to each of the sail assemblies, by adding further spar sections 54 to lengthen the spar.