Has anyone used short vertical battens in a (Seldon) in-mast furling main?

[Paltherr]

We have a 2011 Hunter 36e ( e stands for extended swim platform) with a Seldon in-mast furler on a B&R rig. We are replacing our sails this winter. This is the first time we have purchased new sails. This information was on the website: "Roach refers to the aft edge of the mainsail and how far it extends aft. A medium roach is the typical triangular sail found on most boats. A full roach, which is a larger sail, extends farther aft and offers more power. It's an option most often seen on Hunter B&R rigs. All of our sails come with a medium roach. However, a full roach is available for an additional cost. Please contact us for details." I contacted Mike Thomas, from the Doyle Sails link on the Sailboat Owners site, about replacing our mainsail, and what our options were. He replied " I spoke to the sailmaker this morning and as I thought the furling main on the H36e is considered a large roach main. The large roach RF Main has 354 sq. ft. and the Short Vertical Batten Main has 381 sq. ft. that was optional for those wanting a larger furling main. "

Does anyone have experience with a short vertical batten main with a rolling (Seldon) furler? Positive thoughts? Negative thoughts?
Thanks! Pat

 

[tfox2069]

Interesting question - no experience with vertical battens on the furling main in my 2009 H36. I would wonder whether that would cause issues with room in the mast for the roller furling sail. I did have a friend with an H41DS with vertical battens, and he had real issues with smooth rollups, though partially due to the age of the main. If you don't get much feedback here, kick the question up to the H41 crowd and see what they say as I think vertical battens are more common on boats that size and up. I think they do make "slim" battens, which may help.

I had new sails made last year, and I got a great quote from Quantum to make radial cut sails for about the same price as others were charging for crosscut. My hope is they'll hold their shape longer than crosscut sails. That may be an option for you to discuss with the sailmaker of your choice, whether a radial cut main might obviate the need for battens, or at least mostly compensate. The new radial cut main rolls up beautifully.

 

[Nodak7]

We had vertical battens in our 2009 H33 with a B&R rig! No issues or problems. Kind of wish I had them on my H41. Had a friend put them on his H41DS, when he had the sails replaced, and he liked them! No issues!

 

[desodave]

We had vertical battens in our 2005 H38. I can't remember the batten sizes and we've sold the boat. The sail jammed a couple of times in the first year. Our dealer conferred with Hunter and they replaced each batten with 2 smaller ones ... perhaps the "slim" ones referred to earlier. Worked fine after that until the sail got old and lost some shape.