Full battened mains

[Tom D]

Welcome guys. We have an Oday 28 and are involved in mostly daysailing and light cruising. We want to get more involved in the beer-can racing in our area but need to invest in some better sails first. Do you have any thoughts regarding the advantages of a full battened main? Would it offer any significant advantages with respect to our speed? I don't see very many of them around anymore?? Do you know if it would affect the boat's rating? How about the Genoa? If we go dacron, what is the best design for the sail? If laminate, which one will hold up best to the daysailing/cruising use?Thanks in advance for your thoughts.Tom D

 

[David Foster]

Loose footed, partial full batten (Ooops!)

I crafted the answer below before I realized that this is the guest expert forum! I value Tom and Bill and their support - they are the experts, so you can take my comments as the humble amateur opinion.DavidLady LilieTwo full battens at the top of the mainsail will allow your sailmaker to add more roach (sail area aft of the line from the head to the clew.) And they bring no negatives that we can see. The added roach can be limited by your backstay - the sailmaker should know the limits for your boat.Full battens on the lower half of the main offer fewer advantages (smoother shape, and control of flapping of the sail) and bring some issues. Special batten cars may be needed in the sail track, and the battens are awkward when putting the sail away. Serious racers often favor full battens, though.A loose foot means that the bottom of the sail attaches only at the clew and the tack. This gives simple and easily visible control of the lower part of the sail while making it easier to rig to the boom. The alternative is a shelf foot which has a bolt rope for the foot, but allows shaping with a "shelf" of fabric. The supposed advantage is that air cannot leak off the sail at the foot.Hope this helps - in any case, I recommend that you talk to a sailmaker from this site, or a local loft - they should be able to explain the options better than I did, and make recommendations that fit your needs. If they can't, then find one that can!

 

[Joe Barrett]

Genoa

Tom, I think David hit the nail on the head with his comments. I own a Catalina 320, it comes with full batten mainsail as do all new Catalinas. Some comments on the Genoa. I have both a Doyle Laminated and Doyle Dacron Genoa. The laminated is a great sail and holds up well but you have to take it down and roll and put it away after every race. Then you and the wife go down for a sail and you can't leave till you put up your dacron sail (don't want to beat up your racing sail going for a cruise)The point is these sails require a bit more work than a Dacron that can be left on a furler. Our local fleet does not allow exotic or laminated sails in the True Cruising division which I currently race in. So the laminated sail is home in the garage while a Dacron Doyle Quicksilver sits on the furler. At least if I decide to go out for a Sunset cruise tonite the sail is ready to go. Just some thoughts.

 

[Bill Colombo]

Full Batten Race Mains

Tom,The primary advantage of full battens is improved durability due to the fact that they reduce cloth damage caused by flogging in heavy air. Most race mains are not fully battened since the lower full battens add significant weight and also tend to hinder the ability to change the shape of the sail to a certain extent. For racing you want to go with a full roach sail that can easily be supported by one or 2 full battens at the top of the sail. Your rating will not be affected as long as the sail is not designed with more than the PHRF maximum girths.Cross-cut Dacron genoas are OK for limited racing applications but you might want to look into a lighter stronger tri-radail design made out of a laminate such as Pentex. These laminates are also available with durable taffeta surfaces which can be kept on a roller furler without any problem.Thanks, Bill ColomboDoyle Sailmakers

 

[Charlie Bloomer]

Fully battened

Similar questions...We've had a experienced pal recommend longer regular battens rather than the full battens. He felt that the expense wasn't worth it. Our larger concern is durability. Sailmakers are scarce in Mexico for repairs, etc. That means we're curious about durability of dacron vs. laminates for cruising sails.