In past postings I mentioned that I added a vertical baton main from UK Sails to replace the OEM that came with our furling mast. Here is a picture of the sail with barely enough wind to inflate the asymmetrical, but not the main. Compare it to the positive roach sail that Hunter offers and the difference is quite remarkable. During heavier winds, the sail put the boat into hyperdrive. My next addition is a windseeker. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
- Status
the other John's 410 w/ v-battens
Unfortunately, I don't have a shot with the new tape-drive jib. Or the new Eddyline kayaks.
Unfortunately, I don't have a shot with the new tape-drive jib. Or the new Eddyline kayaks.
To John Farnsworth
John: Great shot of the boat moving along at a good clip. I'd like to see a picture of her with your new headsail. Who made your sails? One thing I noticed is that your boat also is rigged without the vinyl two inch tape around the large side windows. Mine peeled off during the first few months. I could have had it replaced under warranty, but opted to leave it off. Yours is the first Hunter I have noticed without this. John R.
John: Great shot of the boat moving along at a good clip. I'd like to see a picture of her with your new headsail. Who made your sails? One thing I noticed is that your boat also is rigged without the vinyl two inch tape around the large side windows. Mine peeled off during the first few months. I could have had it replaced under warranty, but opted to leave it off. Yours is the first Hunter I have noticed without this. John R.
Relaced Mast?
Were you able to use your original mast, presumably with the horizontal battens, when you replaced the mainsail with vertically battened one?
Were you able to use your original mast, presumably with the horizontal battens, when you replaced the mainsail with vertically battened one?
answers
john, the main was made by the UK loft in Sweden. I insisted on this because they are next door to the Seldon factory, and have been making vertical batter sails for quite some time. the tape-drive jib was built by UK San Francisco, with alterations done by Rooster Sails. Harvey, our boats both have Seldon masts for in-mast furling. The original sails had no battens, and therefore had a negative roach (hallow).
john, the main was made by the UK loft in Sweden. I insisted on this because they are next door to the Seldon factory, and have been making vertical batter sails for quite some time. the tape-drive jib was built by UK San Francisco, with alterations done by Rooster Sails. Harvey, our boats both have Seldon masts for in-mast furling. The original sails had no battens, and therefore had a negative roach (hallow).
I hate my main
John and John- I must have these new sails! I actually liked my original equipment main until my well meaning but unthinking local sailmaker (Quantum) replaced the loop pulling the main down in the slot with two loops, can't use both, cut one off, just doesn't work right. I have not had the time to take the sail down and shove it in the face (or some body part) of my local sailmaker, but I would really like to get a new sail anyway. How are the vertical battens for furling? What weight cloth? How do I get one from Sweden? More details about the new jib too, please. My 410 is from 2000, so perhaps my sails are now old enough to not feel guilty about replacing. Thanks for any info- s/v Breathless h410 #250 US 51855
John and John- I must have these new sails! I actually liked my original equipment main until my well meaning but unthinking local sailmaker (Quantum) replaced the loop pulling the main down in the slot with two loops, can't use both, cut one off, just doesn't work right. I have not had the time to take the sail down and shove it in the face (or some body part) of my local sailmaker, but I would really like to get a new sail anyway. How are the vertical battens for furling? What weight cloth? How do I get one from Sweden? More details about the new jib too, please. My 410 is from 2000, so perhaps my sails are now old enough to not feel guilty about replacing. Thanks for any info- s/v Breathless h410 #250 US 51855
To: Steve:
Steve, I too had a problem with the tack loop on the OEM sail. It didn't line up properly with the gizmo inside the Selden mechanism. We ended up tieing it in with one eighth spectra line. Glad to hear you want the new sails. I went with UK and their product is about a good as I had hoped. The sail we got was a "Passagemaker I". The dacron fabric is much lighter in weight than the OEM, but I cannot tell you the exact figure. I know the weight of the sail, with significantly more square footage, was much easier to carry than the original. The batons will fit (snugly) into the furling mast. They role up so long as you do the furling with the boom on the port side of the boat. We had to experiment with the size of the batons. I think ours turned out to be about three quarters of an inch wide. You need the "larger" size to make sure the leach has the correct shape. I have found it difficult to get the very top tell tale to fly. It takes a lot of tweeking to get everything set: vang, traveler and sheet. I did a race today and the boat performed really well. A 410 needs a lot of wind to get her up and moving. I have found a minimum of 10+ is sufficient. Today, we were somewhere about 12 to 15. On a 13 mile broad reach from the leeward mark to the finish line, the boat was easily doing 8 knots. One time, she was at 8.44. This is on a 24000 pound boat with a hull speed of 8.23. There was no following swell, so this was an accurate SOG. I forgot to check the max speed on the knot meter, but suffice it to say, it was fantastic sailing. This was with our asymmetrical spinnaker and the wind about 80 to 90 degrees off the port bow. When the wind is this high, you really have to concentrate to avoid rounding up. I will be happy to provide more information. You can email me through our web site. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
