Patent ID: 7316327

Claim:
A vessel comprising: a vessel body having at least one surface which is curved about both a vessel body axis and a second axis; and a reinforcing structure comprising a plurality of gore pieces, each gore piece comprising a sheet of composite material including a first surface, a second opposing surface and a plurality of fibers extending substantially parallel to the first surface, each gore piece exhibiting a first width at a first longitudinal location along a length of each gore piece and a second lesser width at a second longitudinal location along the length of each gore piece, wherein the first longitudinal location of each gore piece is disposed at a first radial distance from the vessel body axis, the second longitudinal location of each gore piece is disposed at a second lesser distance from the vessel body axis, and wherein at least a portion of the first surface of each gore piece is disposed over and conforms to at least a portion of the at least one surface of the vessel body.