A canoe leeboard system and method of sailing a canoe

Abstract

A leeboard system for a small vessel, a canoe, comprising: a canoe 13 (figure 2); a planar leeboard 1 mounted on a gunwale 11 (figure 2) of the canoe and having leading and trailing edges, a top, a bo

Description

The present invention relates generally to a canoe leeboard system and a method of sailing a canoe and finds particular, although not exclusive, utility in the field of open canoeing. Sailing vessels such as yachts are typically provided with a keel that prevents excessive leeway; that is, lateral drift of the vessel to leeward caused by a component of wind perpendicular to the vessel's forward motion. For example, shallow draft vessels without any form of keel may be blown sideways when sailing across the wind. In fact, in such circumstances, a vessel's downwind speed can be greater than its speed in its intended direction. Some small dinghy's, are provided with centreboards, which act effectively as retractable keels so that the dinghies may enter shallow water. However, many craft cannot afford the weight gain or capacity loss consequent to the incorporation of a centreboard. Accordingly, some vessels such as barges are provided with a pair of leeboards mounted on the exterior of their hulls. When sailing across the wind, the leeboard on the leeward side of the vessel may be lowered into the water (usually by pivoting), while the leeboard on the windward side of the vessel may be raised out of the water. If the windward leeboard is lowered, and the leeward leeboard is raised, the windward leeboard can be damaged. Specifically, in the correct configuration, a vessel is blown by the wind onto its leeward leeboard such that a large portion of the hull comes into contact with the leeboard. However, in the opposite configuration, the vessel is blown away from its windward leeboard, which is in the water, with the force of the wind acting entirely on the pivot. It is therefore necessary for sailors to ensure that the correct leeboard is deployed at the correct time, particularly when jibing and / or tacking. Some smaller vessels, such as canoes, can be sailed but, due to their small draught and flat bottoms, they are particularly susceptible to lateral drift. Often, it is not feasible for such craft to use more than one leeboard due to their size, and so it is often usual to move a leeboard from one side to another in order to sail in a different direction. However, due to the high forces experienced by leeboards (as described above), the mounting systems are often large, heavy and cumbersome, and can take minutes rather than seconds to deploy. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a canoe leeboard system, comprising: a canoe; a planar leeboard having, in use, a leading edge, a trailing edge, a top, a bottom, a starboard side and a port side; a flexible line connected at a first end to the planar leeboard at an attachment point adjacent to the top thereof, and connected at a second end, opposite the first end, to the canoe in a middle line plane of the canoe; a starboard gunwale bar attached to the planar leeboard on the starboard side adjacent to the attachment point, the starboard gunwale bar extending parallel to the starboard side of the planar leeboard and horizontally, in use; a port gunwale bar attached to the planar leeboard on the port side adjacent to the attachment point, the port gunwale bar extending parallel to the port side of the planar leeboard and horizontally, in use; wherein the canoe leeboard system is selectively arrangeable such that: in a first configuration the planar leeboard rests against a starboard side of the canoe substantially parallel to the middle line plane of the canoe, the port gunwale bar rests on a starboard gunwale of the canoe, and the flexible line is held taught; and in a second configuration the planar leeboard rests against a port side of the canoe substantially parallel to the middle line plane of the canoe, the starboard gunwale bar rests on a port gunwale of the canoe, and the flexible line is held taught. In this way, the planar leeboard can be held in position when on the leeward side of the canoe, but when on the windward side the planar leeboard is free to rotate away from the canoe about respective gunwale bar. Accordingly, by using a flexible connection under tension, no damage to the canoe leeboard system can be incurred by using it on the windward side. In particular, the respective gunwale bars may rest on their respective gunwales in the absence of any physical connection. In addition, the planar leeboard may rest on the respective side of the canoe in the absence of any physical connection. That is, the only connection to the canoe may be via the flexible line. Planar may comprise substantially flat, and the planar leeboard may comprise a hydrofoil shape. The flexible line may comprise a rope or cord. The attachment point may be within 20cm of the top of the planar leeboard, for example within 10cm. Connecting to the canoe may comprise connecting to a seat, thwart, yoke and / or mast. The middle line plane of the canoe extends vertically through the bow and stern. In contrast the water plane extends horizontally through the bow and stern, and the transverse plane separates the bow from the stem. The starboard and / or port gunwale bars may project forward and aft of the attachment point by at least 20cm, in particular at least 30cm, each way. Adjacent to the attachment point may comprise within 20cm of the attachment point, in particular within 10cm. In this way, rotation of the leeboard forward and aft is inhibited. The line being taught prevents the respective gunwale bars from slipping off their respective gunwales. Attachment of the flexible line in the middle line plane ensures that the flexible line is taught in the first and second configuration, without adjustment. However, in some arrangements, the flexible line may be adjustable, for instance for use with various different widths of canoe. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of sailing a canoe, comprising: arranging the canoe leeboard system of claim 1 in the first configuration; lifting the planar leeboard out of the water by lifting the port gunwale bar off the starboard gunwale of the canoe, and arranging the canoe leeboard system in the second configuration. The above and other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. This description is given for the sake of example only, without limiting the scope of the invention. The reference figures quoted below refer to the attached drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a leeboard and connection device for use in the present invention. Figure 2 is a cross section of the leeboard and connection device of figure 1, shown mounted on a canoe. Figure 3 is a cross section of the leeboard and connection device mounted on a canoe of figure 2 shown in a second operational state. The present invention will be described with respect to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. Each drawing may not include all of the features of the invention and therefore should not necessarily be considered to be an embodiment of the invention. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention. Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that operation is capable in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. Likewise, method steps described or claimed in a particular sequence may be understood to operate in a different sequence. Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that operation is capable in other orientations than described or illustrated herein. It is to be noticed that the term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B. Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment” or “an aspect” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or aspect is included in at least one embodiment or aspect of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in an aspect” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or aspect, but may refer to different embodiments or aspects. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics of any one embodiment or aspect of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner with any other particular feature, structure or characteristic of another embodiment or aspect of the invention, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments or aspects. Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Moreover, the description of any individual drawing or aspect should not necessarily be considered to be an embodiment of the invention. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in fewer than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention. Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form yet further embodiments, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination. In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description. In the discussion of the invention, unless stated to the contrary, the disclosure of alternative values for the upper or lower limit of the permitted range of a parameter, coupled with an indication that one of said values is more highly preferred than the other, is to be construed as an implied statement that each intermediate value of said parameter, lying between the more preferred and the less preferred of said alternatives, is itself preferred to said less preferred value and also to each value lying between said less preferred value and said intermediate value. The use of the term “at least one” may mean only one in certain circumstances. The use of the term “any” may mean “all” and / or “each” in certain circumstances. The principles of the invention will now be described by a detailed description of at least one drawing relating to exemplary features. It is clear that other arrangements can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the underlying concept or technical teaching, the invention being limited only by the 5 terms of the appended claims. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a leeboard 1 with a flexible line 3 connected through a hole 5 adjacent to an upper edge thereof. Two gunwale bars 7, 9 are shown either side of the leeboard 1 adjacent to the hole 5. Figure 2 is a cross section of the leeboard 1 mounted on the gunwale 11 of a canoe 10   13 via one of the gunwale bars 7. When wind is pushing the canoe in the direction of the arrow 15, water acts to push the leeboard 1 against the canoe 13 in the direction of the arrow 17. The line 3 under tension holds the leeboard 1 in place. Figure 3 shows the case when the wind direction 15 changes such that the leeboard is on the windward side of the canoe 13. The water acts to push the leeboard 15 away from the canoe 13 in direction of arrow 17.

