batten tension

What should i set my batten tension at for an average day, for us, such as 10knots-flat water? Do i just snug them with a little tension and forget about it? Is the H20 a boat that likes a little deeper batten draft on average or less? I know from this forum and the tuning guide, that the H20 like to run a little more mast rotation on average than some of the other H models
I know that batten adjustment depends on the day/weather cond./water chop. just trying to get to know some of the general characteristics of the boat before the maiden voyage.

When I bought the boat and finally got it home, it looked like the battens had not been adjusted since they were put in the sail, the main looked like it was replaced 2-3 seasons ago, and there was very little tension on all battens.

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Wes
92 Miracle 20 + magnum wings

We always tried to run with tight batten tension to provide more shape. If we felt the conditions would force us to de-power, we would provide enough tension to secure the battens only.

snug 'em up and forget it, especially if they're EP (Elliot Patterson) sails as those were a fuller cut. Nothing you can do with the battens to make the sail flatter for depowering.

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

We never adjusted the battens on the 20 main day-to-day. The lacing system (tied in) really doesn't lend itself to constant adjustment.

I always just put them in snug and let them be unless a wrinkle popped up. All the batten should really be doing is accentuating the cut of the sail and making the sail a smooth, wrinkle-free surface. The sail cut and mast bend (through diamond tension, downhaul tension, and mainsheet tension) is what sets the sail's shape. And the mainsail on the 20 can be changed very significantly just with downhaul and mainsheet on the water.

If you look at a lot of modern fully battened sails, you will notice that many of them use screw-in batten tensioners that are intended to be a set-and-forget system. The only adjustment is to add a little more tension if a wrinkle shows up.

sm

De-tensioned battens for storage probably. Better for the sail.
J

thanks you guys...

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Wes
92 Miracle 20 + magnum wings

I have heard that the top batten needs a little more due to the comptip (comptip bends early relative to other masts, flattens top of sail, extra tension keeps sail fuller longer) but that short batten is usually pretty stiff and hard to tension anyway. I always put them in as loose as I can without making wrinkles.

I would add that most of my experience was with the EP mainsail, which I prefered to the later Hobie sail (although I didn't sail the Hobie much). It felt like the EP was a lot more tunable. It had a fuller cut, but the luff was a little shorter, so you could crank on the downhaul and make it flat as a board- a lot of range.
The Hobie sail seemed like a much flatter cut and the downhaul would just bottom out before you got much tension on the luff (of course I never adjusted the diamond tension between the two sails, so that may have been part of the issue).

Anyway, I agree, if it's an EP sail, there is no need to stuff the battens in beyond taking out the wrinkles.

sm

I'm using a set of Trentec batten caps that are made for foam battens (part number 1529 in the 08/09 Hobie catalog). They work great and allow you to easily adjust or release the tension. The H-20 battens are thinner than the slot in the caps so you'll need to use epoxy to hold them in place and fill in the gaps around the battens. Before I epoxied the battens into the caps, I scuffed the inside of the caps with sand paper. They aren't coming off. Initially I used superglue and filled the gaps with silicone sealer, but those materials didn't hold well. I think you'll like the Trentec caps.

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28