I apologize because I know there’s been a lot of discussions regarding new sails lately, but I do not think I’ve read much on this particular issue.
In the past, comments were raised that full battens may limit the ability to let the sail out past 90 degrees on a run. The reason stated is that the full battens would put stress on the sail track and try to pull it off the mast if the sail were let out past 90 degrees.
My current sail has only one full batten at the top. If I get a new sail is there an advantage in getting NO full battens? What would I give up?
The issue is the batten cars rubbing on the Tides track and stressing the track as they will act as lever.
In a broader sense there is little reason to put the sail out past 90, as you go faster by sailing off the beam a bit vs dead down wind. Less chance of a gybe as well. Out past 90 will be slower and it is is light enough to consider going past 90 then gybe.
I definitely would not be going past 90 in any kind of breeze.
In 2006, Botts provided me with a sail that had fairly large battens , but they were not full length. He did not think that full length battens improved performance. That sail powered Mascouche to a class win in 2006 and an overall win in 2014 at the Nonsuch Rendezvous held at the RCYC.
Full length battens are thought to prolong sail life by reducing flogging and make sail drops faster and tidier due to their length and weight. Of course the compromise is that one has to haul up more weight. Racers would be wise to stick with shorter battens while cruisers should consider full length for the top one or two battens.
My Mack cruising sail on my NS22 has one full batten at the top and three partial battens. The partial battens are around 3’6" long. I do, indeed, let the sail out further than 90 degrees but never on a dead downwind run. I find that the boat does pick up speed by doing so.
The one full batten does not cause a problem with the sail track, etc. I believe that the full batten has a Harken Battcar and my sail track is the original steel track with bronze sail slides, save for the Battcar.
Jim - Did you find any problems arising from the single full batten ?? If not, go with the same arrangemnet for the new sail.
I had my old Hood sail re-worked with new battens because the original battens were stiff and caused a vertical crease at their forward end especially in light air. The sail maker suggested full for the upper two and extended for the lower two. In addition I opted for tapered battens which I found not only to provide a better shape control, but also flexibility at the forward end that did not impose stress on the Tides track when the sail is eased out. I am really happy with this upgrade that made the old sail worthy of my cruising needs for a few more years. I would love to have a shiny new sail, but the Hood is built like a tank and I’m a cruiser not a racer. The batten upgrade gave this old sail a new life.