Claims

1. A canoe leeboard system, comprising:a canoe;a planar leeboard having, in use, a leading edge, a trailing edge, a top, a bottom, a starboard side and a port side;a flexible line connected at a first end to the planar leeboard at an attachment point adjacent to the top thereof, and connected at a second end, opposite the first end, to the canoe in a middle line plane of the canoe;a starboard gunwale bar attached to the planar leeboard on the starboard side adjacent to the attachment point, the starboard gunwale bar extending parallel to the starboard side of the planar leeboard and horizontally, in use;a port gunwale bar attached to the planar leeboard on the port side adjacent to the attachment point, the port gunwale bar extending parallel to the port side of the planar leeboard and horizontally, in use;wherein the canoe leeboard system is selectively arrangeable such that:in a first configuration the planar leeboard rests against a starboard side of the canoe substantially parallel to the middle line plane of the canoe, the port gunwale bar rests on a starboard gunwale of the canoe, and the flexible line is held taught; andin a second configuration the planar leeboard rests against a port side of the canoe substantially parallel to the middle line plane of the canoe, the starboard gunwale bar rests on a port gunwale of the canoe, and the flexible line is held taught.

2. A method of sailing a canoe, comprising:arranging the canoe leeboard system of claim 1 in the first configuration;lifting the planar leeboard out of the water by lifting the port gunwale bar off the starboard gunwale of the canoe, and arranging the canoe leeboard system in the second configuration.

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