Full Battens

[RichBone]

I only have experience with standard battened mainsails and was wondering if there are any advantages with a full batten main. It seems like you won't be able to tell when the luft would be softening or when you were getting a bubble. Are they as sensitive to adjustments?

Rich

 

[Alan]

Rich, you are correct. They do induce an artificial shape into the sail. In light air they are especially deceptive. The key is to adjust the tension on the batten and sometimes change to softer battens to match the wind conditions. In an ideal sail the batten tension should be adjustable just like all other sail controls. No one has yet come up with a good effective way to do this.

 

[Gudenuph]

IMHO a full battened main sail is the greatest thing since sliced bread. First and formost they are sail savers in that they eliminate flogging. Secondly they help shape an older sail into a useable driver. The battens can be shaved for fine tweeking just make sure the stiffest part is aft to flatten the leach area. I would not like to sail without them, at least in the upper half of the sail.
For what it's worth, Geohan

 

[RichH]

"It seems like you won't be able to tell when the luft would be softening or when you were getting a bubble" .... and thats why you use 'tell tales'. ;-)

 

[FrankR3878]

I have a question about how long the battens should be - should they be long enough to actuall put a bend (curve) in the sail or just long enough to stiffen the sail? I had a sail once that the battens were so long that they forced the luff pockets into the mast making it hard to raise. I could tell this by seeing the scuff marks on the batten pockets - these were full length battens. - I don't have the boat any more but am interested in how tight they should fit.

 

[Paul J. Rusyniak]

Rich, you are correct. They do induce an artificial shape into the sail. In light air they are especially deceptive. The key is to adjust the tension on the batten and sometimes change to softer battens to match the wind conditions. In an ideal sail the batten tension should be adjustable just like all other sail controls. No one has yet come up with a good effective way to do this.

Alan:
I'm intrigued by your comments about batten tension.
What tension are you referring to?
Thanks,
Paul

 

[Todd Smith]

Paul,

When you insert a batten, there is typically a velcro strap that can be adjusted to push on the batten. This can be set light or heavy to work like an outhaul.

Alan,
I wonder if someone could run a pully operated system (like some mainsail leech lines ) that ran down the luff of the main. But it would probably be hard to keep constant, since luff tension would effect it. Maybe electric stepper motors

 

[Paul J. Rusyniak]

Todd:
Thanks!
Do you push in harder for light air or heavy?
Paul

 

[Alan]

Todd, actually I have been working on just such an idea. As you say there are plenty of issues to address. I do run my leach line over the top and down the luff. In so doing I can control the leach tension from any point of sail. Specifically on a broad reach or run the traditional leach line placement makes this impossible. With the leach line at the mast this adjustment can be made at any time.

 

[RichH]

This will give you a 'general' idea for setting tension on long/full battens (on a boat with a relatively stiff mast): http://www.ullmansailssandiego.com/mainsail-batten-adjustment-techniques-tips.php -----> batten shapes and tuning.