Title: WIND-PROPELLED VEHICLE

A wind-propelled vehicle such as a sailboard has a body
(1), an unstayed spar (2) connected to the body (1) through a uni-
versal-type joint (3), a pair of arcuate booms (5, 6) connected onto
the spar, and a sail (4) held taut between the booms. The spar (2)
comprises a top section (11), a middle section which includes
front and rear struts (9 and 10), and a lower section (8), the sec-
tions all being pivotally coupled together to permit flexing of the
spar, under the control of the user, predominantly in the plane of
the sail with a subsidiary lateral rotation of the middle section.
The sail (4) is formed of a resiliently extensible material and has a
sleeve (25) running along its front edge to receive the spar (2). The
sail is additionally supported by rods (28) which extend trans-
verse to the spar.

Patent Pending No. GB 0126369.8
Filed 2nd November 2001
(folding sail modules for larger ships)