Hi, all. We just signed for a new Hunter 38 at the Newport Boat Show, and we are still pondering a few options. We are definitely getting in-mast furling, but the question is with what sail. We are seriously considering the Doyle vertical batten mainsail. Does anyone out there have any experience with this sail? Performance? Any problems? We are anxious to hear. Thanks in advance for the feedback! Carl and Jule
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
Congratulations
And welcome to the 38 club. If you have reviewed the owners directory on this site you will note that there are only 7 Hunter 38 owners who have registered their yachts. We hope you will register as well. On the Carolina we have the in mast furling main without battens. Sail shape is good with use of the boom vang and outhaul, and the amount of sail area deployed can be changed rapidly. As this is a newly introduced model there has not been a lot of discussion so far, but as time goes on our shared experiences will grow. Overall our opinion of the 38 is similar to that of Rob Sherril as expressed in his owner's review. The Carolina's home slip is on the Pamlico River, North Carolina. Contact us through the directory for more info. Steve and Sheila Kamp
And welcome to the 38 club. If you have reviewed the owners directory on this site you will note that there are only 7 Hunter 38 owners who have registered their yachts. We hope you will register as well. On the Carolina we have the in mast furling main without battens. Sail shape is good with use of the boom vang and outhaul, and the amount of sail area deployed can be changed rapidly. As this is a newly introduced model there has not been a lot of discussion so far, but as time goes on our shared experiences will grow. Overall our opinion of the 38 is similar to that of Rob Sherril as expressed in his owner's review. The Carolina's home slip is on the Pamlico River, North Carolina. Contact us through the directory for more info. Steve and Sheila Kamp
B
Bob
Verticle battens
I have just traded up from my 356 to the h44 AC. The orginal main for the 356 was horrible, I eventually bought a new Doyle Verticle batten main and was very please with the sail and the much improved performance. My new 44 came with the Doyle Verticle battan main and I am just as pleased. The only problem that I can see is that if you ever need to get the sail down in a hurry it would be difficult. Obviously this would only be in a condition where you could not furl the main for some reason.
I have just traded up from my 356 to the h44 AC. The orginal main for the 356 was horrible, I eventually bought a new Doyle Verticle batten main and was very please with the sail and the much improved performance. My new 44 came with the Doyle Verticle battan main and I am just as pleased. The only problem that I can see is that if you ever need to get the sail down in a hurry it would be difficult. Obviously this would only be in a condition where you could not furl the main for some reason.
J
Jack W
Bob-I upgraded too.
I have a 2005 H36 (356) and recently upgraded to the vertical batten. It has jammed 3 out of the 5 times I have used it! It almost seems like the battens are too wide for the slot in the mast. They catch going in and coming out. I wind up having to grind the battens past the slot. Doyle took it back and is "checking it out". I was thrilled with the difference in performance both times that it did work,however. I'm hoping that they find the problem. Any thoughts?
I have a 2005 H36 (356) and recently upgraded to the vertical batten. It has jammed 3 out of the 5 times I have used it! It almost seems like the battens are too wide for the slot in the mast. They catch going in and coming out. I wind up having to grind the battens past the slot. Doyle took it back and is "checking it out". I was thrilled with the difference in performance both times that it did work,however. I'm hoping that they find the problem. Any thoughts?
R
Ron Roman
Sail
The best investment I made for my boat. I have no trouble furling or unfurling the sail. My proformance is as good maybe even better than standard sail that comes with the boat.
The best investment I made for my boat. I have no trouble furling or unfurling the sail. My proformance is as good maybe even better than standard sail that comes with the boat.
