A little help on vertical battens furling

[cmedsailor]

My new boat with Selden mast has in mast furling main sail with long vertical battens. Even though it furls into the mast fine (it’s a brand new sail with still a good shape!) the battens don’t stay parallel while coming into the mast.
I had in mast furling main sail (without battens) on my last boat for 11 years so I know how generally to use it but the vertical battens is something new for me. Any hints on how to ensure the battens stay parallel to the mast when reefing the sail?

 

[RIBW]

Hi,
As you received no quick replies, I thought I'd mention that Kemp/Selden in-mast furling is extensively covered on the Moody Owners Infoexchange website and in their stored resources.
https://moodyowners.org/
It also helps if you know the exact version of your mast (Reefin, Furlin, RA, RB, RC etc) as they all have slight, but significant differences.
Good Luck
Bob

 

[NormanS]

My main was recut, so that there is now no roach, and therefore no need for vertical battens. OK, there is some loss of area, but furling is now dead easy.

 

[Pagetslady]

I Have a seldon inmast mast with a Crusader vertical baton sail, the only thing I do is to make sure I am on a starboard tack just so the sail goes in and out easily so you need the boom out over the port 1/4 only a little. As for the batons not being parallel to the mast I have not noticed this I have had a Maxi Roach for 10 years with batons and new Crusader main with batons for 4 years. When reefing or stowing I release the out haul so the sail is free to go in parallel it you tension the out haul as is recommended may be this tends to tighten the lower end of the luff so it tolls tighter. Not sure really but its worth a try. I sail solo so its easier to release the outhaul and pull the furling line like hell seems fine if a bit noisy . My Boat is a Westerly Corsair 35 ft may have something to do with me having had furling Main for 27 years successfully, there is so much stuff said about how terrible they are I love mine, if I am hard on the wind and need to reef, i release the main sheet let off a few feet of outhaul wind in the sail tighten the out haul set the mainsheet takes seconds, when on port tack i find the sail will be luffed up when released seems to furl that way as well.
Mike

 

[Pasarell]

I have a Saunders mainsail with vertical battens reefing into a Selden mast. The sail is 11 years old but very lightly used. Previous owner was the first to use the sail and only for a couple of months in each of 4 years. He obviously didn't understand it as all the long battens had been broken and joined in multiple places. The sail was quite creased from trying to furl badly. I had new single piece battens from Saunders last year. Sail now furls/unfurls easily without winches needed. The battens are just off parallel with the mast as they go in and out and this seems to be the design so I haven't paid any notice to it really. When furling / unfurling the last batten in is just a little stiff as the mast is pretty full but it is still easy to handle.
I think it is more important with battens than without to have the wind slightly off the starboard bow when furling as you need to keep the furl pretty snug for everything to fit in the mast.
Hope this helps or at least reassures you

 

[ip485]

Selden in mast with 50 foot yacht.

I dont believe it is essential they remain perfectly parallel to the mast - mine dont. The height of the boom alters the way the main furls so it is well worth while "playing" with this to get the best setup. The battens are also important. The correct diameter (they definitely shouldnt break) and good flexibility. I havent found carbon battens work well as they lack flexibility. I think the battens should be round, although I have seen some that are not. Personally I usually come somewhere around head to wind when furling, although this is not absolutely essential and much less essential in less wind. There can be some enormous loads on a large mainsail in F4 and above and these loads are definitely relieved in this way. Especially with many larger Selden masts (I dont know what system you have) with in mast bearings, the bearing carrier and the bearings themselves are of poor quality and often they are "shot" after not many years. The resistance on the mechanism becomes substantial with a very high risk of a disastereous break (of course when you least want it to happen). It should be possible to furl and unfurl the sail even on a 50 footer by hand without there being any significant resistance (of course sitting in the marina about head to). If the resistance is greater then the lower bearing is well worth examining.

 

[cmedsailor]

Thanks for the answers. As I said, it is a new boat, new main sail. It goes in and out the furling selden mast by hand despite the fact that battens don’t go in parallel to the mast. The only problem i had faced was the very end of the batten pockets but now it is fine. I had to open and close again the pocket making sure that there was not any extra thickness at the velcro.