[Public-list] Battens - No Battens ??

[Brian and Elaine Timmins]

>
> I understand about the battens supporting the roach.  I'll just try it
> sometime without em and see how the sail looks.  In any sort of a wind I'd
> guess the sail would straighten up fine without anything as drastic as
> surgery to chop off the roach.
>
> Thanks for the comments, folks, all very useful.
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> Randy Katz
> #249 Seattle/Bellingham
> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
 I had a battenless main on a heavy displacement cutter that I owned
previous to my A30. As a second "Emergency" main, I had the older normally
battened main but without the battens. The one and only time I ever tried
the older sail, the leech was totally unmanageable without the battens. My
unbattened main had no roach and was easy to use, without any problems
(except of course the reduced sail area). Battenless is OK for a cruising
main but it will mean lesser performance in light air.
 On the other hand, I bought a fully battened (full length battens) main for
my current 39' heavy displacement cutter. I love it. Easy to reef, easy and
controlled to drop (lazy jacks in use), and always nicely shaped (although I
do have to adjust the batten tension some more for flatness).
  Any of the three main configurations for the main will work fine, but the
sail must be made with the batten configuration in mind.
Regards,
Brian  ex#497


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