Propulsion system for sailing crafts and ships

Claim 1

In a sailing ship of the type including a main shell riding in the water and containing a passenger compartment and a sail mounted on the shell for propelling said shell through the water by the force of wind, during which a torque may be applied to said sail tending to capsize said shell, the improvement of means for balancing said torque and for preventing capsizing of said shell, said means comprising a construction wherein: said sail comprises an elongated wing having mounted directly on opposite ends thereof generally downwardly extending foils; and comprising means for mounting said wing in an operative sailing position at a level spaced substantially above said shell such that said wing extends generally transversely of said shell, such that said wing is inclined with said foil at one end thereof dragging in the water at an angle inclined toward said shell from the vertical and such that the entire assembly of said wing, said foils and said mounting means are movable as a unit between oppositely inclined positions with respective said foils dragging in the water, said mounting means being fixed to said shell such that said shell moves with said assembly between said oppositely inclined positions thereof; said ship having a center of gravity at a location between said shell and said wing; means for adjusting said angle of inclination of the respective said foil in the water and thereby for controlling the degree of lift and immersion thereof; and the inclination of said wing and said angle of inclination of said respective foil in the water being such that the force of the wind acting on said wing and creating said torque is balanced by the weight (P) of said ship and by the counterforce (AD) of the water acting on said respective foil in a direction transverse thereto, with said forces (F) and (AD) converging adjacent said center of gravity.