A physically-impaired-assisting multi-function sail comprises: a stanchion, a hoisting navigator for allowing an arthritic to deploy and retract the sail without the need to bend the fingers, a hoisting teeter totter secured to the navigator, a teeter-totter hook-lock secured to the teeter totter for automatically locking and unlocking the teeter totter to deploy and retract the sail, a cable secured to a camber, a cable canal formed into the teeter totter for hiding and protecting the cable within, a pivoting pulley housing secured to the teeter totter, a pivoting pulley hub swingingly attached to the pivoting pulley housing, sail-buttresses hingedly attached to the pivoting pulley hub, a sail canopy secured to the sail-buttresses, multiple cable pulleys rotatably secured at multiple locations within the pivoting pulley housing and pivoting pulley hub, a central tube attached to the pivoting pulley hub, sail-buttress-supporting arms hingedly attached to the sail-buttresses, and a shuttling hub attached to the sail-buttress-supporting arms.

A mast fairing for a sailboat includes an upper fairing and an optional lower fairing configured to reduce turbulent airflow over the upwind and downwind sides of a sail. The upper fairing includes a fairing wrap includes a central segment configured to wrap around a mast, a left-side panel, a right-side panel, and a sail track attached to trailing edges of the left- and right-side panels. One or more fairing supports are optionally attached to the sail track between the left- and right-side panels of the fairing wrap. The optional lower fairing includes a central segment, a left-side panel, and a right-side panel configured for installation on a mast and boom below the upper fairing. The upper and lower fairings reduce turbulent airflow over the surfaces of a sail and increase regions of laminar airflow to improve the performance of the sail.

A system for autonomous ocean data collection includes at least one sensor capable of collecting sensor data, at least one transmission device, and at least one computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and memory coupled to the one or more hardware processors, the memory storing one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the at least one computing device to generate data for transmission based on the sensor data collected by the at least one sensor, and cause the at least one transmission device to transmit the data.

Sail construction comprising foldable sail supports, a crossbeam, a holder, a sail, a bottom holder, ropes and a block and tackle system. The sail can be a self-inflatable sail designed similarly to paragliders, partially or fully inflatable.

A multihull sailing vessel includes at least two buoyant hulls extending along their longitudinal axes, with the hulls being connected to each other and a first hydrofoil connected to the hulls and oriented transverse to the hulls. The first hydrofoil is movably coupled to the hulls between a first position above a resting waterline of the hulls and a second position below a lowest extent of the hulls. When the first hydrofoil is in the second position, a configuration of the first hydrofoil is adjustable to vary an amount of lifting force generated by the first hydrofoil when the hulls move forward through water when the first hydrofoil is in the second position.

A wind-propelled vessel is described herein. The vessel includes at least one hull and at least one set of paired masts. Each paired mast of the at least one set of paired masts has a first mast located to one side of the vessel and a second mast located on the opposite side of the vessel. Also, each mast of the at least one set of paired masts has a spar located at or near the top of the mast. Moreover, each one of the spar located at or near the top of the mast extends inwards towards a center plane of the vessel, and an inward end of the spar is connected by a connector to another inward end of another one of the each one of the spar located at or near the top of the mast. In accordance with the illustrative examples provided herein, the connector imparts a dynamic force upon connected spars that responsively pulls the connected ones of the inward ends of the spars to their nearest position when tops of the masts to which the spars are fixably attached move away from a relative nearest position to a paired one of one set of paired masts.

Sail construction comprising foldable sail supports (2), a crossbeam (3), a holder (1.1), a sail (1), a bottom holder (4), ropes (4.3) and a bolt and tackle system. The sail can be a self-inflatable sail (1 SN) designed similarly to paragliders, partially or fully inflatable.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a passive, automatic wing-control mechanism for sailing vessels. A cam is attached to one end of a rotatable mast as part of a rotatable wing, and a tensioner is configured to exert a constant force perpendicularly against the cam. When a wing is in a no-go sailing angle with respect to an apparent wind, the cam does not exert a torque on the mast. When the wing is outside the no-go sailing angle, the cam exerts a counter-torque to a torque caused by the apparent wind acting on the rotatable wing, causing the wing to remain at a predetermined angle with respect to the apparent wind.

A bottom plate for a marine boom includes a main plate extending in a first plane. The main plate has first and second ends with first and second sides extending there between. The first plane is defined by a longitudinal axis extending between the first and second ends and a lateral axis normal to the longitudinal axis and extending between the first and second sides. Top and bottom surfaces are bounded by the first and second ends and the first and second sides and extend parallel to the first plane. At least one lug is attached to the main plate and extends in a second plane generally perpendicular to the first plane. The lug includes a flange defining an aperture aligned generally parallel with the lateral axis, where radial thickness of the flange increases toward the main plate and decreases away from the main plate.

A system for autonomous ocean data collection includes at least one sensor capable of collecting sensor data, at least one transmission device, and at least one computing device comprising one or more hardware processors and memory coupled to the one or more hardware processors, the memory storing one or more instructions which, when executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the at least one computing device to generate data for transmission based on the sensor data collected by the at least one sensor, and cause the at least one transmission device to transmit the data.