DE20108611U1 - Gaff-Drehrigg - Google Patents

Description

Gaff-swivel rig

The invention relates to a new propulsion system for sailing boats.

The rigging and sails are used to propel sailing boats. Sailing boats are predominantly powered by the wind. The motor is only used when entering or leaving a harbor, when there is no wind, when the rigging is damaged, or when similar events occur. Dinghies and sports boats often have no motor propulsion at all.

Almost all sailing boats today are equipped with a conventional sloop rig. The sail area is proportional to the size and weight of the boat so that sufficient propulsion power is available, depending on whether it is used for cruising or regatta sailing.

It consists of:

- with a mast with the stays, shrouds and spreaders that support the mast and the boom with which the mainsail is adjusted.

- the sails: a mainsail and several headsails (jib, spinnaker, etc.)

This rig has become the norm for boats up to 12 m long because it is simple and inexpensive with one mast and two sails, develops good propulsion and reaches great heights upwind. However, it has two major disadvantages:

Even when the boat is at rest, without the propulsive energy of the wind acting on the sails, great forces are introduced into the hull. The mast presses on the superstructure, the shrouds and stays pull on the outer edges and ends.

On all courses, except close to the wind, the rig cannot be optimally adjusted. This causes too much heeling and too little of the wind energy is converted into propulsion.

The invention is based on the object of demonstrating a new drive for sailing boats which avoids or reduces the disadvantages of the conventionally used drive.

The object is achieved according to the invention by using a gaff rotating rig. The gaff rotating rig according to the invention offers advantages:

for the small crew (cruising sailors)

for sailors without high levels of physical exertion (older sailors)

for sailing boats without ballast (dinghies, dinghy cruisers and multihulls)

The gaff rotating rig to be used according to the invention is presented in Figures 1-5.

The figures show in detail:

Fig. 1 Gaff-swivel rig

Fig. 2 different sail positions in different wind directions

Fig. 3 the bearing of the gaff rotating rig

Fig. 4 Details of the gaff rotating rig

Fig. 5 Representation of the tire of the sail area

The mainsail 13 is set on an unstayed mast 1 with a fixed main boom 2. The mast can be rotated practically 360°. The main boom 2 is firmly connected to the mast 1. The sail is set the same for all wind directions and is therefore optimally exposed to the wind and produces considerably less heeling. The rotation axis 9 of the rig is shown, part of the sail area is behind the rotation axis (70-80%), the other part in front of the rotation axis (20-30%).

The wind pressure on the rear and front parts of the sail area partially cancel each other out due to the design. The sail area is divided in front of and behind the pivot axis in such a way that only a small amount of sheet tension is required to operate the rig. There is also only one sheet and no winch is needed because the forces required are so small. The rig can be adjusted to the prevailing wind and course conditions with little effort. When the sheet is released, it faces the wind. The ship can be slowed down by tacking the sails and sailed backwards by turning 180°.

A conventional sloop rig is not aerodynamically optimal. The upper triangles of the two sails are little or not at all effective and generate hardly any propulsion. However, it is fashionable and has become the standard today through measurement formulas. With the same sail area, a rig with 2 sails (mainsail and jib) has a greater wind resistance than a catamaran with only one sail. Details of the rotating rig are shown in Fig. 4.

The mast base 3 with the plug-in mast holder form a structural unit in the rotating rig according to the invention and are preferably made of aluminum. The lower part of the mast base 3 is round and is mounted in the deck 5 and the boat bottom 6 so that it can rotate freely.

The mast is designed as a plug-in mast 1 and is attached to the plug-in mast holder 10. It is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) for weight reasons. It is not tapered and is therefore easy to manufacture.

