Fully Battened Sails

[Barracuda2003]

This is a question that has probably been discussed endlessly before but I cannot find anything on it, so here it is (again).
I've a secondhand Dehler 36 that should have a fully battened mainsail but came with a partial battened mainsail. I was about to get a new sail - fully battened - when someone said that 90% battened mainsails were better.
Are they? If so whats the advantages/ disadvantages?

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Barracuda,

Welcome to the YBW forums, you will get most of the answers you seek here and a bit banter, if not a flaming.

If you are a keen racer you might like to invest in a fully battened main, however, if on the other hand you cruise more than race, go for 3 battens at the top and a loose foot main.

Fully, or 90% battened mains provide an advantage around a knot in their conditions, that's provided you know how to get the best from them, most don't IMHO.

By the way, when you have a moment to spare, please fill in your profile, it will help us all provide better answers, and put you in touch with others of the same yacht make / type.

Avagoodweekend Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

 

[kgi]

I had a 90% battened main built seven years ago after seeing them at the SBS on the truly classics, the advantage of the nearly fully battened (my battens stop eight inches short of the luff) sail is there is no batten compression on the slides so the entity works out cheaper, you still have to go nearly head to wind to drop it as there is a significant side loading on the slugs, with a fully battened sail you generally have a track attached to the mast with cars on it preferably with recirculating ball bearings, this you can reef and drop off the wind, but the cost is that much higher, i can't remember the dehlers rig but if it has no back stays, then fully battened with a largish roach would work........keith

 

[extravert]

Keep going...

Go on then, tell us how to get the best from them. Don't leave us hanging. (I might soon have a boat with a FBM, my first).

 

[maxi]

Re: Keep going...

Post a PM to JOHNOO, what he doesn't know about Dehlers & fully battened sails just ain't worth knowing.

 

[vyv_cox]

Several instances of problems have been reported on the forums and in the magazines. These seem to centre on the high levels of friction involved in the cars or similar arrangement at the mast. Using 90% battened sails eliminates these problems.

Many cruising sailors seem to think that fully or 90% battened sails are easier to handle. When I bought my normally-battened main I was forced to make up lazy jacks, which I hate, because the slipperiness of the sail made it almost impossible to handle. Almost certainly fully battened sails would have helped in this respect but my preference was not to have them. Normally-battened are far easier to "read" and I speak from many years of catamaran racing experience.

 

[qsiv]

I've sailed with both and currently have a fully battened UK Sails Tape Drive.

The only advantage that a partially battened sail has (IMO) is that the soft luff towards the bottom of the sail allows you to 'feather' the main a trifle more easily. Agaainst that the lack of flogging, the ability to pull down a reef in any wind, on any point of sail (as long as the sail isnt touching the spreaders) is a real bonus. I do have the benefit of a good (Frederiksen) car system - once the lazy jacks are set up if I'm head to wind I can have the main fully down in two seconds flat!

I would agree that FB mains are not quite as easy to read as soft mains - but I tend to sail on the tell tales - which work just as well on both.

 

[david_e]

On your size of boat I would have thought that fully battened is better, they told me to go for 90% , the only reason I could see was so that their price would match up. Other things matter as well such as the car fittings and battens themselves

I have just bought one, not even rigged it yet, but I went for a quality performance dacron with Rutgerson cars. These have small UJ's on the fitting so that when the tension comes of the sail it drops vertically into the stack bag and also allows the cars to run more freely.

There are different car manufacturers, the more expensive ones mean you have to have a new track fitted to the mast so that the roller bearings have soemthing to rotate around, second best is like the Rutgerson which have four 'wheels' at the corner of the car to permit easy running up and down the mast. The cheapest (french) just use the normal slider which doesn't take full advantage of having full length battens and they tend not to have the UJ which means they can twist without tension.

 

[philmarks]

I've got the Rutgerson cars, 100% battens. Main problem I find is that when I let everything drop, the battens do not drop horizontally - the ends drop quicker due to the friction at the mast track, and when the ends reach the boom the batten is at an angle and preventing the cars coming all the way down. Maybe I should lower the sail gently. Anyway, I attached a light line to the headboard, and now use that to pull the main down. It works a treat.

 

[Barracuda2003]

Re: Keep going...

Thanks for the input. Whats Johno email address or how else can i to him

Brian Sinfield
Barracuda

 

[david_e]

Thanks, have you lubed the cars/mast in any way? light tough of vaseline or silicone etc?

 

[FlyingSpud]

Re: Keep going...

Go to User options at the top of this page, and you will see a box there for sending a PM, just type the recipient’s name and bob is your mum’s brother

 

[qsiv]

I wouldnt use either (anything greasy will quickly pick up grit) - I use a teflon spray about twice a season which keeps everything running smoothly.