Sailing craft

Claim 2

A sailing craft including a one-piece hull design, a unitary mast-keel-ballast assembly rotatably mounted on said hull and including a mast, a depending keel and a ballast positioned on the lower edge of said keel, said mast-keel-ballast assembly having a pivotal axis adjacent the upper surface of the hull, a pair of spaced stops positioned in said hull and cooperating with said mast-keel-ballast assembly to limit the arc of rotation thereof, said hull having an elongated opening extending downward therethrough, said opening having downwardly and outwardly inclined side walls forming said spaced stops, said keel of the assembly extending downwardly through said opening, and a resilient shock absorber positioned on each side wall.

Claim 3

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 1, wherein said keel extends upward to a point above said hull, a pair of oppositely extending pivot pins integral with said keel, and a pair of pivot bearings mounted on said hull receiving said pivot pins.

Claim 4

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 1, including a pair of mast supports mounted on said hull, and said mast having a hinge pin spaced above said hull, said supports having bearings receiving the ends of the hinge pin.

Claim 5

A sailing craft including a one-piece hull design, a unitary mast-keel-ballast assembly rotatably mounted on said hull and including a mast, a depending keel, and a ballast positioned on the lower edge of said keel, said mast-keel-ballast assembly having a pivotal axis adjacent the upper surface of the hull, a pair of spaced stops positioned in said hull and cooperating with said mast-keel-ballast assembly to limit the arc of rotation thereof, at least one generally circular member rigidly connecting the mast and keel together, and a plurality of rollers positioned in the hull engaging at least one surface of and guiding rotary movement of the generally circular member.

Claim 6

A sailing craft including a one-piece hull design, a unitary mast-keel-ballast assembly rotatably mounted on said hull and including a mast, a depending keel, and a ballast positioned on the lower edge of said keel, said mast-keel-ballast assembly having a pivotal axis adjacent the upper surface of the hull, a pair of spaced stops positioned in said hull and cooperating with said mast-keel-ballast assembly to limit the arc of rotation thereof, at least one generally circular member rigidly connecting the mast and keel together, and a plurality of rollers positioned in the hull engaging at least one surface of and guiding rotary movement of the generally circular member.

Claim 7

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 4, including a circular member connecting said mast and keel and a semi-circular member spaced rearwardly of the circular member and connected to said keel, said rollers being positioned in said hull on both surfaces of the circular and semi-circular members.

Claim 8

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 5, wherein said hull has a pair of lateral slots substantially aligned with said circular and semi-circular members, said keel having spaced extensions projecting through said slots and connected to said circular and semi-circular members, said slots allowing limited rotation of said keel, a pair of spaced stops at the opposite ends of each slot, and a shock absorber on each stop.

Claim 9

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 5, including arcuate compartments in the hull receiving the circular and semi-circular members, said rollers being positioned in said compartments to guide the members.

Claim 10

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 7, wherein each roller has at least one annular groove in its surface, and each member has at least one arcuate rib formed on each surface corresponding to the grooves in said rollers, being positioned on the inner and outer surfaces of each member.

Claim 11

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 4, in which a single generally circular member is mounted in said hull, inwardly spaced walls forming with the hull a water-tight compartment therebetween, said rollers being mounted in said hull compartment engaging both the inner and outer surfaces of the circular member, a deck on the hull, a pair of stops mounted on said circular member normally spaced above the hull so as to limit rotary movement of said assembly by engaging said deck, said hull having a transversely extending slot in the bottom surface to allow rotary movement of said assembly.

Claim 12

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 4, including a pair of axially spaced generally circular members connecting said mast and keel together, and an arcuate guide channel in said hull for each circular member, said rollers being positioned to engage only the interior surface of each circular member.

Claim 13

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 10, wherein each guide channel is formed in the exterior surface of the hull, and an extension of each guide channel above the hull to form a complete circle, said rollers being positioned in said extensions.

Claim 14

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 11, in which each circular member has a generally channel shape with outer flanges located over the end surfaces of said rollers.

Claim 15

A sailing craft as set forth in claim 12, including a pair of spaced stops in each channel to limit rotary movement of the keel, and a shock absorber positioned on each side of the keel and adapted to cooperate with a respective stop.

Claim 16

A sailing craft including a hull, a mast and a keel connected together as a unitary assembly rotatably mounted on and movable laterally relative to the hull so that movement of said mast in one direction will result in a proportionate movement of the keel in the opposite direction, a ballast positioned on the lower edge of the keel, the pivotal axis of said mast-keel assembly being adjacent the upper surface of the hull, a pair of axially spaced generally circular members, one of which connects said mast and keel together, an arcuate guide channel in said hull for each circular member, a plurality of rollers mounted in the hull engaging only the interior surface of each circular member to allow and guide rotary movement of the mast-keel assembly, a pair of stops in each channel to limit rotary movement of the keel, and a shock absorber located on each side of said keel and adapted to cooperate with a respective stop.

Claim 17

A sailing craft including a hull, a mast and a keel connected together as a unitary assembly rotatably mounted on and movable laterally relative to the hull so that movement of said mast in one direction will result in a proportionate movement of the keel in the opposite direction, a ballast positioned on the lower edge of the keel, the pivotal axis of said mast-keel assembly being adjacent the upper surface of the hull, a pair of axially spaced generally circular members, one of which connects said mast and keel together, an arcuate guide channel in said hull for each circular member, a plurality of rollers mounted in the hull engaging only the interior surface of each circular member to allow and guide rotary movement of the mast-keel assembly, a pair of stops in each channel to limit rotary movement of the keel, and a shock absorber located on each side of said keel and adapted to cooperate with a respective stop.