Fully Battened Mains v.s. Conventional Mains

[Ron McCoy]

A number of people have mentioned in recent messages that they have fully battened mains on their Cape Dorys. I am thinking of replacing the main on my CD33 and would like to know the group's opinion on full batten v.s. conventional or unbattened sails on our boats.

For those that have full batten mains, what drove your decision and have you been happy with the results?

My laundry list of questions includes:

Do you have to have batten cars for you main?

If so, did the mast require modification?

Who made your sail and are you happy with the loft?

How much roach do you have in the sail?

Do you use lazy jacks with this sail?

For those that chose conventional or unbattened mains, what was your reason for avoiding full battens?

So, how 'bout it, folks. Opinions?

Thanks in advance,

Ron McCoy
s/v Audacity



rmccoy@interpath.com

[JOhn MacArthur]

A number of people have mentioned in recent messages that they have fully battened mains on their Cape Dorys. I am thinking of replacing the main on my CD33 and would like to know the group's opinion on full batten v.s. conventional or unbattened sails on our boats.

For those that have full batten mains, what drove your decision and have you been happy with the results?

My laundry list of questions includes:

Do you have to have batten cars for you main?

No, there are some extra heavy duty slides that work pretty well. BTW, this is on a CD-30 cutter. I got the sails this past summer.
On a 33, you *might* be advised to go with cars.

If so, did the mast require modification?

Who made your sail and are you happy with the loft?

Neil Pryde. Happy as can be.

How much roach do you have in the sail?

Normal

Do you use lazy jacks with this sail?

Nope. Go with full batten. You'll never be sorry.

For those that chose conventional or unbattened mains, what was your reason for avoiding full battens?

So, how 'bout it, folks. Opinions?

Thanks in advance,

Ron McCoy
s/v Audacity

jmac@laplaza.org

[mike ritenour]

roy,

For those that have full batten mains, what drove your decision and have you been happy with the results?

light air performance, very happy with the results

Do you have to have batten cars for you main?

yes and they have made reefing a dream and give the main better shape.

If so, did the mast require modification?

only addition of the track, which requires no drilling

Who made your sail and are you happy with the loft?

hood and very much so.

How much roach do you have in the sail?

normal amount.

Do you use lazy jacks with this sail?

I have them, but haven't installed them as yet, they should be very handy when short handed.

I would advise to go with a full batten option, but you must install batt cars, otherwise you'll always have binding problems with the battens at the mast track.

btw, i have a cd33...great boat, any other modifications you've done to improve her?

i'm currently cruising south on "LaVida", and hope to arrive in FL before x-mas, then on to the bahamas after new year.

take care, fair winds,
mike



michaelritenour@hotmail.com

[Al Levesque]

For those that have full batten mains, what drove your decision and have you been happy with the results?

Our CD33 came with the full battens in the main. Full battens were new to us but we are happy to have them.

Do you have to have batten cars for you main?

I am not sure what batten cars are. Our battens have a special slide that secures the pocket at the mast end and keeps it from twisting or binding.

If so, did the mast require modification?

There is no apparent modification to the mast.

Who made your sail and are you happy with the loft?

The sail appears to have been modified from conventional battens. I don't know who did the modification.

How much roach do you have in the sail?

Roach looks normal. In fact, it is the same as it was with conventional battens.

Do you use lazy jacks with this sail?

Yes. We tried going without for a short while and found it a nuisance to be back to having the sail all over the place. The trade-off is the problem of catching on the lazy-jacks when raising the sail with wind in it (not something we do all that often.)

So, how 'bout it, folks. Opinions?

The full battens do keep a good sail shape in light winds and may be the reason we seem to move well when others complain of light wind problems.

Al

Thanks in advance,

Ron McCoy
s/v Audacity

albertlevesque@cove.com

[Ron McCoy]

Thanks to all who have responded, so far.

Mike, we've had our CD33, Audacity, for a little over one year now. Up until recently, the only substantial modification was to replace the standing rigging with dyform wire.

Hurricane Floyd did a bit of damage requiring that we haul her for some hull work and have her mast pulled for a rigging inspection. While she's out, I'm replacing all the existing instruments with the Raytheon ST60 series. I'm also replacing the Autohelm ST3000 autopilot with an ST4000+.

I'm looking to the running rigging and sails now to see what I want to change. Projects I've got in mind, so far, are to add a mount on the front of the mast to support my whisker pole for use with the cruising spiniker, replacing the mast winches with self tailers, adding a profurl to the headstay, replacing the nylon rode with chain and a windless and the one that started this thread, a new main.

My intent is to improve the boat for offshore daysailing, coastwise vacations of two to three weeks at a time and, eventually, trips to Bermuda and/or the Bahamas.

Hope your trip has been, and will continue to be great. Did you stop in Charleston on your way down? If so, sorry we missed you.

Now, who wants to help me prioritize my list?

Ron McCoy
s/v Audacity



Rmccoy@interpath.com

[Patrick Turner]

I sail a CD30 cutter that has a Full Battened Main and so far really like it. I must confess that it came that way when I bought it so I can't compare performance differences. It always has a good shape and I understand that fully battened mains last longer since they tend to experience a lot less flapping around when taking or reefing. I believe it would be a mistake not to have batten cars...makes life a lot easier. I would also recommed the Dutchmen self flaking system. It came with the boat and it has been a real treat. When I drop the main, it just falls down on the boom in a controlled way and into nicly laid flakes.

Pat



patturner@earthlink.net

[Bob Loewenstein]

A couple of people mentioned the advisability of batten cars...I have a full battened main on my CD32, but normal sail slugs. I've had no problem at any time in reefing or dropping sail.

I also have a dutchman system which is really nice. I've used lazy jacks on other boats, but have been really won over by the dutchman (no abundance of extra lines, very clean and simple, although it does require modification to the sail)



rfl@yerkes.uchicago.edu