Fully battened mainsails

[Dan Tribe]

Any views on pros & cons of fully battened mains?
I'm getting quotes for a new main and one sailmaker is very enthusiastic about them, claims they help with a longer sail life. My old sail is 16 years old so this is a consideration.
I hadn't considered fully battened until he raised the subject. It adds a good few bob, but is it worth it?
Mainly for cruising with some social racing.
Ta

 

[dunedin]

What size of boat?

Our current 38 foot boat has fully battened, our previous 36 footer didn't.

The fully battened sail is nice, doesn't flap and stows neater into the stack pack. Sets well. But it has a very expensive set of batten cars, and is a bit more effort to fit and remove. Also, combined with rod kicker, can't lift boom to "scandalise" and depower, like we used to do before sailing off anchor.

Previous boat sail was fine, if a little fiddler to clear battens from lazyjacks. With a good sailmaker, shape was also good.

If getting a new boat, definitely would prefer fully battered. But if current setup is good (like our last boat), dont think I would spend a lot of money on upgrade to fully battered. If doing so, need to spend to get decent batten cars - cheap fully battered could be worst of both.

 

[RJJ]

Any views on pros & cons of fully battened mains?
I'm getting quotes for a new main and one sailmaker is very enthusiastic about them, claims they help with a longer sail life. My old sail is 16 years old so this is a consideration.
I hadn't considered fully battened until he raised the subject. It adds a good few bob, but is it worth it?
Mainly for cruising with some social racing.
Ta

I like it but they are indeed heavy and expensive. And you need to check your mast track for compatibility.

If it's a big sail then it may be hard to reach the head without a mast step. You can get nifty rotating batten cars which help pack it flatter and also reduce the strain on the stitching, but that adds an extra few bob no doubt.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I was in the same boat as you 2 years ago.

I bought the FB Main based on comments here. No regrets, sails superior to my non battened sail in all ways, faster, points higher, easier to haul up and down. Downsides, wear on batten pockets against shrouds (I am currently making baggy wrinkles for high contact areas), heavier, does not de-power as easily as standard battened main (not an issue as you just have to learn when it is powered or not due to lack of flapping, can still kill with topping lift or lowering halyard ). I don't have a stack pack and it is not an issue, however, it is a bit more of a hand full to stow. Stack pack cover for standard batten sail may not fit FB sail due to higher luff when lowered.

I would recommend it, see my OP below.

Adjusting Fully Battened Mainsails Compared to Standard Battened Mainsails + Vectra

 

[Minchsailor]

I have a Rustler 36. Put a fully battened sail on her 5 years ago. Sets beautifully.

BUT the cars add complexity. Guess 30% extra in price. I had a new mastrack fitted (more £££s). It is fiddly to get the battens in, especially the longer ones. It is VERY heavy to hoist, but stows neatly in the lazyjacks. Reefs well.

Overall, I am not convinced, for the average cruising sailor, the extras are worth it.

My sailmaker (Owens at Oban) offered a standard sail with extra long battens. This might be worth exploring

 

[Dan Tribe]

I was in the same boat as you 2 years ago.

I bought the FB Main based on comments here. No regrets, sails superior to my non battened sail in all ways, faster, points higher, easier to haul up and down. Downsides, wear on batten pockets against shrouds (I am currently making baggy wrinkles for high contact areas), heavier, does not de-power as easily as standard battened main (not an issue as you just have to learn when it is powered or not due to lack of flapping, can still kill with topping lift or lowering halyard ). I don't have a stack pack and it is not an issue, however, it is a bit more of a hand full to stow. Stack pack cover for standard batten sail may not fit FB sail due to higher luff when lowered.

I would recommend it, see my OP below.

Adjusting Fully Battened Mainsails Compared to Standard Battened Mainsails + Vectra

Thanks, your original post asked all the questions I had but put much better. My boat is a UFO 31 , so quite a small sail, 164 square foot. The consensus seems to be that they are "a good thing",. It looks like I may overcome my resistance to new fangled stuff. The last fully battened sail I had was on a Shearwater, wooden hickory battens.

 

[johnalison]

My first f/b mainsail was provided with adhesive patches which we applied when it became evident where the contact with the shrouds occurred. The sail didn't last very long anyway but with the last two sails we haven't bothered. However, I have straight X-trees and not much chafe occurs.

With a 19/20 fractional rig I find the full length battens an improvement. Additional advantages are that the sail flogs less and settles better into lazyjacks. The only drawbacks are that they can be something of a fiddle to insert, though the velcro strap is the chief cause of this, and also they are long, oddly enough. Mine won't fit in my car to take home, and extend through two cabins when stowed in the winter.

