Steering Mechanism For Sailboats And The Like

Abstract

A steering mechanism for a sailboat is formed by a tiltable, vertically mounted steering post which connects through the tiller to the boat rudder. The steering post is mounted to the deck or other portion of the boat by a universal joint which permits the post to be tilted relative to the vertical axis of the boat. A pivot joint connects the tiller to the steering post at a point midway between the ends of the post so that the tiller is moved by the tilting motions of the post. With the tiller connected to the post in this manner and the post mounted forward of the rudder along the center line of the boat, lateral tilting motions of the post swing the tiller and turn the rudder.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of steering mechanisms for boats and, more particularly, is related to steering mechanisms for small boats, such as sailboats, which are steered by means of a tiller connected to a pivotal rudder.

Sailboats are generally steered by means of a tiller or steering wheel. The tiller is the simplest of the two devices and consists of a lever connected either directly to the rudder or to a pivot shaft on which the rudder is mounted for turning the rudder below the water line. A tiller has the advantage of being relatively simple in construction, strong and the least prone to failure. Because of its simple construction it is also inexpensive to manufacture and install. In addition, since the helmsman generally holds the tiller at its projecting end, it provides an indication of the rudder position, centered or otherwise, and movements of the tiller are transmitted directly to the rudder to provide quick-acting control.

The tiller, however, also has several disadvantages. When a sailboat is tacked or is changing direction, the tiller must sweep through the cockpit occupied by the helmsman and can cause confusion with the crewmen handling the sheets or lines controlling the sails. Since the normal position for the tiller is along the center line of the boat, the tiller is inconvenient to hold from the rail of the boat when tacking or beating. To maintain control of the boat in such situations, the helmsman must reach inwardly from the rail of the boat or sometimes a hiking stick is attached to the projecting end of the tiller to serve as an extension from the center line of the boat to the helmsman at the rail. Utilizing the hiking stick requires an additional degree of skill and adds to the difficulty of steering a boat, particularly for individuals not accustomed to sailing or to the hiking stick. Also, while the tiller provides a quick-acting device for steering a boat, the forces required to hold or move the tiller can be unusually high and can prove to be an additional handicap in controlling the boat.

Steering wheels are generally employed in larger boats and ships and have certain advantages over a tiller. A wheel does not sweep through the cockpit as the tiller does and, therefore, does not disrupt the operation of the sheets or interfere with passengers. The wheel is also more convenient to hold because of its greater mechanical advantage afforded in part by the linkages which connect the wheel to the rudder. The wheel also allows the helmsman to sit adjacent the rail of the boat and hold the wheel at its rim rather than reach all the way to the center line of the boat as is required with a tiller without a hiking stick. The wheel also offers certain aesthetic and prestige factors.

On the other hand, many of the disadvantages of the wheel are closely associated with features which provide its advantages. For example, the wheel is generally connected to the rudder by means of a drum or capstan on the wheel axis, a quadrant connected to the pivotal rudder shaft and a chain or cable running through a series of sprockets or sheaths between the drum and quadrant. Such mechanisms are obviously far more complex than the tiller and are subject to higher failure rates because of their complexity and the associated wear problems. Such steering mechanisms are far more expensive than a tiller and may be very difficult or impossible to install on existing boats. Furthermore, the high mechanical advantage offered by such systems is accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the speed of response and "pouring spokes" or rapid rotation of the wheel to accomplish more rapid steering can be as tiring as holding a tiller under heavy strain. Also, since many rotations of the wheel are normally required to turn the rudder between extremes, the wheel is a directionless indicator and makes it difficult to recognize where the rudder is positioned at any given time.

