What do you hope to acomplish with tapered battens? Typically, if you have a new mainsail made and extend the leech for more area you might ask the sailmaker about the benefit of longer 'IOR' battens, and they might be tapered in the longer lengths. If you have an unusual sail shape problem with a hard edge or crease forming at the forward end of the battens you might get some relief out of substituting tapered battens. More likely you could be looking at a sail trim / sail re-cutting issue. When I ordered a new loose footed main for my 28.5. I discussed full and partial length battens with a knowledgeable sailmaker and with his help settled on one full top batten and three tapered IOR length battens. He added a little more roach to the leech and the shape is fantastic in all wind speeds. Yet,if I let the main out till it touches the spreaders the IOR battens still carry the leech properly where full battens might invert the sail shape. B&R riggs have their own problems.
