Patent ID: 6951180

Claim:
A sailing yacht, comprising: a sailing hull; a ballast; a ballast-supporting structure that functions as means for supporting the ballast beneath the sailing hull moveably in order to produce a counter-heeling force that can be varied underway by movement of the ballast-supporting structure; a ballast drive system onboard the sailing hull that functions as means for moving the ballast-supporting structure in order to vary the counter-heeling force; a main engine drive system onboard the sailing hull that functions as means for powering the ballast drive system, said main engine drive system including a main engine onboard the sailing hull, a hydraulic pump driven by the main engine that pumps hydraulic fluid, and a flow control valve that couples the hydraulic fluid to the ballast drive system; fore and aft foils such that the fore foil is mounted on the hull for rotation about a fore axis that extends below the hull in a position forward of the ballast and the aft foil is mounted on the hull for rotation about an aft axis that extends below the hull in a position rearward of the ballast, said fore and aft foils being mounted on the hull to extend downwardly from the hull; and first means for rotating the fore and aft foils together clockwise and together counterclockwise for leeway control; wherein the first means is powered by the main engine drive system directly.