J
John Richard
Verticals
We have the in mast rig and went to a UK vertical batten several months ago. To say it is an improvement is to grossly understate the performance. At first the battens hung up slightly going in, but after the sailmaker modified the pockets this was no longer a problem. Also, you need to use the smaller gauge battens. The key is to control the outhaul with tension when you furl. The larger roach main necessitated the elimination of the topping lift. To support the boom, I added a gas insert in the solid boom vang. Bottom line, you will not be sorry and won't believe the improvement. To go along with this, you seriously need to consider upgrading the headsail. We went from the 110 to a 125%. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
We have the in mast rig and went to a UK vertical batten several months ago. To say it is an improvement is to grossly understate the performance. At first the battens hung up slightly going in, but after the sailmaker modified the pockets this was no longer a problem. Also, you need to use the smaller gauge battens. The key is to control the outhaul with tension when you furl. The larger roach main necessitated the elimination of the topping lift. To support the boom, I added a gas insert in the solid boom vang. Bottom line, you will not be sorry and won't believe the improvement. To go along with this, you seriously need to consider upgrading the headsail. We went from the 110 to a 125%. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
C
Carl and Jule
John Richard; Tells More
Thanks for the input. We think that we hear that the vertical batten sail is definitely worth it and we may have some issues to resolve with jamming going in and out. John Richard; please tell us more about the need for a gas insert to support the boom. What problem did you have and solve with the gas insert? Is the Selden rigid vang not capable of supporting the boom? We currently have a Garhauer rigid vang on our H340 and it supports the boom just fine. What was happening? How is a gas insert installed? Carl and Jule s/v Syzygy H38
Thanks for the input. We think that we hear that the vertical batten sail is definitely worth it and we may have some issues to resolve with jamming going in and out. John Richard; please tell us more about the need for a gas insert to support the boom. What problem did you have and solve with the gas insert? Is the Selden rigid vang not capable of supporting the boom? We currently have a Garhauer rigid vang on our H340 and it supports the boom just fine. What was happening? How is a gas insert installed? Carl and Jule s/v Syzygy H38
B
Brian Leney
Doyle Zenith Main experience
Jack W. and anyone else with a Doyle Zenith Main system, you need to talk to your Hunter dealer (or local Doyle loft) and obtain from them two very important documents that have the title “Sailing with your Doyle Zenith Full Batten Furling Mainsail.” They are relatively new documents published in June this year by Doyle, specifically for the system being installed on Hunters (and others similar). Follow the instructions EXACTLY as they have them and it should resolve many, and hopefully all, of your furling problems. It did for us. If you can not get a copy of the documents, e-mail me directly (look me up in owners’ directory) and I will send you the PDFs. We have a 2005 Hunter 41 with the Doyle vertical batten system. The boat sails wonderfully with it and the sail holds a beautiful shape. Boat does especially well in light airs. I am very pleased in the performance of the sail. I can not compare performance using a sail without those battens since we got the boat new with them. When our boat was first commissioned in April, the sail would jam at a batten almost every time when unfurling. It never jammed when furling. The local Doyle loft was on our boat several times and made some alterations, but the biggest difference (fix) came from following a more managed technique in both furling AND unfurling this sail. This is where the documents described above come in to play. So, bottom line, these Doyle Zenith Full Batten Mains are more sophisticated, will give you a gain in performance over a standard furling main, but may require a more managed unfurling/furling effort following Doyle’s instructions. For us on this size boat and the way we crew (mostly me doing all the work) and where we sail (Chesapeake), the work required is much less than that required with a classic main. Best wishes Carl and Jule, you will enjoy your new boat.
Jack W. and anyone else with a Doyle Zenith Main system, you need to talk to your Hunter dealer (or local Doyle loft) and obtain from them two very important documents that have the title “Sailing with your Doyle Zenith Full Batten Furling Mainsail.” They are relatively new documents published in June this year by Doyle, specifically for the system being installed on Hunters (and others similar). Follow the instructions EXACTLY as they have them and it should resolve many, and hopefully all, of your furling problems. It did for us. If you can not get a copy of the documents, e-mail me directly (look me up in owners’ directory) and I will send you the PDFs. We have a 2005 Hunter 41 with the Doyle vertical batten system. The boat sails wonderfully with it and the sail holds a beautiful shape. Boat does especially well in light airs. I am very pleased in the performance of the sail. I can not compare performance using a sail without those battens since we got the boat new with them. When our boat was first commissioned in April, the sail would jam at a batten almost every time when unfurling. It never jammed when furling. The local Doyle loft was on our boat several times and made some alterations, but the biggest difference (fix) came from following a more managed technique in both furling AND unfurling this sail. This is where the documents described above come in to play. So, bottom line, these Doyle Zenith Full Batten Mains are more sophisticated, will give you a gain in performance over a standard furling main, but may require a more managed unfurling/furling effort following Doyle’s instructions. For us on this size boat and the way we crew (mostly me doing all the work) and where we sail (Chesapeake), the work required is much less than that required with a classic main. Best wishes Carl and Jule, you will enjoy your new boat.
K
kkb
Would you mind going into a little more detail?
