Since John posted his vertical batten plans on this site, thought I'd talk about another option. I recently bought a Doyle swing batten mainsail with two swing battens. This added about 70 square feet of sail area, giving a little bit of roach. We had several little technical problems that had to be worked out, but our local Doyle loft (Ploch in St. Petersburg) was very good about standing behind their product. I did have to have them add a separate control line for the second batten to give some support to the lower part of the leech when the sail is partially rolled in. With the single control line, we experienced a lot of leech flutter when "reefed." The only disadvantage is that I have to deploy two control lines to make the battens horizontal after unfurling the sail. This requires leaving the cockpit briefly, but overall it seems to be worth it given the much improved sailing in light air. Sail shape and performance really are much better compared to the old sail, not just a little better. I considered a vertical batten main, and the decision was a tough one for me. With so many in-mast furling rigs out there, it would seem likely that the larger volume sailmakers will continue to address ways to try and have the best of both worlds (convenience of sail handling without losing much performance). Perhaps others will post their experiences? Either system does require a fairly wide exit slot on the mast, as either system takes up a bit more room than the standard furling mainsail. Fortunately, the Selden rigs used on newer Hunters do have a fairly wide slot (about 16 mm). Warren, the folks at Hunter told me that the standard in-mast furling Selden rig is plenty strong enough for either system without any modifications. Chris Webb
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reefing
I looked very hard into a swing batten main, and probably would have purchased one if I sailed in an are where I rarely needed to reef. Here in San Francisco Bay, however, we end up reefing on most summer days, which tilted the scales toward a vertical batten system for me because of the increased luff tension when you reef because you reef at the batten points.
I looked very hard into a swing batten main, and probably would have purchased one if I sailed in an are where I rarely needed to reef. Here in San Francisco Bay, however, we end up reefing on most summer days, which tilted the scales toward a vertical batten system for me because of the increased luff tension when you reef because you reef at the batten points.
Doyle swing Batten Sail
Thanks for writing Chris! After looking at the options, I ordered a swing batten main for our 356-I've seen the sail in the loft, and the shape is much better than the standard bedsheets-and we've gained a lot of sail area to boot-won't get to fly it until the spring. It's great to hear from someone with a positive experience.
Thanks for writing Chris! After looking at the options, I ordered a swing batten main for our 356-I've seen the sail in the loft, and the shape is much better than the standard bedsheets-and we've gained a lot of sail area to boot-won't get to fly it until the spring. It's great to hear from someone with a positive experience.
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