Critique my sail shape

[Ben Miller]

This is a newish main (new in 2018). What's the forum's take on the battens? The upper two/three seem awfully stiff to me. Would a more flexible set allow a better set in the upper portion of the sail?

[Jim Walsh]

If you bought this sail new from Quantum I’d send them this photo and ask their opinion. They might just give you a set which is better suited. Those battens do appear to be too stiff but it looks like the photo was taken in very light winds.

[fmueller]

Tighter halyard or more cunningham. Also leach line looks tight.

Did Quantum supply the battens. They really do look too heavy.

Take another picture in more wind.

[wikakaru]

+1 on leech line being too tight. The leech line is mainly to stop the noisy chattering of the leech in a good breeze. If the leech isn't chattering, you probably don't need any leech line tension.

Also, it looks like you have a topping lift which is too tight. The sail itself should be supporting the weight of the boom, not the topping lift. The topping lift should only support the weight of the boom when the sail is not up. You should ease the topping lift after raising the sail and tighten it before lowering the sail every time you raise and lower the sail.

I don't think you will get much flex on battens that short even if you make them thinner. Try changing the topping lift and leech line first, then see how the sail looks.

Smooth sailing,

Jim

[Ben Miller]

Thanks for all the comments! There was a decent amount of wind yesterday. I would say 8-10 knots.

Good call on the topping lift. I sometimes forget to release it after hoisting the main. I think I noticed that and dealt with it about five minutes after taking this photo. I'll check the leech line too and make sure it isn't over-tensioned. I'd ordinarily also have a downhaul rigged to take care of the luff tension, but this was the first sail of the summer and I didn't have it set up yet.

There's always room for improvement in my sail trim, but the battens are my main question right now. They came with the sail, from Quantum and I've always wondered if they were appropriate. They're all the same thickness, end to end and #1 to #4. #1 (at the head) never seems to flex at all and #2 and #3 always give me that ugly corner in the sail at the forward end.

I'll address the sail trim items above and take another look. Thanks again for the input!

[wikakaru]

You have a couple of adjustments you can make on the battens, too, before looking at replacing them. Depending on how the batten pocket closure mechanism was designed, you may be able to change the pre-tension on the battens by breaking the velcro loose and inserting the battens farther or less far. If adjusting the velcro doesn't work, or if you don't have velcro, you could also try shortening ONE batten slightly and seeing if that makes any difference. The only battens I've ever had to adjust were full battens on a windsurfer sail, and that's a whole different animal.

Good luck,

Jim

[wikakaru]

Another thought: It may be that those dimples at the front of the batten pocket are from a deep draft in the sail. It's hard to tell without draft lines. Tightening the backstay will add some bend to the mast and flatten the sail. You don't have to tighten the backstay turnbuckle to see if it's the issue, just pull the backstay sideways a bit like you would if you were sweating a halyard. (It's a Typhoon--you can do a lot of stuff by hand that you can't on bigger boats!) See if that has any effect. Serious racers will add an adjustable backstay to be able to control tension on the fly. I think that class rules allow for no more than 3 inches of adjustment to the backstay of a Typhoon.

Good luck,

Jim

[Ben Miller]

More good input!

I only have batten tension adjustment (sort of) on the top batten. The other three are in "spring-loaded" pockets.

I had the outhaul pretty tight that day, which would have reduced the draft, but having an overly-tight topping lift might have negated that in the top of the sail. I'll try adding more backstay tension next time I'm out. I admit it's fun pulling on the various stays and shrouds and seeing the mast flex in response.

[s2sailorlis]

next time your out go with a friend that can take the helm. play with the sail shape to see how it changes. battens do seem either to stiff or maybe slightly too long. maybe the protective patches at the end of the pocket are causing this too.