It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to disclose a steering mechanism for a sailboat or the like which offers many of the advantages of the tiller, such as the high response and simple construction, and also offers at least one of the important features of the wheel in that it does not sweep through large areas of the cockpit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention resides in a steering mechanism for sailboats and the like having a rudder pivoted by a lever arm or tiller. The steering mechanism comprises a tiltable steering post having a handle at one end for the helmsman to hold while he is sailing the boat. First pivot means connects the end of the steering post opposite the handle to the boat so that the post can be tilted relative to the vertical axis of the boat under the control of the helmsman. The pivot means is preferably a universal joint permitting the steering post to tilt in both the fore-and-aft and lateral directions. Second pivot means are connected to the steering post at a point between its ends and serves to fasten the tiller or a similar lever and the rudder to the steering post so that the tilting motions of the post relative to the boat swing the tiller and thereby turn the rudder. Since the steering post pivots in a vertical plane of the boat rather than a horizontal plane as most tillers do, the tilting motions do not occupy a large portion of the cockpit and, therefore, do not interfere with the crew. Furthermore, the position of the steering post indicates the position of the rudder and the helmsman can steer the boat, if desired, while he is standing as in boats having steering wheels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the steering mechanism of the present invention in one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of the steering mechanism in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the embodiment of the steering mechanism in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the universal joint for mounting the steering mechanism in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the universal joint as seen along the sectioning line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the universal joint in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the pivotal joint fastening the tiller to the steering post in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the pivotal joint in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view showing an alternate embodiment of the steering mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the steering mechanism as seen along the sectioning line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show one embodiment of the steering mechanism of the present invention, generally designated 10, connected to a shortened lever or tiller 12, indicated in phantom in FIG. 1, in a sailboat. The tiller 12 is connected in conventional manner to the rudder pivot shaft 14 for turning the rudder (not shown) and steering the boat. The mounting of the pivot shaft 14 in the boat and the connection of the shaft 14 and the rudder are also conventional and well known and, therefore, are not indicated in the drawings. The tiller 12 may alternately be connected directly to a pivotally mounted rudder and therefore the steering mechanism 10 is suitably adapted to be installed in any boat which has a tiller-controlled rudder or a boat which can be modified to include a tiller for controlling the rudder.

The steering mechanism 10 comprises a steering post 20 having a generally vertical operating position in the boat, a mounting joint 22 which pivotally connects the bottom end of the steering post 20 to the frame or deck of the boat, preferably along the center line of the boat immediately forward of the rudder shaft 14, for tilting movement of the post relative to the vertical axis 32 of the boat and a connecting joint 24 which pivotally fastens the tiller 12 to the steering post at a point intermediate the top and bottom ends of the post.

The upper end of the steering post 20 has a steering bar 26, mounted in perpendicular relationship to the post to form a generally T-shaped configuration. The bar 26 is mounted at its center and extends laterally of the boat. Two handles 28 and 30 are connected to the respective projecting ends of the bar to permit the helmsman to grasp the steering mechanism 10 and tilt the steering post 20 toward one side or the other of the boat while he stands behind, in front or to either side of the post 20. The length of the steering post 20 is selected so that the helmsman may stand in an upright position behind the post and grip both of the handles 28 and 30 at waist height.

The mounting joint 22 connected to the lower end of the steering post 20 is a universal joint permitting the steering post to be tilted laterally in the boat as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2 to swing the shortened tiller and execute steering motions. The connecting joint 24 allows the post 20 to be tilted relative to the tiller 12 and at the same time causes the tiller to be swept laterally in an arc with the post 20 so that the tilting motions are translated by the tiller 12 into pivotal motions at the rudder shaft 14 to turn the shaft 14 and the rudder relative to the boat. With the post 20 mounted along the center line immediately forward of the rudder, the steering post 20 is aligned with the vertical axis 32 of the boat when the rudder is straight or centered. When the steering post tilts relative to the vertical axis 32, the rudder turns away from center by a corresponding amount. Tilting the post 20 to one side of the boat center line turns the rudder and steers the boat in one direction, and tilting the post to the other side turns the rudder and steers the boat in the opposite direction.

Assuming that the steering post 20 is mounted in the boat forward of the rudder post 14 as viewed in FIGS. 1-3, it will be understood that the lateral tilting motions of the post relative to the vertical axis 32 and indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3 will necessarily be accompanied by fore-and-aft tilting motion as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2. At the same time and because of the particular construction of the joint 24, the sweeping motion of the tiller 12 requires the post 20 to rotate about its own axis relative to the boat by an amount equal to the rotation of the rudder shaft 14. For these reasons, the mounting joint 22 is a universal joint providing three rotational degrees of freedom about the three mutually perpendicular rotational axes through the joint, two axes of which are perpendicular to the vertical axis 32 and the third of which is colinear with the axis of the post.