Steve, I too had a problem with the tack loop on the OEM sail. It didn't line up properly with the gizmo inside the Selden mechanism. We ended up tieing it in with one eighth spectra line. Glad to hear you want the new sails. I went with UK and their product is about a good as I had hoped. The sail we got was a "Passagemaker I". The dacron fabric is much lighter in weight than the OEM, but I cannot tell you the exact figure. I know the weight of the sail, with significantly more square footage, was much easier to carry than the original. The batons will fit (snugly) into the furling mast. They role up so long as you do the furling with the boom on the port side of the boat. We had to experiment with the size of the batons. I think ours turned out to be about three quarters of an inch wide. You need the "larger" size to make sure the leach has the correct shape. I have found it difficult to get the very top tell tale to fly. It takes a lot of tweeking to get everything set: vang, traveler and sheet. I did a race today and the boat performed really well. A 410 needs a lot of wind to get her up and moving. I have found a minimum of 10+ is sufficient. Today, we were somewhere about 12 to 15. On a 13 mile broad reach from the leeward mark to the finish line, the boat was easily doing 8 knots. One time, she was at 8.44. This is on a 24000 pound boat with a hull speed of 8.23. There was no following swell, so this was an accurate SOG. I forgot to check the max speed on the knot meter, but suffice it to say, it was fantastic sailing. This was with our asymmetrical spinnaker and the wind about 80 to 90 degrees off the port bow. When the wind is this high, you really have to concentrate to avoid rounding up. I will be happy to provide more information. You can email me through our web site. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
FULL vertical battens
Steve, don't just get vertical battens, get FULL vertical battens. A buddy of mine recently let a rep from North sails talk him into partial vertical battens, and the sail is a mess, almost impossible to keep an open leech. The benefit of full battens is that the sail maintains luff tension when "reefed." The smaller the amount of sail exposed, the flatter the sail gets. I specked the Sweden loft with my UK dealer because they were otherwise going to build the main in Hong Kong. Told them no deal, I won't have another built-in-Hong-Kong UK sail on my boat. ........ In terms of the sail fitting in your mast, the trick is that it has to be designed so that the battens don't lie atop each other when the sail is furled. Otherwise, the only difference between this sail and a conventional in-mast-furling-main is that you can't have much rake in the mast to use it. I talked to a fellow who had a hood full-vertical-batten main built for his Swan, and he notes that he has to slack the backstay before he can furl it. Not an option on a BnR rig. Sigh. ........... In my opinion, you really want carbon-fiber battens. Don't let a salesman talk you into fiberglass.
Steve, don't just get vertical battens, get FULL vertical battens. A buddy of mine recently let a rep from North sails talk him into partial vertical battens, and the sail is a mess, almost impossible to keep an open leech. The benefit of full battens is that the sail maintains luff tension when "reefed." The smaller the amount of sail exposed, the flatter the sail gets. I specked the Sweden loft with my UK dealer because they were otherwise going to build the main in Hong Kong. Told them no deal, I won't have another built-in-Hong-Kong UK sail on my boat. ........ In terms of the sail fitting in your mast, the trick is that it has to be designed so that the battens don't lie atop each other when the sail is furled. Otherwise, the only difference between this sail and a conventional in-mast-furling-main is that you can't have much rake in the mast to use it. I talked to a fellow who had a hood full-vertical-batten main built for his Swan, and he notes that he has to slack the backstay before he can furl it. Not an option on a BnR rig. Sigh. ........... In my opinion, you really want carbon-fiber battens. Don't let a salesman talk you into fiberglass.
Thanks- John and John
I will do some homework- like the idea of full vertical batten main. Thanks for the advice. S/V Breathless h410 #250 US 51855
I will do some homework- like the idea of full vertical batten main. Thanks for the advice. S/V Breathless h410 #250 US 51855
Call Hunter direct
I believe Hunter is offering Doyle Full Vertical Batten Mains as an option to the stock sails on new boats. I'm sure they will point you in the right direction. And I believe the sails are all built in the U.S.
I believe Hunter is offering Doyle Full Vertical Batten Mains as an option to the stock sails on new boats. I'm sure they will point you in the right direction. And I believe the sails are all built in the U.S.
- Status