Abstract:
A system and method for reducing or eliminating heeling in sailboats of any hull design by allowing the mast and sail assembly to heel in a significant wind while the hull remains flat relative to the water. This system and method requires a mast able to rotate 360 degrees making it easy to dump wind when under sail and when docking and mooring. This allows the deck of a sailboat to be uncluttered by mast stays, sheets and halyards requiring only a single sheet to control point of sail. By reducing or eliminating heeling, this sailing system and method increases safety compared to traditional systems and makes it easier to learn to sail.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an innovative system that attaches the mast of a sailboat to the hull in such a way that the mast tips in the wind independently of the hull, allowing the hull to remain flat relative to the water thus reducing or eliminating capsizing due to accident or lack of sailing experience. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In a traditional sailing system, the mast is rigidly fixed to the boat at a 90 degree angle to the deck. Cables or stays from the mast to the deck are used to maintain this rigidity. A boom is fixed to the mast at a swivel point allowing it to swing left and right aft of the of the mast. The boom is controlled with a set of lines that run from it to the deck. The sail is then stretched between the mast and the boom and the swing of the boom is used to adjust the sail to the optimum angle for wind power. Because the mast is rigidly fixed to the hull, a stiff breeze from any of many different angles will place sufficient wind pressure on the sail and mast to cause the entire boat to heel over or tip in the wind. The deck remains fixed at 90 degrees to the mast, but changes its angle relative to the water, often drastically. 
     The traditional design also significantly limits the process of “dumping wind,” loosening the sail to reduce its resistance to the wind and thus reducing the heel of the hull and the speed of the boat, because the mast stays limit the ability to swing the sail away from the wind. The stays limit the swing of the boom to 180 degrees at best. When docking a traditionally rigged sailboat, this limitation means that when the wind is coming from behind the boat, the sails must be dropped or furled to kill the power of the wind and stop the forward motion of the boat. This can be especially tricky for the novice sailor and, when the wind is strong, it can become difficult or even hazardous for the experienced sailor. 
     Even in those boat designs that have rotating masts, the masts are placed in tubes that are fixed to the boats at 90 degree angles to the decks. Such masts rely on the strength of the material from which the masts are made (e.g. carbon fiber) to support the sails. As soon as the tensile limits of the masts are reached, this type of boat heels or tips in the wind just as a stayed mast boat does. These designs are limited in hull and sail size. 
     In boats with current rotating mast and boom designs, the booms are low and parallel to the deck creating a danger to crew when they swing across the deck. 
     For a small sailboat that does not have a weighted centerboard or keel for stability, the consequence of these traditional designs is that the boat heels significantly in even light to moderate winds. Small boat sailors expect “knockdowns” or capsizing due to unexpected wind gusts or as a result of their inexperience. They expect to spend time learning to manage complex rigging, and they expect to spend time furling and otherwise managing sail. Even in larger boats of weighted keel or weighted drop keel design, the traditional fixed mast design creates the need for the hull to heel in a strong wind, and creates the safety and manageability problems caused by traditional complexity. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a system for sailboats of any hull design that allows the mast to tilt in the wind while the deck stays flat relative to the water. The invention significantly simplifies mast and boom rigging. It significantly simplifies sail management. The only line to the deck is a sheet from the end of the boom that establishes point of sail. The sailor need only release this sheet to allow the sail to turn completely away from the wind increasing safety in high winds and simplifying docking or mooring. 
     The system consists of four elements in most embodiments: 
     1. A self-righting mast assembly that attaches the mast to the hull and consists of: 
     a) a housing that is attached to the hull, 
     b) a mast support tube in which the mast is inserted rests on a pivot point in the housing, 
     c) a system of tensioners that both attach the mast support tube to the housing and allow the mast to lean in the wind independently of the hull to the tensioners limit, 
     d) a tension adjusting mechanism that increases or decreases the resistance of the tensioners. 
     2. A self-stayed mast assembly that is able to rotate 360 degrees in the mast support tube and tilt in all directions in the wind. The self-stayed mast is sufficiently strong to heel in the wind and, at the same time, propel the boat forward. The strength of the mast comes from 2 elements: a cable bridging system that offsets pressure to one side of the mast with a cable bridge on the other, and a mast reinforcing bar, rotational wear assembly that strengthens the mast from above the lower cable attaching points to the pivot point at the bottom of the mast. 
