Three-sided wind scoop

Abstract

A three-sided wind scoop is provided for aerating and cooling the interior of a sailboat. The wind scoop comprises three flexible rectangular shaped panels, one side of each panel being joined together to form a center seam; the top of each said three panels being attached in an equal angel Y-shaped configuration to an essentially circular flexible fabric which forms a cap or top cover for said wind scoop. The Y-shaped configured panels of the wind scoop are designed to capture the wind and the direct the flow of air down into the boat regardless of the direction of the wind in relation to the boat and the cap of the wind scoop is designed to capture the wind flowing upward from said Y-shaped configured panels and direct it back downward, thereby adding to and facilitating the downward flow of the air.

1 . A three-sided wind scoop for aerating the enclosed interior of a sailboat through an open hatch thereof, comprising;
 (a) three flexible essentially rectangular-shaped panels made of a fabric material and being orientated for capturing the wind and directing the air down into open hatch of an anchored sailboat regardless of the direction of the sailboat in relation to said wind, each panel being essentially of the same size, one side of each panel attached together to form a center seam, the top of each panel being attached in an equal angle Y-shaped configuration to a cap for wind scoop:   (b) said cap comprising an essentially circular shaped flexible fabric which overlaps the outer edges of the three wind capturing panels, three flexible battens permanently sewn into the cap, and three sleeves suitable for holding three rigid battens, each of said sleeves running from about the outer edge of the cap to an equal angle Y-tube connector positioned at about the center of the cap and along about the same lines as that of each panel attached to the cap, and wherein each flexible batten runs from about the outer edge of the cap and along a line that is about half-way between two adjacent rigid batten lines to about the center of the cap;   (c) means at about the center of the cap to help support and adjust the wind scoop in an upright position over an open hatch of the sailboat;   (d) each bottom edge of each of said three wind catching panels having a sleeve suitable for holding a rigid batten for stabilizing the wind scoop inside an open hatch of the sailboat, each sleeve running from about the outer edge of each panel to a second equal angle Y-tube connector positioned at about the central meeting point of the bottom of the center seam of the Y-shaped configured panels.   
   
   
       2 . A wind scoop according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible battens are reinforced plastic tubes. 
   
   
       3 . A wind scoop according to  claim 2 , wherein the three sleeves attached to the cap are themselves each a part of the attachment of one of the three panels of the cap. 
   
   
       4 . A wind scoop according to  claim 3 , wherein a flexible non-reinforced plastic tube is encased along the entire outer edge of the cap. 
   
   
       5 . A wind scoop according to  claim 4 , wherein the sleeves attached to the cap and the sleeves attached to the bottom edge of the wind catching panels all contain a rigid batten. 
   
   
       6 . A wind scoop according to  claim 5 , wherein the flexible fabric of the rectangular-shaped panels and the cap is light weight nylon pack cloth. 
   
   
       7 . A wind scoop according to  claim 6 , wherein each rigid batten is a wooden dowel. 
   
   
       8 . A wind scoop according to  claim 7 , wherein the wind scoop is held in a vertical upright position over an open hatch of a sailboat by way of a jib halyard leading to an upper part of the mast of the sailboat and a support line connected to the sailboat's main stay, along with an exposed portion of each of the rigid battens contained in the sleeves at the bottom of the wind catching panels that abuts up against the underside of the deck adjacent to the open hatch.