Jib-furling Stay

Abstract

The jib-furling apparatus disclosed herein employs a stay having a C-shaped cross section, the interior of the C shape being adapted to retain a bead on the luff of a jib sail, e.g. a bolt rope, with the sail extending through the mouth of the C. The upper and lower ends of the stay are provided with respective swivel means for attachment to the mast and bow respectively and a further swivel means is provided for coupling a halyard to the head of a jib thereby to permit raising of a jib held by the stay while permitting the stay to rotate without twisting the halyard around the stay.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a jib-furling stay and more particularly to such a stay which permits the jib sail to be readily replaced while providing support for a mast.

In various jib-furling devices proposed heretofore, the forestay has been incorporated into the jib sail itself, e.g. in the form of a stiff wire in the luff of the jib. The top and bottom of the stay were then attached to the mast and bow through respective swivels to permit rotation of the stay while a drum mechanism was typically provided for rotating the stay thereby to furl the jib sail around the stay when desired. While such arrangements provide effective furling of a single sail, they effectively prevent the changing of sails since the mast usually relies upon the stay for support.

Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted the provision of jib-furling stay apparatus which provides support for the mast of a sailboat; the provision of such apparatus which permits the jib sail to be readily replaced; the provision of such apparatus which permits a jib to be rapidly raised and lowered; the provision of such apparatus which permits the use of conventional jibs in place of special self-furling jibs adapted for use therewith; the provision of such apparatus which is reliable and easy to use; and the provision of such apparatus which is relatively simple and inexpensive.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Jib-furling stay apparatus according to the present invention is adapted for use between the bow and mast of a sailboat. The apparatus employs a stay having at least a portion thereof which is of generally C-shaped cross section, the interior of the C-shaped cross section being adapted to retain a bead on the luff of a jib sail with the sail extending through the mouth of the C. Swivel means are provided for attaching the upper end of the stay to the mast and for attaching the lower end of the stay to the bow, the stay being thereby adapted to provide support to the mast. A means such as a drum is provided for selectively rotating the stay thereby to furl a jib held thereby around the stay while a further swivel means is provided for coupling a halyard to the head of the jib thereby to permit raising of a jib having a bead passing within the stay, while permitting the stay to rotate without twisting the halyard around the stay.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of the bow portion of a sailboat employing jib-furling stay apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view, partially in section, of a drum and swivel assembly employed in the furling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing a roller guide for feeding a jib sail into the stay;

FIG. 5 is a section substantially on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section taken substantially on the line 6--6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a view, partially in section, of a halyard swivel employed in the apparatus of FIG. 1.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1, the sailboat shown there is provided with a jib-furling stay 11 which is attached to the bow of the boat by a combination drum and swivel assembly 13 and to the mast of the sailboat by a swivel assembly 15. As is explained in greater detail hereinafter, the main or major portion of the stay has a C-shaped cross section as may be seen in FIG. 6 while a minor portion at the lower end of the stay has a U-shaped cross section as seen in FIGS. 3 and 5. Stay 11 is preferably fabricated by suitably rolling a flat strip of stainless steel to obtain the desired cross sections. Thus, the wall thicknesses of the sections are small in relation to the overall width of the sections. As the stay is relatively thin, e.g. a width of one-half inch as compared with a length of over 20 feet, it is also relatively flexible and can bow normally under sail loading.

A jib sail, adapted for use with stay 11, is indicated at 17. As is described hereinafter, jib 17 is provided with a bead which, during raising of the jib, is guided into the stay 11 by a roller guide assembly 19. The halyard, designated 21, is attached to the head of the jib sail by means of a special swivel assembly 23 which, during furling of the jib sail, prevents wrapping of the halyard around the stay.

The lower end of the stay 11 has a cross section as illustrated in FIG. 3 and is attached to the bow of the boat as illustrated in FIG. 2. A short length of solid rod 31 is welded to the lower end of stay and a drum 33 is clamped to this section. Clamping is conveniently provided by fabricating the drum 33 in two sections which are then bolted together with the shaft 31 therebetween. One half of the drum is provided with a fixed loop 35 to which the foot of the jib may be attached.

From the drum 33, the shaft 31 extends through a spherical bearing 37 and a thrust bearing 39, withdrawal of the shaft being prevented by a nut 41 threaded onto its lower end. The thrust bearing 39 bears against the bottom of the spherical bearing 37 while the outer portion of the spherical bearing is held by a cylindrical mount 43. Mount 43 is in turn secured to a tang 45 extending upwardly from the bow by means of a pin 47. The thrust bearing 39 permits the stay 11 to rotate with respect to the mount 43 even though the stay is under considerable tension and is providing support to the mast. The spherical bearing 37 permits the stay 11 to bow under wind loading by the jib sail 17, without producing a concentration of stress at the lower end of the stay.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate the operation of the roller guide 19 which facilitates insertion of a jib sail into the stay 11. For use with this jib-furling apparatus, the jib 17 is provided along its luff edge with a bead, designated generally as 51. In the embodiment illustrated, the bead 51 is given its form by a flexible plastic tube 53. A fabric tape 55 is folded around the tube 53 and sewn to the body of the jib sail 17. As is illustrated in FIG. 6, the main portion of stay 11 has a cross-sectional configuration which is substantially C-shaped. Within this portion, the stay 11 is adapted to retain or hold the bead 51 with the jib sail itself extending through the mouth of the C.

