Fully battened vs semi battened main

[Flapjack]

On our first boat a 25 ft Itchen Ferry we had a semi battened main, on our current boat a Bruce Roberts 34 we have a fully battened main, can anyone tell me what the pros and cons are of both?

I have seen some posts which say that a fully battened main is harder to de-power? From experience the fully battened seems to set better but the two boats are so different that I don’t know if that is just the sail or the fact that they are so different in the first place.

If I was going to replace the main which one would most people recommend?
Type of sailing is cruising in predominately good weather unless we get caught out.

I’ve only ever sailed these two boats so don’t really have anything else to compare them with.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I removed the full length batons on my main and converted her back to short batons.

The full length batons will allow the sail to set much better and far more consistently over its whole area thus allowing more efficient drive i.e. faster boat speed. It is very manageable and can assist in easy sail storage.

My baton cars were worn and I also had to be on a close reach to stop the boat under sail so I converted the sail back to normal baton size. Now she will stop on a beam reach. I have also done away with lazy jacks and stack pak sail covers.

I cruise and believe in keeping it all simple and low cost. I don't need full length batons to sail efficiently nor do I want the cost of cars and long batons. That's the only reason I changed, not necessary.

 

[BAtoo]

I had full battens on a previous (38ft fractional rig) boat & often had problems hoisting and lowering the sail - needed to be head to wind or v difficult. When replacing I went for full top batten only and normal lowers; much easier to use and didn't see much/any difference in performance.
On latest boat went straight for similar set-up when replacing main.
IF you have VERY good cars then I think fully-battened can be a good set up; also if your boat is under powered (& you can have good cars) it might be the right option.

 

[DJE]

If I was going to replace the main which one would most people recommend?

We replaced our main last year and expressed an interest in fully battened. The sailmaker advised against it. As the boat is masthead rigged and the main is relatively small he reckoned the extra expense of the battens and cars wasn't justified. The new main has a full length top batten and three long tapered battens that reach between 30% and 60% of the width of the sail. It sets beautifully and is no problem to flake on the boom. Also on sailmaker's advice the new sail is loose footed.

 

[deep denial]

Question: what's the relevance of the cars, in relation to the type of battens?

 

[huzar30]

Full length battens need recent cars which can run freely up and down the track. A set of good cars adds considerably to the cost of a fully battened main.

I will confess to a fully battened main with lazy jacks and stackpack: the sail sets well and is easy to handle, but with one proviso - you have to be head to wind to drop it. Effectively, you have to have the motor on and then turn into wind. I haven't found this to be a problem however. Even with an ordinary main, it's easier to drop it when head to wind.

I think fully battened mains set better, and are much better when motor sailing. I certainly wouldn't be without a stackpack these days, even if it does mean leazy jacks.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Another point re FB mains is that they don't flog. Lofts say this prolongs the sail's life, but also if you sail with newbies, they find it far less frightening.

 

[arfa]

I am a big fan of fully battened even on my little 21 footer. It sets better, has much more control and handles gusts much better. My previous sail was baggy and contributed to a major rounding up problem with winds more than f4. It is harder to raise but nothing a little wd40 won't solve. I also have lazyjacks plus stackpack which makes single handing much easier too. So a big thumbs up for full battens from me

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Definitely in the FB camp.

I have an older heavy boat and is much much faster in lighter winds than before.

In heavy winds the depth keeps further forward where you want it.