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Topcat
Class Symbol TOPCAT K1 with 18 ft LOA TOPCAT K2 with 17 ft LOA TOPCAT K3 with 16,1 ft LOA The Topcat is a one-design sailing catamaran boat class which is divided into several boat sizes. General The Topcat sailing catamarans are fast, seaworthy, popular, and affordable twin-hull boats ranging in size from 3.60 m (12 ft) to 5.50 m (18 ft). They have world-wide distribution and are differentiated by: *Production of the hulls in fiberglass *Hull design without daggerboards *Assembly without bolts *Transportable on a trailer ''(width less than 2.55 m to comply with German traffic laws)'' *Transportable on the roof rack of a car *Simplification of existing designs History *1975 In the mid-70s two German A-Cat sailors, Bernd Breymann und Klaus Enzmann, were unhappy with the complicated transport and assembly of their boats. Klaus Enzmann build a first prototype without daggerboards or rudders, similar to the Spanish "Patin-Vela", but ...
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Topcat Bootsklasse Symbol
Class Symbol TOPCAT K1 with 18 ft LOA TOPCAT K2 with 17 ft LOA TOPCAT K3 with 16,1 ft LOA The Topcat is a one-design sailing catamaran boat class which is divided into several boat sizes. General The Topcat sailing catamarans are fast, seaworthy, popular, and affordable twin-hull boats ranging in size from 3.60 m (12 ft) to 5.50 m (18 ft). They have world-wide distribution and are differentiated by: *Production of the hulls in fiberglass *Hull design without daggerboards *Assembly without bolts *Transportable on a trailer ''(width less than 2.55 m to comply with German traffic laws)'' *Transportable on the roof rack of a car *Simplification of existing designs History *1975 In the mid-70s two German A-Cat sailors, Bernd Breymann und Klaus Enzmann, were unhappy with the complicated transport and assembly of their boats. Klaus Enzmann build a first prototype without daggerboards or rudders, similar to the Spanish "Patin-Vela", but w ...
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Topcat K3
Class Symbol TOPCAT K1 with 18 ft LOA TOPCAT K2 with 17 ft LOA TOPCAT K3 with 16,1 ft LOA The Topcat is a one-design sailing catamaran boat class which is divided into several boat sizes. General The Topcat sailing catamarans are fast, seaworthy, popular, and affordable twin-hull boats ranging in size from 3.60 m (12 ft) to 5.50 m (18 ft). They have world-wide distribution and are differentiated by: *Production of the hulls in fiberglass *Hull design without daggerboards *Assembly without bolts *Transportable on a trailer ''(width less than 2.55 m to comply with German traffic laws)'' *Transportable on the roof rack of a car *Simplification of existing designs History *1975 In the mid-70s two German A-Cat sailors, Bernd Breymann und Klaus Enzmann, were unhappy with the complicated transport and assembly of their boats. Klaus Enzmann build a first prototype without daggerboards or rudders, similar to the Spanish "Patin-Vela", but ...
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Topcat 01
Class Symbol TOPCAT K1 with 18 ft LOA TOPCAT K2 with 17 ft LOA TOPCAT K3 with 16,1 ft LOA The Topcat is a one-design sailing catamaran boat class which is divided into several boat sizes. General The Topcat sailing catamarans are fast, seaworthy, popular, and affordable twin-hull boats ranging in size from 3.60 m (12 ft) to 5.50 m (18 ft). They have world-wide distribution and are differentiated by: *Production of the hulls in fiberglass *Hull design without daggerboards *Assembly without bolts *Transportable on a trailer ''(width less than 2.55 m to comply with German traffic laws)'' *Transportable on the roof rack of a car *Simplification of existing designs History *1975 In the mid-70s two German A-Cat sailors, Bernd Breymann und Klaus Enzmann, were unhappy with the complicated transport and assembly of their boats. Klaus Enzmann build a first prototype without daggerboards or rudders, similar to the Spanish "Patin-Vela", but ...
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Shroud (sailing)
On a sailing boat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. There is frequently more than one shroud on each side of the boat. Usually a shroud will connect at the top of the mast, and additional shrouds might connect partway down the mast, depending on the design of the boat. Shrouds terminate at their bottom ends at the chain plates, which are tied into the hull. They are sometimes held outboard by channels, a ledge that keeps the shrouds clear of the gunwales.''The Lore of Ships,'' ed. by Bengt Kihlberg. Göteborg :Tre tryckare & New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1963. Shrouds are attached symmetrically on both the port and starboard sides. For those shrouds which attach high up the mast, a structure projecting from the mast must be used to increase the angle of the shroud at the attachment point, providing more support to the mast. On most sailing boats, such structures are called spreaders, and the shrouds they hold continue ...