 

[Resolution]

Dan
I'm another much in favour of fully-battened. We also have a stackpack, which makes dropping in a hurry really quite easy. We also have Harken batt cars which I suggest are a vital part of the package. My main now 15 years old and looking good for a few more years. (Hope that isn't a fatal incitement to a big split!!)
Peter

 

[Concerto]

When I bought Concerto the sails had been replaced in about 1996 with a fully battened main and roller genoa, both by Hood. I decided to get some new sails 3 years ago, however the condition of the mainsail was good enough to keep using. Not wanting mismatched sails I did buy both. The old mainsail is now on another Fulmar and in far better condition than his 10 year old standard mainsail. The UFO 31 has a short boom due to the IOR rating rules. Personally I would follow the sailmaker(s) advice, presuming you are talking to more than one. If you want a straight answer then have a word with Cindy at Wilkinson Sails (Wilkinson Sails | Faversham). We chat occassionally, but I have never bought a sail from her, and she is very good for advice.

 

[LadyInBed]

My sails were getting a bit baggy so rather than fork out for new ones I got them converted to full batten in 2010 to give it a try.
It was well worth it, they give the sail a good shape and makes it easy to stack on the boom (no lazy jacks), so when I replaced the sails I had full battens put in.
Note they are not the expensive ones with fancy cars, just pocket ends with toggles for the mast track. See pics:

 

[Bobc]

Better sail shape, longer life, more power, less flogging, easier to raise/drop with a stackpack.

What's not to like.

 

[Amulet]

My Owen fully battened is a thing of joy. Performance in light winds with the sail holding its shape is incomparably better. I reef later and experience less weather helm. Just fantastic. Of course Owens are very good sailmakers, so it may be that any sail from them would be good. Only downside, I nearly went overboard stowing the sail in a choppy sea off Coll. With the old sail I could regain balance by flinging an arm around the sail and boom. Assumed I could do the same, and failed. A frantic grab at a fold of sail saved me.

 

[temptress]

Any views on pros & cons of fully battened mains?
I'm getting quotes for a new main and one sailmaker is very enthusiastic about them, claims they help with a longer sail life. My old sail is 16 years old so this is a consideration.
I hadn't considered fully battened until he raised the subject. It adds a good few bob, but is it worth it?
Mainly for cruising with some social racing.
Ta

there are no cons...simples

ex racer, over 70k cruising...you can reef or buy motor boat... you can't add sail.

 

[zoidberg]

My sails were getting a bit baggy so rather than fork out for new ones I got them converted to full batten in 2010 to give it a try.
It was well worth it, they give the sail a good shape and makes it easy to stack on the boom (no lazy jacks), so when I replaced the sails I had full battens put in.
Note they are not the expensive ones with fancy cars, just pocket ends with toggles for the mast track. See pics:

View attachment 91469 View attachment 91470

I like the sound of that, LIB. I'll have my existing main converted as you did.....

 

[Catalina36]

I went for fully battened 14 years ago having previously marvelled at Tornado catamarans left unattended on the beach outside our club with hoisted mainsails as stationary as a plane wing whereas any sail I'd ever seen would have been battering itself to death like a flag. I've never regretted it.

 

[Joker]

My major problem is that I have to be almost dead head to wind to raise it or lower it - which can be a pain.

 

[Laminar Flow]

We got new sails last year and we went for full battens for main and mizzen.

Our objective was to maximize sail area. We were able to increase the area of the mizzen by 20% for example and the main by 17%.

They give the sail a perfect shape and each batten can be individually adjusted for correct camber.

The first thing I did was to install lazy jacks on both main and mizzen to help containin the tings once they were down - folding new sails is like folding corrugated metal and of course the old sail covers fit like dress shirts after Christmas.

The improvement in performance has been staggeringly impressive.

My only worry is that, after sailing some 1300 miles with them, I suspect they might be more susceptible to chafe where the batten contact the lower shrouds.

Overall I'm very happy with them.

 

[LadyInBed]

My only worry is that, after sailing some 1300 miles with them, I suspect they might be more susceptible to chafe where the batten contact the lower shrouds.

I asked to have extra patches put on the sails at the contact points

 

[thinwater]

Thanks, your original post asked all the questions I had but put much better. My boat is a UFO 31 , so quite a small sail, 164 square foot. The consensus seems to be that they are "a good thing",. It looks like I may overcome my resistance to new fangled stuff. The last fully battened sail I had was on a Shearwater, wooden hickory battens.

You won't need batten cars or any of that on a 31' boat. Slugs will work fine (the cat in my avitar is 34'). Personally, it's not even close--full battens are easier to sail and to stow. You don't even need to tie up the bunt when reefed.

 

[langstonelayabout]

Better sail shape, longer life, more power, less flogging, easier to raise/drop with a stackpack.
What's not to like.

This pretty much summarises it for me, although adding 2x full length top battens with proper batten cars did cost me about £500 more than not having the full battens in a new sail from Kemp.

Definitely sets better and flogs less. Also the dropping into a stackpack was important and works well.

I raced dinghies with full battens for many years and am convinced of the improved performance,