I am going to have our main sail re-conditioned this winter, and was thinking about having it made fully battened. I am not looking for more power. In fact quite the opposite. I would hope to gain in the windward performance, and be able to flatten the sail better in order to spill more wind when I want to. Any thoughts about this? Also I would appreciate anyone answering this post if they would check back to see if I or anyone else has a follow up question to their response. Thanx in advance. GaryG
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Flatter Main
Controls for a flatter main are: Outhaul Sheet & Vang Halliard Cunningham I doubt that battens will flatten the lower part of the main. If it's blown out up top (is this likely?) I could see the battens flatening out a belly. David Lady Lillie
Controls for a flatter main are: Outhaul Sheet & Vang Halliard Cunningham I doubt that battens will flatten the lower part of the main. If it's blown out up top (is this likely?) I could see the battens flatening out a belly. David Lady Lillie
Check Bolt Rope
Not quite sure what "recondition"ing involves but I would assume it would be a re-cut? At least something more than cleaning. One thing to ask the sailmaker about is the bolt rope and to check if it has shrunk. If it has it would be a sorce of unwanted extra draft. Full length battens really help with preventing flogging of the leach, at least on a new sail, and thereby will help prolong the life of the sail so that's a positive. If the existing leach is loose already, and flogs easily, I'm not sure if the battens will cure the problem. A second benefit of full length batens is the extra roach that can be added. That can be a real plus.
Not quite sure what "recondition"ing involves but I would assume it would be a re-cut? At least something more than cleaning. One thing to ask the sailmaker about is the bolt rope and to check if it has shrunk. If it has it would be a sorce of unwanted extra draft. Full length battens really help with preventing flogging of the leach, at least on a new sail, and thereby will help prolong the life of the sail so that's a positive. If the existing leach is loose already, and flogs easily, I'm not sure if the battens will cure the problem. A second benefit of full length batens is the extra roach that can be added. That can be a real plus.
Don't Do It
Put two full battens up top and have short ones on the bottom. Full batten mains have more problems and require $$ hardware to be done correctly, Ain't worth it
Put two full battens up top and have short ones on the bottom. Full batten mains have more problems and require $$ hardware to be done correctly, Ain't worth it
I wouldn't
If the sail is old enough to need reconditioning, there probably isn't enough life left in the sail cloth to warrant spending the money for battens. Save your money and use it for a brand new full batten main in a couple of years.
If the sail is old enough to need reconditioning, there probably isn't enough life left in the sail cloth to warrant spending the money for battens. Save your money and use it for a brand new full batten main in a couple of years.
Full battens
Full battens won't really flatten your main, not in the heavy air that you'd want to depower the sails. On the contrary, full battens help give proper sail shape in light air and increase power. Also as another reply stated, full battens will support a large roach, thus you can add sail area. Some battens are tapered, with the thin end towards the luff. This allows easier flex forward and flatter sail aft to keep the draft of the sail forward which adds power when close hauled or close reaching. When your sails are evaluated if they're in good shape full battens could give you a performance boost. Its all about the money! Full batten sails tend to wear the forward batten pockets against the mast, shrouds, etc. They also must be raised and lowered more head to wind to prevent binding. Things like batten cars improve this. I have full battens on my 23.5 with plastic slugs at the luff. Its the only boat I've sailed and I like them. When I get new sails they'll be full battened with bat cars. Good Luck!!!
Full battens won't really flatten your main, not in the heavy air that you'd want to depower the sails. On the contrary, full battens help give proper sail shape in light air and increase power. Also as another reply stated, full battens will support a large roach, thus you can add sail area. Some battens are tapered, with the thin end towards the luff. This allows easier flex forward and flatter sail aft to keep the draft of the sail forward which adds power when close hauled or close reaching. When your sails are evaluated if they're in good shape full battens could give you a performance boost. Its all about the money! Full batten sails tend to wear the forward batten pockets against the mast, shrouds, etc. They also must be raised and lowered more head to wind to prevent binding. Things like batten cars improve this. I have full battens on my 23.5 with plastic slugs at the luff. Its the only boat I've sailed and I like them. When I get new sails they'll be full battened with bat cars. Good Luck!!!
sounds like you want less power
It seemed to me that you wanted less power in your sail and a sail that was easy to control the shape. In that case I'd consider having all the battens removed and having the roach recut to make a slightly hollow leach. Have a leach line installed and make sure the bolt rope it the proper length and you'll be set for easier sailing. Cutting off the roach or "Dumping the hump" make sail handling very easy and only reduces the sail area by about 10 to 15 percent. You won't notice this loss unless you are racing. On the contrary, while going to windward you may gain performance by your improved ability to control the sail shape. Even a Rolly Tasker new sail is far better than an old blown out sail so don't spend too much getting your old sail recut. A new sail can really improve windward sailing and reduce healing.
It seemed to me that you wanted less power in your sail and a sail that was easy to control the shape. In that case I'd consider having all the battens removed and having the roach recut to make a slightly hollow leach. Have a leach line installed and make sure the bolt rope it the proper length and you'll be set for easier sailing. Cutting off the roach or "Dumping the hump" make sail handling very easy and only reduces the sail area by about 10 to 15 percent. You won't notice this loss unless you are racing. On the contrary, while going to windward you may gain performance by your improved ability to control the sail shape. Even a Rolly Tasker new sail is far better than an old blown out sail so don't spend too much getting your old sail recut. A new sail can really improve windward sailing and reduce healing.
Thanx Frank
Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what a Rolly Tasker sail is. Assuming it's the "low priced spread". garyg
Please excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what a Rolly Tasker sail is. Assuming it's the "low priced spread". garyg
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