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Downwind
Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. along the direction towards which the wind is going. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its "lee side". If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of crosswind, the lee side will be the "lower side". During the Age of Sail, the term ''weather'' was used as a synonym for ''windward'' in some contexts, as in the ''weather gage''. Because it captures rain, the windward side of a mountain tends to be wet compared to the leeward it blocks. Origin The term "lee" comes from the middle-low German word // meaning "where the sea is not exposed to the wind" or "mild". The terms Luv and Lee (engl. Windward and Leeward) have been in use since the 17th century. Usage Windward and leeward directions (and the points o ...
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Gennaker
A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the forestay like a jib or genoa. The gennaker is rigged like a spinnaker but the tack is fastened to the hull or to a bowsprit. It has greater camber than a genoa (but significantly less camber than a spinnaker). This is optimal for generating lift at larger angles of attack. An early form of gennaker was the "gollywhomper", used briefly in the 1870s. The gennaker is a specialty sail primarily used on racing boats to bridge the performance gap between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is sometimes the only downwind sail on board because it is easier to use and less expensive than a spinnaker. Due to its geometry, the sail is less prone to collapsing than a spinnaker. A gennaker is optimal for a beam reach, while an asymmetrical spinnaker is optimal ...
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Cleat (nautical)
In nautical contexts, a cleat is a device for securing a rope. Types Types of cleat designs include the following: * A horn cleat is the traditional design, featuring two “horns” extending parallel to the deck or the axis of the spar, attached to a flat surface or a spar, and resembling an anvil. * A cam cleat in which one or two spring-loaded cams pinch the rope, allowing the rope to be adjusted easily, and quickly released when under load. * A jam cleat in which the line is pinched in a v-shaped slot. * A clam cleat (or jam cleat) in which the rope is held between two fluted stationary pieces. Such a cleat vaguely resembles two halves of a clam shell held back to back. It is more compact than a cam cleat, but the rope is less easily released under load. A cleat hitch is a knot used to secure a rope to a cleat. Tied cleat.jpg, A line tied with a cleat hitch to a horn cleatAshley 1993, p. 286. on a dock. The line comes from a boat off the top of the picture, around the ri ...
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Cunningham (sailing)
In sailing, a cunningham or cunningham's eye is a type of downhaul used on a Bermuda rigged sailboat to change the shape of a sail. It is named after its inventor, Briggs Cunningham, a victorious America's Cup skipper and yacht builder. The cunningham differs from a typical downhaul in the way that it attaches to the sail. The system usually consists of a line which is secured at one end to the mast or boom below the foot of the mainsail. It is then passed through a cringle in the luff of the sail near the foot, but above the tack, and then led down on the other side to a fitting on the mast or boom or on deck. The tension in the luff of the sail is adjusted using a combination of the halyard and the cunningham (where fitted). The primary advantage of adjusting the cunningham is the speed and ease with which the luff tension can be changed while sailing or racing. By either hauling or easing the line, the tension in the luff can be changed, thereby shifting the point of ma ...
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Trapeze (sailing)
In sailing, the trapeze is a wire that comes from a point high on the mast, usually where the shrouds are fixed, to a hook on the crew member's harness at approximately waist level. The position when extended on the trapeze is outside the hull, braced against it (or an extension of it outwards) with the soles of the feet, facing the masthead, and clipped on by a hook on the trapeze harness. This gives the crew member more leverage to keep the boat flat by allowing the crew member's centre of gravity to balance the force of the wind in the sails. An additional benefit is the ability to "walk" along the gunwale to balance the boat's trim fore and aft. This is necessary to prevent racing catamarans such as the Tornado from digging the bow into the water, also called pitchpoling, and causing a nosedive and often a spectacular capsize. Boats may have only one trapeze, such as the 420 and the 29er, where only the crew uses the trapeze. Dinghies, such as the International 14 and th ...
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Rigging
Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are attached—the ''running rigging'', including halyards, braces, sheets and vangs. Etymology According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition "rigging" derives from Anglo-Saxon ''wrigan'' or ''wringing'', "to clothe". The same source points out that "rigging" a sailing vessel refers to putting all the components in place to allow it to function, including the masts, spars, sails and the rigging. Types of rigging Rigging is divided into two classes, ''standing'', which supports the mast (and bowsprit), and ''running'', which controls the orientation of the sails and their degree of reefing. Configurations differ for each type of rigging, between ''fore-and-aft rigged'' vessels and ''square-rigged'' vessels. Standing Standin ...
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Rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull (watercraft), hull or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yaw (rotation), yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize Drag (physics), hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical air ...
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