One embodiment of the mounting joint 22 providing the universal motion is shown in detail in FIGS. 4-6; however, other universal joints or a ball-and-socket joint providing the three rotational degrees of freedom can be substituted with equally satisfactory results. The mounting joint 22 includes a stub shaft 40 which projects upwardly from the deck or other portion of the boat to which the steering mechanism is mounted. The shaft 40 is received coaxially within the lower end of the steering post 20 shown as a hollow tube and broken away in FIGS. 4 and 6. The lower end of the post 20 includes two diametrically opposed circumferential slots 42 and 44, and a connecting pin 46 fixed in the shaft 40 and extending diametrically through the shaft 40 projects through the respective slots 42 and 44 to capture the post 20 on the shaft 40. The circumferential length of the slots 40 and 42 is made sufficiently large to permit the post 20 to be rotated relative to the shaft 40 by an amount such as .+-. 40.degree., as indicated in the cross sectional view in FIG. 5, to fully accommodate the extreme tilting positions of the post.

While the upper part of the stub shaft 40 is circular in cross section to fit tightly within the post 20, the lower part of the stub shaft 40 is rectangular in cross section and includes two bifurcations 50 and 52. The joint 22 includes a connecting pin 54 mounted in a U-shaped bracket 56 and the bifurcations 50 and 52 on the shaft 40 straddle the pin 54. A safety pin 58 extending through the bifurcations 50 and 52 and fixed in the bifurcations captures the shaft 40 on the pin 54 and secures the shaft pivotally to the bracket 56 held in the boat by means of mounting screws 60 and 62. The connection between the stub shaft 40 and the bracket 56 provided by the pins 54 and 58 permits the steering post 20 to be tilted as indicated in FIGS. 4 and 6 in two perpendicular planes which intersect at the vertical axis 32 of the boat so that both fore-and-aft and lateral tilting of the post are permitted. The rotational connection between the steering post 20 and the shaft 40 adds a further or third rotational degree of freedom about the axis of the post to accommodate the slight rotations of the post as it is tilted.

One embodiment of the connecting joint 24 which fastens the steering post 20 to the tiller 12 and the rudder is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As shown in FIG. 7, the steering post 20 is divided into an upper section 20a and a lower section 20b which are interconnected by means of a plug connector 70 and two connecting pins 72 and 74 extending transversely through the connector 70 into engagement with the post sections 20a and 20b respectively. The opposite, cylindrical and aligned ends of the plug connector 70 extend respectively in close fitting relationship into the sections 20a and 20b so that the sections are held in coaxial alignment. A pivot pin 76 extends transversely through the plug connector 70 and into a U-shaped tiller engaging bracket 78. The bracket 78 is connected pivotally to the plug connector 70 by means of the pivot pin 76, the nuts 80 and 82 and associated washers 84 and 86 at the opposite sides of the connector 70, and is free to rotate with the pin 76 relative to the steering post sections 20a and 20b about the axis of the pin 76. The bracket 78 is engaged with the tiller 12 by means of a bolt 90 and nuts 92 and 94 which permit the engaged tiller to pivot relative to the bracket 78 about the axis of the bolt 90. It will therefore be understood that as the steering post 20 is tilted laterally of the boat, the tiller 12 pivots about the bolt 90 relative to the bracket 78 and relative to the post sections 20a and 20b about pin 76. The connecting joint 24 therefore provides two degrees of rotational freedom between the tiller 12 and the steering post 20 to accommodate the tilting motions during operation of the steering mechanism 10.

