Looks like I'm going to be a boat owner again ....

[dunedin]

Maybe, but this is a cruising boat and there is still a worthwhile difference between an old "baggy" roller furling mainsail and a well cut new one.

Edit: as an ex-racer of competitive boats I understand the desire to go as swiftly/efficiently as possible but when cruising it should not be at the expense of potential problems with systems.

Yes, but equally it is good to have efficiency and speed to make longer crossings between safe havens before the crew get too tired. Lots of miles to do yesterday, today and tomorrow - so good to be making 7 knots in just 11 knots breeze
Was just making the point that no sailmaker or fancy cloth can substitute for battens if want efficiency.

 

[Tranona]

Except the best sailmakers in the world can't make a sail set efficiently without battens. North 3D laminate sails have battens. We have vertical battens in our jib for the same reason.

There are so many different types of battened sails that it is difficult to generalise. The laminate sails and the latest Elvestrom sails are of course better than plain sails but are hugely expensive.

The point I was making is that the normal and affordable battened sails offer little if any advantage on a boat like the Bavaria over a well designed and cut plain sail made out of Vectran. Crusader, mentioned above was one of the lofts that advised Vectran, even though they make battened sails as well. Apart from the cost/performance ratio, some of the Selden masts do not have room for battens and cause problems with furling. This was the case with my 33 which had a large low aspect ratio main compared with other boats using the same section and the Vectran sail only just fitted when furled. To get battens a lighter cloth would have been needed.

As I pointed out the Vision 44 has a very generous standard sail area so little or no need for the small additional area that can be achieved with battens. The key characteristics (for me) of a cruising sail are stability, ease of adjustment of sail area/shape and durability and Vectran provides that.