In mast furling sail vs semi batten

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Just ask the dealer when placing your order to get you a full battened sail rather than part and your problems will be over...

Fully battened sails are great for so many reasons...

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... but you might well find you need batten cars and a suitable track on the mast to make the full-length battens manageable, you should discuss that with the sailmaker as well (although there may be batten systems that work into a standard toggle track).

Further positives (full -vs- part battens) are that full battens drop really easily into lazyjacks, when reefing or dropping the sail - and they (usually) stay there... Whereas part battens might have the tendency to fall off...

Disadvantages - they are sometimes accused of suffering from chafe around the batten pockets. Also, they cannot readily be reefed or dropped when going downwind. This can cause a fuss if you have to round up to reef after you have been running in heavy weather - all of a sudden you realise how much wind there really is, and how much relief you were getting from the seas whilst running....
 
You have now again,

My first two boats had in mast furling, thought it was great till it frightened the life out me - couldnt get the sail away in a blow, - managed to reef it eventually but I never trusted it again - and that was a new sail on a new boat - the fault was the main halyard tension - sorted that out but then the sail stretched and went baggy (not very baggy, just "not flat anymore), so slight tension on the outhaul is required to furl lest the dreaded pleat develops - its too hard!!!

Now have single line automatic reefing, its not perfect, lots of friction unless constantly maintained, - lots of lines to tangle in the cockpit, but the main sets much better, weight aloft is reduced when reefed instead of remaining up there and the sail is far larger than the skinny in mast thing, and contrary to popular belief, no you dont have to go to windward to reef it (why stop the boat?) but - in short its safer, if in a tight spot let go the main halyard jammer and the sail will reduce - it wont be pretty but the sail wont flog and the boat wont broach.

Advantage for the in mast - sails are cheaper - but you need more of them!
 
For family sailing where most trips will be in the 2 to 12 hour range I think the argument has tipped in favour of in-mast furling.

I would even suggest that in-mast furling will boost your overall sailing performance as seen through reduced engine hours because you will whip the sail out faster and furl it away later leaving and entering port.
 
I've experienced the jammed up furler on rival 38 in Greece, quite exciting. Burt it terrified the guests.

Slab reefing single line systems have allowed me to reef by myself in seconds. You do need cars and mast track however. The battens as others have said are an aid to cruising sails not a racing choice.
 
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I would even suggest that in-mast furling will boost your overall sailing performance as seen through reduced engine hours because you will whip the sail out faster and furl it away later leaving and entering port.

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If this is true then you are gaining 5 minutes max per trip. However you're average overladen cruising boat will start making meaningful progress in lighter winds with a fully battened main as it will have more area and also be more stable so less affected by a little bit of slop.

It's also a lot more tweakable, especially in the twist department, so much better light winds performance and less time motoring.
 
My inmast system has battens. (vertical) they make quite a difference to the shape of the sail, and also allow extra roach.

I changed from a normal slab reefed sail with full length battens. The old sail was pretty tired, but I did find an improvement with my new sail especially in light airs.
 
My old Anderson 26 sailed through a Beneteau oceanis 33 something a few years back. That boat was brand new, fin keel, and nearly 10' longer on the water line... We did it by 400 yards in less than a mile, both outpointing and footing faster. Amber had a good nick fully battened Wilkinson main, and the Benny had in mast furling. Reminded me of the same problems I'd had once trying to sail a Westerly Merlin b/k to windward
 
I have posted on these lines before!

The trouble with in mast reefing is that if it all goes pear-shaped you cannot easily reach the offending bits with a hammer or sharp stick.

I prefer all my reefing gear to be visible and near to hand, this rules out single line in-boom reefing and in-mast reefing. I have no experience of in-boom reefing.

The best system I have used is the Dutchman with external line reefing led back to the cock-pit, totally failsafe. Loads of line but little canvas bags sorted that out.
 
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If this is true then you are gaining 5 minutes max per trip.