     3. A floating wishbone boom that is attached to the mast by a system of pulleys and cleats and thus does not require lines attaching it to the deck. Such a boom design allows the boom to rotate and lean with the mast independent of the deck. It allows a simplified boom and sail stowage system. 
     4. A sail design that includes the boom vang, the line that runs from the boom to the mast, in a sleeve attached to the bottom of the sail. Such a sail design allows the floating boom attached to the integrated boom vang to become the outhaul and spread the sail by pushing the entire assembly away from the mast. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG.  1 : a partial perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a self-righting mast system consisting of a support cross member, a housing, a mast support tube and a tension jack. 
     FIG.  2 : a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the self-righting mast system in FIG. 1 with an elastic tensioning boot. 
     FIG.  3 : a perspective view of an alternate low aspect or below deck embodiment of the self-righting mast system with spring tensioners. 
     FIG.  4 : a perspective view of an alternate single spring embodiment of the self-righting mast system. 
     FIG.  5 : a perspective view of a partial view of a self-stayed mast system. 
     FIG.  6 : a top view of a three way cable spreader 
     FIG.  7 : a perspective view of a mast stiffening and wear assembly 
     FIG.  8 : a perspective view of a mast based sail management system 
     FIG.  9 : a view of a sail modified for this system and method of reducing sailboat heeling 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 Shows the above deck preferred embodiment of a self-righting mast system in which the self-righting mast system housing  2  is bolted with attaching bolts  8 ( a,b,c,d ) to a support cross member  1  that is an integral part of a sailboat&#39;s deck 
     The self-righting mast system housing base  5  is an octagonal ring of 90 degree angled metal. The bolts  8 ( a,b,c,d ) go through the horizontal flange of the housing base  5  into the support cross member  1 . The housing base  5  contains a cross base brace  6 . Attached at the center of the cross base brace is the mast support tube pivot ball  7 . It is upon this pivot ball  7  that the mast will tilt in all directions. 
     The housing base  5  is attached to the lower housing boot retainer ring  10  by a series of base/ring connectors  9 ( a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h ). 
     A mast support tube  11  with a pivot ball socket  12  rests on the pivot ball  7 . A mast thrust wear button  13  is placed in the bottom of the mast support tube  11  just above the pivot ball socket  12 . The mast is inserted into the tube  11  and rests on the mast thrust wear button  13 . 
     A boot tensioning tube  14  is fixed in the center of the boot tensioning plate  15 . The boot tensioning tube  14  has an inside diameter that is equal to the outside diameter of the mast support tube  11  so that it can slide on the mast support tube. Fixed around the boot tensioning plate  15  is the upper boot housing retainer ring  16 . 
     Also attached to the boot tensioning plate  15  is the top of a tensioning jack  17 . The bottom of the tensioning jack is fixed to the side of the mast support tube  11 . When the boot tensioning tube  14  is slid over the mast support tube  11  and the tensioning boot  18  or shock cords are in place (FIG.  2 ), then the tensioning jack  17  can raise or lower the boot tensioning plate  15 . 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the self-righting mast system in FIG. 1 with an elastic tensioning boot  18  installed. 
     The tensioning boot  18  is an elastic sleeve that is attached at the top to the upper housing boot retainer ring  16  by the upper clamp  22  and a bolt  20   b  and nut  21   b.  The tensioning boot  18  is attached at the bottom to the lower housing boot retainer ring  10  by the lower clamp  19  and a bolt  20   a  and nut  21   a.    
     Using the tensioning jack  17  to raise the boot retainer ring  16  and the tensioning plate  15  places more tension on the boot and increases the resistance of the boot  18  to the tipping of the mast support tube FIG. 1,  11  on the ball FIG. 1,  7  and socket FIG. 1,  12  when the mast it contains is under wind pressure. Using the tensioning jack  17  to lower the tensioning plate  15  reduces the tension and decreases the resistance of the boot  18  to the mast support tube FIG. 1,  11  when it tips under mast pressure. This allows the sailor to adjust his sail&#39;s resistance to the wind by adjusting the tension on the tensioning boot  18 . 
     FIG. 3 shows an alternative low aspect or partial below deck embodiment of the self-righting mast system. In this embodiment, the support cross member  1  of the above deck embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is modified FIG. 3,  24  by placing a cross member housing retainer ring  25  at its center. The housing tensioning retainer ring  28  is fixed to the cross member housing retainer ring  25  with bolts  32 ( a,b,c,d ). 
