GB1166558A - Hydrofoil Craft - Google Patents

Abstract

1,166,558. Hydrofoil craft; propelling and steering. R. CASTELLANI. 9 March, 1967 [9 March, 1966], No. 11179/67. Headings B7A and B7V. A hydrofoil craft includes a hull 2, Fig. 1, a pair of detachable hydrofoils 3 that are downwardly and outwardly inclined relative to the hull, a detachable bow-member 1 having a rudder 8 at the forward end thereof, which rudder has a plurality of hydrofoils 9 attached thereto, and an outboard engine 54 mounted on a transverse wooden-member 53 in a gap between two lateral portions (51), Figs. 3 and 4 (not shown), of said hull abaft the hydrofoils 3. The bow-member may be made of resin-bonded glass-fibres and be filled with an expanded plastics material. The forward end of the hull contains a slot (16) that receives an upwardly projecting portion 11, Fig. 5, of the bow-member 1, said portion being furnished with lateral projections 12 that engage with recesses (18) adjacent the sides of the slot (16). A pin (not shown) is lodged in tubes 14, (15) in the bow-member and the hull, respectively, to retain said member. A tiller-bar (25) at the forward end of the hull is attached to a rotatable shaft 23 that is situated in the portion 11 of the bow-member and connected by cables 20 to a further rotatable shaft 5 whereon the rudder 8 is mounted, the tiller-bar being reversible so that it can be operated by either the feet or the hands of the helmsman who can assume either a seated position or a prone one upon the hull. A plurality of slots 65 serve as foot-holds for the helmsman when he is in the latter said position. A pivoted back-rest 64 for the helmsman may control a switch (not shown) in the electric ignition-system of the engine 54 such that the latter is rendered inoperative when the helmsman leaves the craft. The hydrofoils 9 have different angles of incidence α, as shown, so that the lift effected by these hydrofoils varies in accordance with the speed of the craft, the angles of incidence (Á), Fig. 8 (not shown), of the hydrofoils 3 being progressively reduced towards the outermost ends or tips thereof for a similar reason. The hydrofoils 3 are downwardly inclined at an angle #, Fig. 2, relative to the hull and are furnished with a plurality of fins 50 on the lower sides thereof so as to minimize lateral drifting of the craft. The roots of the hydrofoils 3 are lodged within inclined channels (31), Figs. 9 and 11 (not shown), in the sides of the hull and retained therein by pins that are driven into bushes (40, 41) in the sides of said channels and the hydrofoils, respectively.