Sailboard harness safety release mechanism - has catch rotated automatically by tension when handle is released, freeing loop on harness rope

摘要

The release mechanism for a harness securing a person using a sailboard is operated automatically so that there is no danger of entanglement. The harness terminates in a rope which is formed into a loop, and this loop is engaged by a catch (2) attached to a boom to which the sail is attached. The catch has a handle (4) projecting from it held down by a light spring (3) and also gripped by the person using the sailboard. In the event of an emergency, the grip on the handle is released and the slightest tension on the rope overcomes the force of the spring so that the catch is rotated about an axis near its connection with the handle, and the loop is released.