     Mounting plate supports  27 ( a,b,c,d ) extend below the deck and attach to the pivot ball mounting plate  26 . The mast support tube pivot ball  7  is fixed at the center of the pivot ball mounting plate  26 . The mast support tube  11  with the pivot ball socket  12  at its bottom rests on the pivot ball  7 . 
     The mast support tube  11  is attached to tensioning retainer plate  31  at its top. Instead of the elastic tensioning boot  18 , this embodiment uses springs  29 ( a,b,c,d ) as the tensioning devise. Instead of the tensioning jack FIG. 1,  17  of the preferred embodiment, tensioning turn buckles  30 ( a,b,c,d ) adjust the resistance of the self-righting mast system to the tipping sail. 
     Placing the pivot point  7  of the system below the deck does not change the action of the self-righting mast system at all. The mast will still tilt in the wind to the extent that the resistance of the tensioning springs  29 ( a,b,c,d ) and the diameter of the housing tensioning retainer ring  28  will allow. 
     FIG. 4 shows a second alternative embodiment of the self-righting mast system, the single spring self-righting mast assembly. In this embodiment, a heavy mast support spring  34  with an inside diameter that is the same as the outside diameter of the mast support tube  11  is attached to a single spring mount  33  that is bolted to the self-stayed mast support system cross member  1  with bolts  32 ( a,b,c,d ). 
     The mast support tube  11  is then attached inside the upper portion of the mast support spring  34 . When the self-stayed mast FIG. 5,  35  is dropped into the mast support tube, it is free to turn a full 360 degrees and to tilt in all directions in the wind. Note, however, that this embodiment does not allow the tension of the system to be adjusted to wind conditions and sailor experience. 
     FIG. 5 shows the mast bridging system  35  that creates the self-stayed mast necessary for this system to eliminate sailboat heeling. The hollow mast assembly  36  is split half way down its length. A cable spreader splice  37  with an outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the mast is attached to the bottom portion of the mast  36   b.    
     FIG. 6 shows the three way cable spreader  38  that has a hub  39  with an inside diameter that is equal to the outside diameter of the the cable spreader splice FIG. 5,  37 . The outside diameter of the hub  39  is equal to the diameter of the mast segment FIG. 5,  36   b.    
     FIG  5  also shows that the three way cable spreader  38  slides over the cable spreader splice  37  and rests on the lower half of the split mast  36   b.  The three way cable spreader  38  is free to rotate on the cable spreader splice  37 . The upper portion of the split mast  36   a  slides over the cable spreader splice  38  to complete the mast. 
     FIG. 5 also shows the three top cable attaching points  44 ( a,b,c ) and the three bottom cable attaching points  45 ( a,b,c ). The cable attaching points are attached to the mast with one at the front of the mast and the other two at 120 degrees in each direction around the mast from the first The cables  42 ( a,b,c ) are attached to the top cable attaching points  44 ( a,b,c ) and threaded through the cable guides FIG. 6,  41 ( a,b,c ) in the three way cable spreader  38 . They are then attached to the bottom cable attaching points  45 ( a,b,c ). Cable spreader turnbuckles  43 ( a,b,c ) are added to the cables  42 ( a,b,c ) toward the bottom of the system to allow the cables to be tightened. 
     FIG. 6 shows a top view of the three way cable spreader  38  that consists of a hub  39  that has an inside diameter that is equal to the outside diameter of the the cable spreader splice FIG. 5,  37 . The outside diameter of the hub  39  is equal to the diameter of the mast segment FIG. 5,  36   b . The three way cable spreader  38  has three arms  40 ( a,b,c ) that are attached to the hub 120 degrees apart. At the end of each arm  40 ( a,b,c ) is a cable guide  41 ( a,b,c ) through which the cables FIG. 5,  42 ( a,b,c ) are threaded 
     FIG. 7 shows the mast wear and stiffening assembly  46  that reinforces the bottom portion of the mast  36 . It consists of a mast reenforcing bar  49  that has an outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the mast  36 . This mast reenforcing bar  49  is attached inside the mast  36  and extends from the bottom of the mast to a point above the bottom cable connecting points FIG. 5,  45 ( a,b,c ). 