φφφφ ' Φ Φ ϕ φ &phgr; Φ Φ
Φ Φ &phgr;
Φ • Φ; Φ; Φ
Φ Φ; Φ; Φ;
Φ; Φ; Φ; Φ; Φ; Φ; &phgr; ■ &phgr; ΦΦ I ϕ Φ; Φ; Φ Φ ■ φ
&phgr; &phgr; Φ · Φ •ΦΦ
ΦΦΦΦΦΦ Φ Φ; Φ;
Φ &phgr; &phgr; ϕ ϕ Φ Φ Φ ΦΦΦ Φ ϕ ϕ Φ ΦΦΦ

CWSOFRCBWINWORDVSbMWVaterfitzXGbM Ri 002.doc

The sail is removed in one operation by lowering the gaff to the mast foot. Due to its low weight, the plug-in mast 1 can be pulled out of the mast foot by one person and stored on deck. Putting down the mast is quick and easy. This is important, for example, on inland waters with many bridges.

The sails are set using the reverse process by hoisting the gaff 11. The sail is trimmed using the front tensioners 15 and the aft tensioners 16 shown in Fig. 4. All outriggers and sheets can be set firmly and do not need to be constantly adjusted.

The reefing process is shown in Fig. 5. It is extremely simple, all operations can be carried out from the cockpit, no one has to climb around on deck. During the reefing process described, the sail's center of effort SD moves downwards, thus reducing the heeling and increasing the risk of capsizing.

The operations are described in detail below:

1. Release mainsheet 14, rig swings automatically into the wind at any course

2. Lower gaff 11 with gaff halyard 12

3. Push the reef line through to the mark

4. Gaff 11 with gaff halyard

5. Tighten mainsheet 14

The total sail area is reduced from, for example, 30 m ³ and a sail pressure point of 6.7 m above the waterline to 19 m ² and a sail pressure point of 5.3 m (reef 1) and to 10 m ² and a sail pressure point of 4 m (reef 2).

The gaff rotating rig according to the invention has several advantages over the conventional sloop rig:

- Except when close to the wind, it produces less heeling and more propulsion than a sloop rig. This means the boat sails more upright and is therefore more comfortable for the crew and the sails are better airflowed. Only when close to the wind do the same forces occur as with a sloop rig.

The rig is light.

Lower forces are introduced into the hull than with a conventional rig.

Only one sheet and very little force is required to operate the sails. When jibing, the rig comes over smoothly because the pressure on the sail in front of the pivot partially balances the pressure behind the pivot.

CAMSOfFICE\WirJWORO\ObM\Woterfitz\GbMRI 002.doc

The sail is reefed onto the boom. This shifts the sail's center of pressure downwards when there is a lot of wind. The heeling moment is reduced.

In critical situations, the rig can easily be operated with one hand (single-handed sailing). This allows you to react quickly and safely to changes in wind and course. When you release the sheet, the rig faces the wind, regardless of the direction the boat is facing in relation to the wind.

All rigging movements are gentle, which increases safety in the cockpit and on deck.

These advantages are particularly evident in light boats with little or no ballast - dinghy cruisers and multihulls.

CiMnlSOFFICBWINVTORO^GbMkWolerfitzXGbM Rl 002.doc

• φ «·

List of reference symbols used

1 Plug-in mast (KFK) 2 Big tree 3 Mast base 4 Deck bearing 5 deck 6 Floor, boat bottom 7 hull 8th Floor storage 9 Rotation axis 10 Mast mount 11 gaff 12 Gaff halyard 13 Mainsail 14 Mainsheet 15 Front tensioner 16 Figure-eight tensioner

C:\MSQFFICBWIIWORD\GbM\Wotarfitz\GbM Rl 002.doc

Claims (3)

1. Gaff rotating rig as a drive for sailing boats, characterized in that it consists of an unstayed mast ( 1 ) which can be rotated by 360° and is held in a round mast base ( 3 ) and made of carbon-reinforced plastic (KFK), with a fixed main boom ( 2 ) and a gaff ( 11 ). 2. Gaff-swivel rig according to claim 1, characterized in that the mast ( 1 ) is designed without a taper. 3. Gaff rotating rig according to claim 1 and/or 2, characterized in that the sail area in front of and behind the axis of rotation 9 is divided in such a way that only a small sheet tension is created.