battne vs non batten sail

lefty sailor · Mar 17, 2009

sail

I have a Hunter 44 with the vertical batten sail and have had absolutely no problems with it at all. I do know that some of the first generation vertical batten mains did have some sticking problems but my dealer said that Doyle and Selden got that all straightened out. Some other Hunter owners in the area have mentioned a sticking problem but after talking with them it became apparent that they did not keep any tension on the sail when they were rolling it up. Thus when they went to unfurl it the sail got stuck in the mast tunnel. Assuming you bought the boat new I'd go back to the dealer and get it all resolved. I love my vertical batten main and find it to be just about a perfect compromise between a conventionalfull batten main and a no batten furling main.

seadaddler · Mar 17, 2009

Solution

I have a Roller furling sail and the only time it has ever been stuck or hard to out is if I did not watch it when rolling it back in when done sailing.
You need to keep tension on the out haul while rolling in back into the mast,it needs be tight just like rolling up window shade at home,just a little tension as you roll it in you watch it rolling in nice and smooth,sometimes it even is better not to be perfectly into the wind and point more starboard with the the wind from port or just the opposite helps keeping the sail tensioned going into the mast.
Nick

Alan · Mar 17, 2009

Battens are a necessary part of main sails. They support the roach of the sail as the mast supports the luff and the boom supports the foot. Without battens the sail will flutter and flog destroying the fabric and seriously shortening the life of the sail not to mention reduce the sailing performance.

Steve Feinsilver · Mar 22, 2009

You will learn to love it

Had a h410 will roller furling main without battens; now have a h44ds with vertical battens. I think the improvement made with vertical battens is very striking compared to without. Learn to furl and unfurl with some tension on the furling lines and it should not be a problem. Would never consider having roller furling main without battens again.

S/V Breathless h44ds 2007

roan · Mar 23, 2009

I had one of the first H 33 with vertical battans in the main. I had "bunching" problems at the top of the sail at first but the dealer took back the sail and did some alterations and the sail is great now. In my case I furl without vang but keep the traveller in the middle. I find that furling with a bit of head wind I do not keep pressure on the outhaul although you might consider it. The pressure on the outhaul should keep the sail furling vertically which is obviously important. You should watch your battans as they near the mast and ensure that they go in absolutely vertically.
If you get a jam in the furling, play with it a bit back and forth. That should release it. If you are in the right situation fill the sail again and then furl again. The wind can pull out a jam in the mast. While I had problems in the first couple months getting used to the sail and the furling, 3 years later I could not live without a furling main with vertical battans especially when single handed sailing.

Kium · Mar 30, 2009

Hi, I'm very interested in having one of these vertical batten sails for my h-376.
I'm quite curious to know:
- how these battens are tensioned, and still fit thru the slot
- Are they one piece
- Section and shape
If anyone could attach some pics it would be great
I've worked in a sail loft for some years but I still can't work out the system

battne vs non batten sail

Dana

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lefty sailor

seadaddler

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Alan

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Steve Feinsilver

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roan

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Kium

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