     A mast wear tube  48  with an inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the mast  36  is fixed to the outside of the mast  36 . Fixed at the top and bottom of the mast wear tube are wear tube collars  47   a  and  47   b  that are the only part of the assembly that make contact with the mast support tube FIG. 1,  11 . At the bottom of the mast segment FIG. 5,  36   b  a mast wear plate  50  is fixed. This mast wear plate  50  rests upon the mast thrust wear button FIG. 1,  13  and is the point on which mast assembly  36  rotates. 
     FIG. 8 shows the mast based sail management system that is made up of a wishbone boom  51 , the outhaul system  52 , and the boom stowage system  53 . The wishbone boom  51  fits over the mast  36  but under the cable spreader cables FIG. 5,  42 ( a,b,c ). 
     The Outhaul System FIG. 8,  52   
     The outhaul system  52  is designed to create a floating boom that will function without cables to the deck. At the front end and on the inside of the floating boom  51  is the outhaul boom pulley  57 . Attached to opposite sides of the mast are the outhaul mast pulleys  56   a  and  56   b . Below the outhaul mast pulleys  56   a  and  56   b  are the outhaul sheet stop cleat  55  and, on the other side of the mast, the outhaul sheet jam cleat  58 . The outhaul sheet  54  is knotted at one end and threaded through the outhaul sheet stop cleat  55  until the knot rests against the cleat  55 . The outhaul sheet  54  is then threaded through the outhaul mast pulley  56   b  directly above the outhaul sheet stop cleat  55 . It is then threaded through the outhaul boom pulley  57  inside the front of the wishbone boom  51 . Then the outhaul sheet  54  is threaded through the outhaul mast pulley  56   a  and through the outhaul sheet jam cleat  58  where the sheet is fixed. Pulling down on the outhaul sheet  54  pulls the front of the wishbone boom  51  toward the mast and pushes the end of the boom with the sail clew and boom vang retainer hook  63  and the point of sail eyelet  64  away from the mast  36 . The boom floats in the sense that it is attached to the mast by lines and pulleys only. 
     The Boom Stowage System FIG. 8,  53   
     The boom stowage system  53  is designed to allow the sail and boom to be stowed to the mast in such a way that the boom can float keeping the deck free of lines. 
     The boom stowage pulley  61  is fixed towards the top front of the mast assembly  36  at a point below the top cable attaching points FIG. 5,  44 ( a,b,c ), but at a distance above the outhaul mast pulleys  56   a  and  56   b  that is greater than the length of the boom  51 . On the top front of the wishbone boom FIG. 8,  51  is fixed the boom stowage sheet stop cleat  60 . Fixed to the mast assembly  36  directly below the boom stowage pulley  61  level with the outhaul sheet stop cleat  55  and the outhaul sheet jam cleat  58  is fixed the boom stowage jam cleat  62 . One end of the boom stowage sheet  59  is knotted and the sheet is threaded through the boom stowage sheet stop cleat  60  until the knot rests against the cleat. It is then threaded through the boom stowage pulley  61  and back down the mast to the boom stowage jam cleat  62  where it is fixed. When the outhaul sheet  54  is released from the outhaul sheet jam cleat  58  and the boom stowage sheet  59  is pulled down, the front of the boom  51  is pulled up the mast  36 . At the same time, the back of the boom attached to the sail by the sail clew and boom vang retainer hook  63  is pulled to the mast  36  collapsing the sail and making it ready to be bound to the mast  36  for stowage. 
     FIG. 9 shows the modified sail  65  necessary for this system and method for eliminating sailboat heeling. The bottom edge of the sail  65  is cut away upward from the front edge. This allows the floating wishbone boom FIG. 8,  51  to work above the heads of sailors on the deck. The front edge of the sail  65  has a sleeve sewn into it and the sail halyard  66  is threaded through that sleeve. The bottom edge of the sail  65  has the boom vang sleeve  67  sewn into it. The boom vang  68  is a line that is threaded doubled through the boom vang sleeve  67  so that a boom vang loop  70  is available just under the sail clew  69 . The sail clew  69  and boom vang loop  70  are threaded onto the sail clew and boom vang retainer hook FIG. 8,  63 . When the outhaul sheet FIG. 8,  54  is pulled down, the end of the floating wishbone boom FIG. 8,  51  with the sail clew and boom vang retainer hook FIG. 8,  63  attached to the sail clew FIG. 9,  69  and the boom vang loop  70  is pushed away from the mast assembly FIG. 5,  36  spreading the sail  65  tight. The boom vang ends  68  are tied off to the mast FIG. 5,  36 .