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Sorry my poor English, what I meant was unfurl *earlier* not faster. For example a shorthanded crew leaving Portsmouth lacks a clear sea area for turning head-to-wind and hoisting until someway down the Swashway i.e. 20 mins from the home mooring.

The same can be true on arrival. The other day I was entering Portsmouth about 5 minutes from the narrow mouth of the harbour entrance. Of 10 yachts heading in the last to "drop" sail was a solid old 45 footer, with a mixed gender crew and an average age of 65. Why? They had an in-mast furling main.

I also think on occasions when motoring in light winds the furling main crew will have a go and try to catch a new light breeze whereas another crew with a conventional main will consider the sailing experiment too much bother.
 
Firstly, one other thing not yet mentioned...... put an inexperienced helm/child on the helm with a fully battened main, and ask them to hold the boat head to wind..... you'll quickly find that they will struggle compared with a semi battened sail or a furler....

Secondly.... its dead easy to lose the power out of a furling sail should it jam... just let the clew go, and it can be pretty much completely depowered by 'bunching' the sail up at the mast.... add any battens on a slab reefing sail, and its much harder to do the same.....

As for the performance difference.... anyone who claims it doesn't exist is a muppet..... but its tiny unless you want to spend all day tuning your boat.... I completely accept that for some that is exactly what they want to do.... but for us, we want to sit and relax, enjoy some pleasant food in the cockpit, soak up the sun, and just take it nice and easy..... so a furler suits us just fine....

I can easily handle the whole boat myself (40') without hardly needing to use the autopilot.... pulling the sail out, and in can be done easily single handed, on most points of sail, and takes but a few seconds..... my son aged 8 can reef the main on his own... try doing that with a 40'er with slab reefing.....
 
I've used both and give me a fully battened main with slab reefing any day. Definitley a better sailing performance because of the roach, ease of reefing and ability to flatten the sail when reefed. Ok you have more control lines to deal with but compared with trying unjam an in-mast reefing system in a rising wind, slab reefing is piece of cake. Also the negative roach does not make for happy mainsail if you are used to a normal main, it is usually just a plain flat triangle with none of the natural curve and forms that you expect of a main and by definition must offer less of an aerofoil. Currently using in mast reefing and maybe the main is a bit tired but we have had too many close calls for my liking.
 
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but compared with trying unjam an in-mast reefing system

[/ QUOTE ] This is a myth when the in mast rolling system is correctly set up. It then does not jam. However, it is correct to say that setting the system up is more critical than rigging a full batten system.

Fault points which potentially stop the system working efficiently are:

1. Mast bend - must be straight in all wind strengths, easy to do.

2. Wrong tension in the internal foil/halyard. Too little, and the foil sags against the mast shell; too much and friction levels at the ball races top and bottom become high.

3. Baggy sail. Forms creases when rolled, which require lots of jiggling when an unroll is attempted. Re-cut or replace the sail.

Any hint of difficulty is the cue to check out these three points. If all are paid proper attention when the rigging is set up, your system will be trouble free until you next fiddle with it.
 
Lots ov views but worth noting that not all in mast systems are the same and some people are giving views only on systems they are familiar with. i.e. Some systems have a negative roach but on ours with have full length vertical battens with a positive roach. Some talk about the weight aloft but we have Vectron fabric as opposed to Dacron which ways half the amount. Hence whichever route you go down I would certainly discuss the options with different suppliers as each will be selling the virtues of there own system.

Something not yet mentioned is the wear on the thread of the sail. With all the furling and unfurling the thread gets worn away as it brushes against the entry slot in the mast. For most people this is not an issue as their useage is light. However, we have a lot of useage and have had to get the seams resown on a two year old sail. The fabric lasts but the thread doesn't.
 
Well, maybe, personally I normally hoisted and dropped next to the Haslar lightship when 2 up out of Pompey, as I prefer to hoist in the more sheltered waters of the harbour than the cut up slop of outside the entrance.

Totally disagree with the coment about light winds motoring though, as almost all crews will (or at least should) hoist their main anyway to act as damping. Then a more powerful conventional sail will be more effective at illustrating to the crew that there is now enough wind to sail.
 
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