Masthead flicker

[rwoofer]

I am thinking of adding a masthead flicker (fibreglass batten that goes straight back from the top of the mast and is attached to the backstay with a pulley, so when backstay is released it pulls the backstay up and back) to help my mainsail past the backstay when tacking/gybing in light winds.

Has anyone else used one? Advantages/disadvantages? Anything to watch out for?

 

[Adamastor]

You didn't say what sort of boat- we fitted one to the MG30 I race, and it was almost a complete waste of time till we fitted a vectran backstay. It has to be strong enough to lift the slack backstay by itself, and a 5mm SS stay weighs enough that it almost can't. Also- be careful how you clamp the batten to the stay. The batten has to have pre-bend in it to help the process, but not so much that the batten's strained. And the sort of batten you choose is important too- a pultruded glass rod like a cat batten might probably be a better investment, because most battens we have are cored and they play dead very quickly.

 

[rwoofer]

Thanks.

It's for an RM880 (29ft) and I think you have answered the main question which is that I will need a vectran backstay, which is good for the sail as well. I assumed that you can adjust the length of the backstay strop to avoid the need for a batten with pre-bend.

 

[Adamastor]

Nice boat! I didn't explain how the batten's fixed- "pre-bend" isn't the right term, I guess! Basically, you fix the root of the batten flat onto the mast-truck with a clamp or thru-screw it, and choose a batten that feels stiff enough to do the job! Tuning the setup means sawing the batten to length in situ until it's quite stiff when it's deflected to meet the backstay, and then you fasten it onto the stay- either with a seizing or a likkle-iddy-bitty u-bolt. I used a u-bolt from a Crosby-clamp to great success!