Feb. 10, 1931. A. E. LUDERs 1,792,106 SAIL Filed May 23, 1930

Patented Feb. 10, 1931 1,792,106

UNITED STATES PATENT office ALFRED E. LUDERs, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT SAIL. Application filed May 23, 1930. serial No. 454,936. This invention relates to sails for vessels 2 is a view of the sail cloth of the spinnaker and more particularly to a kind of sail known as originally cut and seamed, but before the as a spinnaker, being a long approximately sewing at the notches is effected; Fig. 3 is triangular sail frequently employed opposite a view on the same scale of this spinnaker 5 a main sail on a yacht when it is sailing before after the notches are brought together, ilius 50 the wind. - trating the reduction in size by reason of the I have discovered that if I cause such a sail gathering together of the boundary edge; to materially distend intermediately, or Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating re “bag' toward the front and sidewise, I can spectively a longitudinal section and a trans () increase the effect of the wind thereon, and verse Section of the ordinary spinnaker and 3. ) thereby increase the speed of the vessel. I of my spinnaker having the same amount of . prefer to effect the desired "bagging” by cloth. . gathering the edges of the sail so that it does In Fig. 1, Aindicates a suitable sloop-yacht not naturally lie flat, but in a sort of pouch having a mast B which is shown as carrying 5 form. To prevent such gathering from usual sails, as for instance main sail C. top 60 puckering the sail edges and interfering with sail D and balloon jib E attached at its the handling of the same, I first form V lower end to the bow sprit F. In this figure shaped notches in the sail edges and then G indicates my spinnaker, which is attached bring the sail cloth together on opposite sides at its upper end, at g, to the mast, and at one 20 of such notches so that the perimeter or lower corner secured by- a clew"a ' H. At the 65 boundary along the luff and leech and bottom other corner it is secured to a light spinnaker of the sail is materially reduced over that of boom J stepped onto the mast and held by a an ordinary sail of originally the same size. suitable sheet K, or set flying from a rope or This causes the intermediate region of the sheet, dispensing with the spinnaker boom. 25, sail to bow forwardly and sidewise to a very This view is somewhat conventional, but is decided extent. intended to indicate the position of the spin While I can make the V-shaped recesses in naker when the vessel is sailing before the a sail as ordinarily constructed-that is, wind, the direction of which is indicated by with different strips of cloth all parallel to the arrow...... 3t each other- prefer to arrange the strips Fig. 2 indicates the sail cloth of my spin so that the seams are approximately at right naker G before the edges are gathered. It angles to the luff, leech and botton. Thus, will be seen there is a central longitudinal the V-shaped notches are made at the ends seam 19 which extends from the top of the sail of such seams, and then when the sewing of to a point 11 which is about equi-distant from is the sail cloth is finally completed the sides the luff and leech edges and from the bot 80. of the V-notches come together to produce a tom. From this point the seam divides and continuation of the seam and a Smooth fabric passes as two miter seams 12 and 13 leading surface is produced but with a very materially from the point 11 to the point where the bot reduced boundary and a pronounced bagging. ton joins the luff or leech edge. The inner 40 My invention is hereinafter more fully ex ends of the fabric strips 15 terminate at the s: plained in connection with the illustrations in respective main seams and extend outwardly the drawings, and the essential novel fea at approximately right angles to the adjacent. tures are summarized in the claims. boundry edge, the successive widths of fabric In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation being joined by seams as 16 which terminate 45 of a sloop-yacht with my spinnaker set; Fig. Some distance from the outer edge. Adjacent 90 2 1,792,103 the outer edge, V-shaped notches 17 are made outwardly to the sail edges, the outer por in registration with the seams 16. This gives tions of such strips being cut off at opposite a fabric structure in a plane of the form in sides to leave V-shaped notches registering dicated in Fig. 2, and indicated in vertical with the seams between the strips, and the op and transverse section by the straight lines posite sides of the notches being brought to X and Y in Figs. 4 and 5. gether, whereby a bag is produced. Having formed the basis of the sail as 7. A new and improved spinnaker, com above explained, I stitch together the oppo prising a fabric sheet gathered in various re site edges of each V-shaped notch, thus mate gions of its luff, leech and bottom edges to 0. rially reducing the boundry 18 and bringing form a wind trap. the sail into the bag-like form shown in Fig. In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my 5 3, this form being also indicated by the verti signature. cal and transverse sections X1 and Y1 respec - ALFRED E. LUDERS. tively in Figs. 4 and 5. Suitable hems, with 15 or without embedded cords, may be employed at the edges, as desired. 80 Experiments which I have made with a spinnaker produced as above described, show that such sail is more effective in driving the 20 vessel than an ordinary spinnaker. This ad vantage may be due to the fact that the bag shape retains the wind more effectively than heretofore, or, it may be that it is able to catch Wind which is not directly from the 25 stern, or it may be that when the bag fills with wind it presents a greater area thereto than with the flat sail of the same perimeter. Ap parently this arrangement also enables the top part of the sail to perform a greater pro 30 portion of the work than heretofore, and ex s 5 perience has demonstrated that the top pol' tion is the most efficient region of the sail in driving a vessel. I claim :- 35 1. A substantially triangular sail having i j 0 its edges periodically gathered to materially. reduce the boundary. 2. A sail made of fabric strips stitched to gether and having notches at its edges which 40 are thereafter closed to reduce the boundary O s length of the sail. 3. A sail made of fabric strips stitched to gether and having inwardly pointing V shaped notches at its edges the boundaries of 45 which are thereafter brought together to re 10 duce the perimeter of the sail. 4. A sail having fabric strips stitched to gether by seams, which seams lead toward the boundary of the sail, the sides of the strips 50 being cut away at the boundary in registra tion with the seams to provide V-shaped notches which are thereafter closed. 5. Aspinnaker made up of fabric strips. extending at approximately, right angles to 55 its luff, leech and bottom edges, the strips of 120 fabric between the seams being narrowed at such edges and the adjacent strips being joined together along their edges. 6. A sail having a main central seam ex 60 tending from its top and to an intermediate 125 region and having two main Seans extending from such point to the corners where the bot tom joins the other two edges, the fabric strips forming the sail terminating at their 65 inner ends at such main seams and extending 30