Patent ID: 7341014

Claim:
Rigging apparatus for raising a sailboat mast from a horizontal spaced relationship with respect to a hull of a sailboat to the vertical perpendicular position with respect to the hull of a sailboat or lowering the mast from said vertical perpendicular position with respect to the hull of a sailboat to the horizontal spaced relationship with respect to the hull of a sailboat, comprising elongated spreaders mounted on both starboard and port sides of the mast, said mast having one end which is the bottom portion when said mast in its vertical position, said bottom portion having a sheave box, a first frame, a second frame, a third frame and a fourth frame, each of said frames comprise a starboard side strut and a port side strut, each of said struts of each first frame and second frame describing a V-shaped configuration with each first and second frame having an apex pivotally connected to the mast, each of the ends of the struts of the said frames at the ends opposite to the respective apices being pivotally mounted to an upward facing surface of the boat, the struts of the first frame being aft of the mast when the mast is in a vertical position, the struts of the second frame being forward of the mast when the mast is in a vertical position, the ends of the said struts of the third frame being connected by a piece which is essentially perpendicular to the said ends of the struts and being detailed to support the mast when said mast is in its lowered position, the other ends of said struts being pivotally mounted aft of the mast when the mast is in a vertical position and being mounted pivotally to an upwardly facing surface of the boat, the fourth frame comprising two spaced apart struts, the said struts of the fourth frame having first ends and second ends, the said first ends being pivotally mounted aft of the mast when the mast is in a vertical position and being mounted pivotally to an upwardly facing surface of the boat, the second ends of the fourth frame being connected by a plate, said fourth frame being dimensioned whereby said fourth frame extends beyond said spreader of said mast and said plate extends forward of said mast when the mast is in a vertical position, a hoisting line attached between the piece of the third frame and the plate of the fourth frame, the hoisting line having one end attached to the said plate, extending to the bottom portion of the mast through the sheave box and payed aft to a take up means located in a rear portion of the boat whereby said mast is raised when said hoisting line is taken up and said mast is lowered to the horizontal when said hoisting line is unwound from said take up means.