IMPROVEMENTS IN THE RIGGING OF SAILING BOATS AND VESSELS
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Charles Rickman at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
June 1865.
I, WILLIAM CHARLES RICKMAN, of Lithanger, in the Parish of Emdshot,
in the County of Southampton, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE RIGGING OF SAILING BOATS AND
VESSELS," toibe as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the rigging of sailing
boats and vessels. The sails of vessels as they are usually carried have a
tendency, especially when the wind is on the beam, to heel or give a list to
the vessel, and at the same time to increase its immersion, whereby the speed
is checked, besides which in order to control this tendency it is
carry a large amount, of dead weight as ballast.
necessary to
Now according to my Invention in order that the pressure of the wind may
not have any such tendency to heel the vessel over, or in order that this
tendency may be lessened to any desired extent, I set the sail at (or about)
such an inclination, and in such a position that a line drawn on a vertical
plane.from the centre of lateral resistance of the vessel to the centre of action
of the sail will be perpendicular to the sail, or to explain my meaning in
other works. I regard the sail as a kite, and so place it (as far as its inclination

page_text: to the vertical is concerned) that the string of the kite (were a string its mode
of attachment) may be supposed to be connected to the vessel below the
water line in such a position that whatever the strain upon the string it will
not tend to heel the vessel over on to its beam ends, but simply to tow it
sideways by a sidelong effort through the water. In boats and vessels as at
present rigged, no approximation is made to the adoption of this principle, for
never would a line so drawn from the centre of lateral resistance of the hull
to the centre of action of the sail strike the sail at any but a very small angle,
and the same is true when several or many sails are employed, the test being
then applied to a single imaginary sail just equivalent to the sum of the sails
actually employed.
In carrying out my Invention it is not essential that the said line
(representing the string of the kite) should pass accurately through the centre
of lateral resistance of the hull, as the sail may be allowed (perhaps
beneficially) to have a small heeling action on the hull, either to windward or
leeward, but this line will according to my Invention always strike the sail at
a large angle, and I do not consider that it will be advantageous to rig a
vessel on this principle unless the angle obtained be at least 45°.
My improved system of rigging is applicable especially to the rigging of
double boats such as have heretofore in some cases been constructed, two
boats being placed parallel to each other and firmly braced together by a
framing or platform above the water line. One of the boats is much smaller
than the other; it serves as an outrigged weight and float for carrying the
outer edge of the platform. I mount a turntable on this platform, and upon
it is a mast which is pivoted so that it can be caused to incline over to any
desired extent towards or beyond the smaller boat or float, and it is so inclined
when sailing. The mast is secured in position by stays and by a crutch, all
carried by the turntable. On the mast is a great square sail, the lower
yard of which can be (and is when sailing) boomed out from the mast by
two booms passing from the mast to the yard, and toward the opposite. ends
thereof. The upper yard of the sail is raised and lowered on the mast; it has
two halliards attached, one between the centre and the end of the yard on each
side and then passing to the mast and down to the turntable. Both halliards
may be used in setting the sail up taut, but in proportion as the fore halliard
is hauled taut the after halliard is slacked off, thus throwing most of the strain
on the fore part of the sail, and the windward edge is thus set very flat,
enabling the boat or vessel to be sailed if necessary very close to the wind,
indeed the sail is thus in effect converted from a sail of the principal of a
square sail into one on the lug sail principal. The sail is hauled to the wind,

page_text: or off the wind by tackles, attached towards the fore and after end of the
lower yard and led round pulleys to a winch (or otherwise) on the main boat
or vessel. The turntable can be clamped when the sail is hauled to the
position required.
I would remark that the use of two halliards, with a square sail, in the
manner above described, is applicable to all square sails, and will enable square
rigged vessels to go closer to the wind than they are now able.