Main battens or not

[Ron Brassord]

I am in the process of ordering a new suit of sails for my Alberg [Sea Sptite] 23. The loft is suggesting going with a main with no battens to reduce size and save some money. I sail in open ocean off Lighthouse Pt Fl in often heavy seas. I also must run a difficult inlet and broaching is a usual threat. My question is , will the main work well and will it look good??

[Matthew Atkinson]

I am in the process of ordering a new suit of sails for my Alberg [Sea Sptite] 23. The loft is suggesting going with a main with no battens to reduce size and save some money. I sail in open ocean off Lighthouse Pt Fl in often heavy seas. I also must run a difficult inlet and broaching is a usual threat. My question is , will the main work well and will it look good??

Ron,

I have just started studing sail design and while a little knowledge may be a dangerous thing, I will share what little I have learned. Battens, whether short ORC style or full battens, improve sail performance by reducing drag. This is accomplished by creating an improved foil shape by entending the following edge of the sail past the true line from head to clew. This sail area, aft of the head/clew line is called the roach. The more roach, the more the sail is shaped like an elipse rather than a triangle (like an old fighter plane wing). This shape is superior by reducing drag relative to lift. The more lift, the more drag, thus by reducing drag, you can get more lift before you lose the advantage by creating drag. Simply put, a fully battened mainsail is the most efficient (racing rules usually prohibit them) down to no battens which is the least efficient. This is true for a sails of exactly the same square footage, of course, you usually get more sail area unless you reduce the luff or the foot. Typically for upwind performance you would want a higher aspect sail, ie more luff, less foot. If you want a good all round sail, I would go with the orc battens and some roach, money permitting. Tom Whidden's book, the Art & Science of Sails & Sailing (or something like that) might be worth a look through at the bookstore before you commit your money. Good luck, Matthew



matkinson@genesis.law.pace.edu

[Mike Quinlan]

I am in the process of ordering a new suit of sails for my Alberg [Sea Sptite] 23. The loft is suggesting going with a main with no battens to reduce size and save some money. I sail in open ocean off Lighthouse Pt Fl in often heavy seas. I also must run a difficult inlet and broaching is a usual threat. My question is , will the main work well and will it look good??

Ron,

I have just started studing sail design and while a little knowledge may be a dangerous thing, I will share what little I have learned. Battens, whether short ORC style or full battens, improve sail performance by reducing drag. This is accomplished by creating an improved foil shape by entending the following edge of the sail past the true line from head to clew. This sail area, aft of the head/clew line is called the roach. The more roach, the more the sail is shaped like an elipse rather than a triangle (like an old fighter plane wing). This shape is superior by reducing drag relative to lift. The more lift, the more drag, thus by reducing drag, you can get more lift before you lose the advantage by creating drag. Simply put, a fully battened mainsail is the most efficient (racing rules usually prohibit them) down to no battens which is the least efficient. This is true for a sails of exactly the same square footage, of course, you usually get more sail area unless you reduce the luff or the foot. Typically for upwind performance you would want a higher aspect sail, ie more luff, less foot. If you want a good all round sail, I would go with the orc battens and some roach, money permitting. Tom Whidden's book, the Art & Science of Sails & Sailing (or something like that) might be worth a look through at the bookstore before you commit your money. Good luck, Matthew

Ron
If the mainsail is so efficient with battens, then why will my CD 28 sail well with just a genoa and not so well with just the main up?
I think in ideal conditions full battens may be the hot lick,but I have yet ( in 30 years ) to sail much in ideal conditions. No battens
means, no batten problems and easier reefing. If you are interested in racing, then the loss of that sail area may prove significant.On the other hand if your not, then you may enjoy the ease of handling and the lack of repairs that a battenless main will allow. A battenless mainsail will also delay the onset of weather helm as the wind pipes up, meaning more speed. I have never sailed in a windtunnel so I cannot tell you what happens in there, I do know that I have problems setting a full batten main, mainly because it always looks good, stalled or luffing it always looks the same. This isn't science, just experence.
Mike Quinlan



mikieq@erols.com

[Sam]

I had a W32 with a bit of weather helm. Replaced the main with a battenless main and loved it.

My CD 40 when reaching in heavy winds (in the bahamas and coming into FT Pierce inlet] tended to have weather helm so I had the battens taken out. Much better. No noticable loss in performance. A huge benefit in reefability. When am sailing down wind and it gets strong enough to want to reef, I can do so staying on course. If you've ever headed into the wind to reef you will understand how nice it is to reef (or unreef) off the wind. Sail also flakes down better on the boom.

In fact I like it so much, I often wonder why cruising boats have battens at all and for sure why they have 'full battens'.

If you decide to go this way, make sure to have the sail maker put in a leechline so if the leech flutters you can snug it up.

[Stephen Arian]

I had a W32 with a bit of weather helm. Replaced the main with a battenless main and loved it.

My CD 40 when reaching in heavy winds (in the bahamas and coming into FT Pierce inlet] tended to have weather helm so I had the battens taken out. Much better. No noticable loss in performance. A huge benefit in reefability. When am sailing down wind and it gets strong enough to want to reef, I can do so staying on course. If you've ever headed into the wind to reef you will understand how nice it is to reef (or unreef) off the wind. Sail also flakes down better on the boom.

In fact I like it so much, I often wonder why cruising boats have battens at all and for sure why they have 'full battens'.

If you decide to go this way, make sure to have the sail maker put in a leechline so if the leech flutters you can snug it up.

I've read that Carl Alberg designs incorporated weather helm. My CD36 seemed to follow that "rule" with a passion. On return from a five month trip to Mexico from San



sarian1286@aol.com