The guide 19 which guides or aligns the bead 51 for entering the main portion of the stay from the more open lower portion is preferably constructed in two similar halves 61 and 63 which are hinged together by means of a pin 65 and may be selectively clamped on the lower portion of the stay 11 by means of a quick-release clamp pin as indicated at 67. Each of the hinged portions includes a respective guide arm portion 71 and 73 upon which are mounted respective guide rollers 75 and 77. If desired, simple, rounded guideposts may be used in place of the rollers 75 and 77 with certain sail materials.

With reference to FIG. 7, the halyard swivel assembly 23 comprises an inner portion 79 which is of generally tubular configuration and which has a flange 81 at its lower end and a loop 83 at its upper end, the halyard 21 being secured to loop 83 as by means of a shackle 85. A ringlike member 87 is supported on the flange 81 by means of a ball thrust bearing 89, vertical movement of the ring member 87 being limited by an apertured disc member 97 which is threaded into the member 87. The member 87 carries a depending loop 93 to which the head of the jib may be attached, e.g. by means of a clip as indicated at 95. The tubular portion of member 79 preferably fits around the C-shaped portion of the stay 11 so that the assembly 23 is maintained in substantial alignment therewith.

In operation, this apparatus is used substantially as follows. The head of a selected jib is attached to the halyard swivel assembly 23 and the bead 51 of the jib is threaded through the roller guide assembly 19 and into the C-shaped upper portion of the stay 11. The jib may then be raised quite rapidly merely by pulling up on the halyard since the roller guide assembly 19 aligns the bead to pass freely into the interior of the C-shaped portion of the stay.

Since the stay 11 provides support to the mast whether or not a jib sail is in place, the jib can be taken down and another substituted while the sailboat is under way.

If it is desired to furl the jib, e.g. to facilitate coming about with a Genoa jib or to effectively remove the jib temporarily, this may be accomplished by means of a line, indicated at 14 in FIG. 1, wound around the drum 33. Since the halyard swivel assembly 23 permits the stay 11 with the jib to rotate while the halyard 21 itself remains stationary, the halyard is not wrapped around the stay by the furling operation. Accordingly, it can be seen that it is not necessary that the halyard pass up within the relatively thin stay 11. Preferably, the roller guide assembly 19 is either removed from the stay or lowered to a position adjacent the drum 33 prior to furling so that this assembly is not wound up in the jib. However, if this assembly is made sufficiently small, it may remain in place without harm.

Since the stay 11 is relatively thin, i.e. not much larger than an ordinary bolt rope, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that ordinary jibs, i.e. those which are provided with conventional clips and are thus not particularly adapted for use with the furling stay, may be attached to the stay 11 merely by fastening the snaps around the stay and thus conventional operation is also permitted.

In view of the foregoing, it may be seen that several objects of the present invention are achieved and other advantageous results have been attained.

As various changes could be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it should be understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Jib-furling stay apparatus for use between the bow and mast of a sailboat, said apparatus comprising:

a stay having at least a portion thereof of generally C-shaped cross section, the interior of the C-shaped cross section being adapted to retain a bead on the luff of a jib sail with the sail extending through the mouth of the C;

first swivel means for attaching the upper end of said stay to said mast;

second swivel means for attaching the lower end of said stay to said bow, said stay being thereby adapted to provide support to said mast;

means for selectively rotating said stay thereby to furl a jib held thereby around the stay; and

third swivel means for coupling a halyard to the head of a jib to permit raising of jib having a bead passing within said stay while permitting said stay to rotate without twisting said halyard around said stay.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said second swivel means includes a spherical bearing which permits said stay to bow.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for rotating said stay includes a drum mounted on the lower end of said stay.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said second swivel means includes a thrust bearing facilitating free rotation of said stay while under substantial tension.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said third swivel means includes first and second members both of which surround said stay, a thrust bearing interposed between said members for permitting free relative rotation while said members are under axial load along said stay, means for attaching a halyard to one of said members outside of said stay, and means for attaching the bead of a jib sail to the other of said members.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the walls of said C are relatively thin with respect to the width of the C.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stay comprises a strip of metal rolled to provide said C-shaped cross section.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said stay includes a major portion which is of C-shaped cross section and a minor portion at the lower end thereof which is of U-shaped cross section.

9. Jib-furling stay apparatus for use between the bow and mast of a sailboat, said apparatus comprising:

a stay comprising a strip of metal rolled to provide a major portion of generally C-shaped cross section and a minor portion at the lower end thereof which is of U-shaped cross section, the interior of the C-shaped cross section being adapted to retain a bead on the luff of a jib sail with the sail extending through the mouth of the C;

first swivel means for attaching the upper end of said stay to said mast;

second swivel means for attaching the lower end of said stay to said bow and permitting both rotation and bowing of said stay, said stay being thereby adapted to provide support to said mast;

means for selectively rotating said stay thereby to furl a jib held thereby around the stay; and

third swivel means for coupling a halyard to the head of a jib to permit raising of jib having a bead passing within said stay while permitting said stay to rotate without twisting said halyard around said stay.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein the walls of said C and U are relatively thin with respect to their widths.