From the description of the steering mechanism 10 above, several important advantages will be apparent. Of principal concern with conventional tillers is the fact that the region of the cockpit swept by the tiller during steering operations may be considerable and moving the tiller may contribute to confusion in the running of the boat. The steering post 20, however, can be connected to a swinging tiller 12 which is considerably shorter than the conventional tiller because the length of the steering post 12 above the connecting joint 22 can be selected to increase the leverage applied to the rudder. The tilting motions of the post 20 are principally in a vertical plane of the boat and are confined to the vicinity immediately adjacent the rudder, a region not occupied or utilized by crew members other than the helmsman. The mechanism, therefore, leaves most of the cockpit area clear. The construction of the mechanism is simple and, therefore, is inexpensive and not prone to failure. The mechanism is easily installed by mounting the joint 22 to the boat deck or frame and connecting the shortened tiller to the joint 24. When the boat is tacked or beating the wind, the helmsman can stand or sit at either lateral side rail of the boat and maintain control over the boat in substantially the same manner as that permitted by boats having steering wheels. The control movements of the steering post are quick acting since the conventional tiller transmits the tilting motions directly to the rudder. A person can easily adapt himself to use of the steering mechanism since it closely simulates the control motions of a conventional tiller and is centered in an upright operating position when the rudder is centered.

An alternate embodiment of the steering mechanism in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In this embodiment of the invention, the joints 22 and 24 between the boat and tiller 12 are the same as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8 and, therefore, are not indicated in FIGS. 9 or 10. The steering mechanism of the alternate embodiment, generally designated 100, differs primarily from the steering mechanism 10 in the form of the handle at the upper end of the steering post 20. As shown in FIG. 9, a handle 102 is mounted coaxially on the upper end of the steering post and is formed by a single hand grip so that the helmsman can tilt the post 20 laterally from a standing position immediately behind the post with one hand. To hold the steering post 20 from either lateral side rail of the boat, a conventional hiking stick 104 is connected to the steering post 20 by means of a universal joint 106 immediately below the handle 102. The universal joint 106 is similar to the joint 24 in FIGS. 7 and 8 and provides two rotational degrees of freedom which permit the hiking stick 104 to be held in a generally horizontal position as the helmsman tilts the steering post 20 laterally with respect to the boat. When the hiking stick is not in use, as, for example, when the helmsman is standing directly behind the steering post 20, it is rotated into position parallel to the steering post 20 and captured in a metallic clip 108 on the steering post below the universal joint 106.

It will be understood that while the present invention has been disclosed in several preferred embodiments, other modifications and substitutions can be had without departing from the spirit of the invention. The particular joints disclosed can be changed in form as long as they accommodate the necessary degrees of freedom between the steering post, the boat and the tiller. For example, if a third rotational degree of freedom is provided by the joint 24 between the tiller 12 and the post 20, only two rotational degrees of freedom are needed at the joint 22 about the axes perpendicular to the vertical axis 32. Various forms of handles can be attached to the steering post to suit the convenience of the user. Accordingly, the present invention has been disclosed in several preferred embodiments by way of illustration rather than limitation.

Claims

I claim:

1. A steering mechanism for sailboats and the like having a rudder pivoted by a tiller comprising: a manually engaged and tiltable steering post having a generally upright operating position in the boat; first pivot means connected to the lower end of the steering post for mounting the steering post in the boat in the upright position and comprised of a universal joint having one pivot axis extending in the fore and aft direction when the handle is mounted in the upright position in the boat to permit the post to be tilted laterally toward one side or the other of the boat and another pivot axis extending in the lateral direction perpendicular to the fore and aft direction; and second pivot means connected to the steering post at a point between the ends of the post for fastening the tiller directly to the post whereby tilting motions of the post toward one side or the other of the boat cause the tiller to correspondingly swing toward the one side or the other and thereby turn the rudder.

2. A steering mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein: the lower end of the steering post and the universal joint have a rotatable connection with a rotational axis colinear with the post axis for rotating the post relative to the universal joint.

3. A steering mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein: the second pivot means comprises a tiller engaging member and a pivot pin extending transversely of the steering post and connecting the engaging member pivotally to the post.

4. A steering mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein: a steering bar is connected to the upper end of the steering post in generally perpendicular relationship to the post; and two handles are connected respectively to the opposite ends of the steering bar at the upper end of the steering post.

5. A steering mechanism as defined in claim 1 including: a hiking stick; and third pivot means connecting the hiking stick to the steering post adjacent the upper end of the post.

6. A steering mechanism as defined in claim 5 wherein: the third pivot means comprises a universal joint having two rotational degrees of freedom permitting the hiking stick to be held horizontally as the upright steering post is tilted laterally in the boat.