new fully battened - what's best?

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BlueSkyNick

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Assume a 40' boat with 350 sq.ft mainsail to be used for cruising with best possible performance.

4 or 5 battens? pros and cons?

Rutgerson cars with wheels - cheap(ish)
Ronstan/Frederickson ball slides - expensive ish.

are ball slides so much better than cars?
 
MoodyNick said:
Assume a 40' boat with 350 sq.ft mainsail to be used for cruising with best possible performance.

4 or 5 battens? pros and cons?

Rutgerson cars with wheels - cheap(ish)
Ronstan/Frederickson ball slides - expensive ish.

are ball slides so much better than cars?
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Harken, just round the corner from you so ask stores to negotiate a cracking discount on the best there is ;)

Steve
 
Rebecca & Steve said:
Harken, just round the corner from you so ask stores to negotiate a cracking discount on the best there is ;)
Click to expand...

IIRC, a while back Harken (or similar) were asked to quote for ~500m of track and ~100 ball-race batten cars.

No, it wasn't for a megayacht, just the Stones set designer looking to sort out backdrops for their Bigger Bang tour ;-)
 
Guapa said:
Got Ronstan ball slides with the new sails.
Not cheap, but well worth it (IMHO) - night/day difference - wouldn't go back.
Click to expand...

I would agree with the sentiment on ball slides. When I purchased my yacht (Rival 41C) she was fitted with wheeled batten cars very similar to the Rutgenson (if not actual Rutgenson). Mast head rig, big straight stick, Kemp design.

The wheels were flat on most of the cars and they added more friction. You could see the cars juddering and jamming as the sail was hoisted. I am unaware of the age of the system but that winter I reverted back to plain sliders and standard battens (old main so just had the sail re-cut) as the shear hassle of hoisting or reefing was not worth continuing with the system.

The wheels could not be changed out as the shaft was clinched (deformed flat) at each end to retain the wheels.

When I renew my mainsail it shall have full battens with some form of ball type batten cars. Reducing friction should be a high priority and above price as an objective when selecting in my opinion.
 
five battens, positioned so that they best support the sail when reefed

ronstan ball slide cars: worth the money

Use threadlock to secure the batten pocket to the batten car (vertical stud that attaches the car to the batten pocket can undo itself)
There is a tensioning screw in the batten pocket so once the batten is in for the season, a couple of stitches at the end of the batten pocket (leach end) makes sure that you won't lose a batten if the sail is flogging in a lot of breeze (i.e. reefing in a squall) but you can still play around with the batten tension

It is a good system and I've had no problems hoisting since fitting four years ago.

15m luff, 37m2 main, loose footed, spectra leach line adjusted from the goosneck (runs up to the head, round a small block and down to cleats on the luff), cunningham hole, tri radial cut

No issues depowering when needed, doesn't flog and cause upsetting noise when it is windy, really stable shape in the gusts. A good balance between adjustability/tuneability and stability.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
I would agree with the sentiment on ball slides. When I purchased my yacht (Rival 41C) she was fitted with wheeled batten cars very similar to the Rutgenson (if not actual Rutgenson). Mast head rig, big straight stick, Kemp design.

The wheels were flat on most of the cars and they added more friction. You could see the cars juddering and jamming as the sail was hoisted. I am unaware of the age of the system but that winter I reverted back to plain sliders and standard battens (old main so just had the sail re-cut) as the shear hassle of hoisting or reefing was not worth continuing with the system.

The wheels could not be changed out as the shaft was clinched (deformed flat) at each end to retain the wheels.

When I renew my mainsail it shall have full battens with some form of ball type batten cars. Reducing friction should be a high priority and above price as an objective when selecting in my opinion.
Click to expand...

What you describe sounds like the older type of Rutgerson cars. I changed those for the current type, which have bigger wheels and are better. If I get it right, properly head to wind and nothing preventing the halyard running freely, the sail drops right down. Similarly if I clear the reefing lines I can pull the sail by hand to about a yard above the second spreaders, and after that its a winch job as the sheer weight of the sail gets a bit much. If I was starting again, I think I would pay out for a decent ball bearing tracked system, rather than cars that still have a part that has to slide inside the mast groove.
 
MoodyNick said:
Assume a 40' boat with 350 sq.ft mainsail to be used for cruising with best possible performance.

4 or 5 battens? pros and cons?

Rutgerson cars with wheels - cheap(ish)
Ronstan/Frederickson ball slides - expensive ish.

are ball slides so much better than cars?
Click to expand...
My main is sligthly larger than yours 36m2.
on the 4th season now, using the Rutgerson wheel cars, 4 full length battens.

Number of battens - ask the sailmaker - he/she shoiuld now.
The battcars work fine for me (the old sail had the same system but I don't know how old it was)
 
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