| 摘要 |
<p>The rigging system for sailing vessels is applicable to any craft. The sails are rhomboidal and suspended corner-to-corner so that, to take up the required angle, they pivot about their vertical axes. To permit this, the masts are angled to the vertical and cross, bracing one another. In combination with their shrouds and stays and the hull they thus form a rigid space frame whose members, apart from the hull, are free from any significant bending stresses. Each sail embodies a central horizontal boom/yard which can be constructed so as to permit roll-reefing, using a drive from an appropriate point in the standing rigging. Extensive mechanisation/automation of other sail manipulations is also possible.</p> |
