batten lenght

hi to all...
how long is the big batten of the mainsail?
thanx a lot
max

107 & 7/8 inches

http://www.mariner-sails.com/assembly.asp?id=23175

Brian C

Hi,
I just put mine together for the first time, see "paint job finially done" post, and have a couple battens that are so long that they stick out at least six inches on the main. I'ts been ten years since I've done this and don't remember them being so long. Just how much tension do you put on the battens?
thanks, Jay

Definitely tie the battens in tight enough to take any wrinkles out of the batten pocket. That's the minimum. Extra tention will induce more shape in the sail, but there are diminishing returns. It's a pretty good idea to loosen the batten tension at the end of the day.

Brian C

Thanks Dog! I've been wondering about this one myself. I've left the battens tensioned the way they arrived (with the boat). Releasing the tension makes good sense.
I've learned about the "diminishing returns" too. I have two battens on the main that are over tensioned creating some "pre-bend" (for lack of a better term) in the sail. Looks pretty darn funny when the upper half of your sail is "shaped" on the wrong side in light winds.

You do want a bit of draft built into the sail at rest. But you don't want it like that all the time. Dacron will stretch, so de-tension the battens at the end of the day.

Brian C

You want this "pre-bend" aka sail draft - not too much, especially in very light winds, but it powers up the boat in light to medium winds. If your battens don't pop over when you tack, before you sheet in after the tack, grab the boom and give a sharp tug towards you - this should pop the battens over.

It's really loud when the Mylar-sailed boats like the Tiger do this - a big old plastic WHOMP!

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