Brian, would you please give us a little more detail on what exactly you mean when you say, that you need a more managed furling and unfurling proceedure? We have a Doyle main sail and have a 41DS. This subject is one that we are considering doing during our winter lay up. I would really appreciate anymore detail that you might be able to give to help us make up our minds. Thank you.
Brian, would you please give us a little more detail on what exactly you mean when you say, that you need a more managed furling and unfurling proceedure? We have a Doyle main sail and have a 41DS. This subject is one that we are considering doing during our winter lay up. I would really appreciate anymore detail that you might be able to give to help us make up our minds. Thank you.
J
John Richard
Carl
Hunter rigged a Selden "Rodkicker" vang on our boat. It came without the ability to push the boom up to induce twist. It only was able to pull it down. A gas insert is available from Selden which is similar to that used on some cars to raise the hood. The attached picture shows the UK rep inserting this into the vang. Now, the vang alone supports the 19' boom. There is no longer a need for the topping lift which is now relegated to an auxiliary halyard. The topping lift interfered with the roach of the new sail. If your present Garhauer vang supports the boom without the need to hold it up with a topping lift, then you don't have a problem. The Selden wasn't capable of this without the insert. When I called Selden, they admitted the vang was useless without the insert. Hunter only offered it as an "option" and would not pay for it. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
Hunter rigged a Selden "Rodkicker" vang on our boat. It came without the ability to push the boom up to induce twist. It only was able to pull it down. A gas insert is available from Selden which is similar to that used on some cars to raise the hood. The attached picture shows the UK rep inserting this into the vang. Now, the vang alone supports the 19' boom. There is no longer a need for the topping lift which is now relegated to an auxiliary halyard. The topping lift interfered with the roach of the new sail. If your present Garhauer vang supports the boom without the need to hold it up with a topping lift, then you don't have a problem. The Selden wasn't capable of this without the insert. When I called Selden, they admitted the vang was useless without the insert. Hunter only offered it as an "option" and would not pay for it. John Richard s/v Jack's Place
B
Bob Keller
Jack W
Jack, When Doyle first installed the new sail it did the same thing. They discovered that the pocket where the battens are inserted in the sal were too thick when the flap was closed to keep the battens in. They took the sail back and redesigned the flap. I still sometines had a little trouble furling the sail if I was not dead into the wind. Also, the sailed filled the mast so much that the two grey covers on the port side of the mast (access to halyard to install main) could not be kept on. If you continue to have trouble try a little Sail Kote, that also helped. If you are dealing with the Doyle sail loft in City Island I found them to be very good and supportive. I had some pictures of the sail before the problem was fixed. If I can find them I will forward them to you to see if it may be the same type problem. Bob Keller sv Kathryn 2, Stamford, Ct
Jack, When Doyle first installed the new sail it did the same thing. They discovered that the pocket where the battens are inserted in the sal were too thick when the flap was closed to keep the battens in. They took the sail back and redesigned the flap. I still sometines had a little trouble furling the sail if I was not dead into the wind. Also, the sailed filled the mast so much that the two grey covers on the port side of the mast (access to halyard to install main) could not be kept on. If you continue to have trouble try a little Sail Kote, that also helped. If you are dealing with the Doyle sail loft in City Island I found them to be very good and supportive. I had some pictures of the sail before the problem was fixed. If I can find them I will forward them to you to see if it may be the same type problem. Bob Keller sv Kathryn 2, Stamford, Ct
J
Jack W
Thanks Bob
Yes, I'm dealing with Doyle in City Island. I suggested to Paul that I thought the pockets were too thick or the batten diameters were too wide. They're looking into it. My greatest concern is that I single handle the boat quite often, and in any kind of a good wind, I can't be as precise as I can with someone else working the wheel. With my "old" (2005) UK sail, I can just haul it in and even be a little sloppy- works without fail every and any time. If this is not a forgiving sail, then it's not for me. Thoughts?
Yes, I'm dealing with Doyle in City Island. I suggested to Paul that I thought the pockets were too thick or the batten diameters were too wide. They're looking into it. My greatest concern is that I single handle the boat quite often, and in any kind of a good wind, I can't be as precise as I can with someone else working the wheel. With my "old" (2005) UK sail, I can just haul it in and even be a little sloppy- works without fail every and any time. If this is not a forgiving sail, then it's not for me. Thoughts?
- Status
- Not open for further replies.