Jib battens "hanging up" on the mast

Greetings all,
Wouldn't increasing the mast rake pull the jib closer into the mast? How do you handle the battens getting stuck on the weather side of the mast when tacking? I thought of lengthening the pigtail, dropping the jib lower in the "triangle" formed by the mast and the forestay. If the main purpose of the jib is to improve airflow accross the main, would "lowering" it adversly affect it's purpose? In light air, increasing jib batten tension might improve power because of the increased draft and with the (slightly) reduced chord, shouldn't the jib more readily pop to the other side? Should I wait and observe the jibs behavior in heavier air?

Thanks for your advice,
Eric

In heavy air the jib battens will tack much easier, however they must be trimmed, cut them so where the batten cap is all the shows, make sure you do not cut them to short so you can't get good batten tension. There is a trick to bending the battens around so they tack easier, my crew has this figured out, not sure I could do it as well as she does. But defiantly trimming your battens will help. You want the jib as far down as possible on the adjuster, however if it goes to low then you will not be able to sheet the jib correctly.

Thanks,
Brad Stephens
www.sunjammers.com
Hobie Division 15 Chairman
Authorized Hobie/Vanguard/Hunter Dealer
[email protected]
850-235-2281
Panama City Beach, FL

Eric,

An inherent "problem" we have all lived with for 35 years. Search and you'll find there are hinged battens, little batten end covers, clips to hold your halyard wires further back on the mast, and on, and on, and on. Previous owner of our 16 shortened all the battens, so now there's no adjustment, yikes!

Yes wait, in heavier air she'll pop right over, in light air it's the crews job to stand up and "swat" it across the mast.

You're on the right track as far as jib position. You want the whole sail as "low" as possible and still give your self a little room at the "blocks". You need to experiment and find the right hole for the clew/tack at the bridle, which will depend on how much rake you are running.

John

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

Hi Eric, at wind speeds over 7 -8 miles the jib should not get stuck on the mast anymore. Shortening the length of the battens helps a lot. There is also some type of hinge available that can be installed in the last few inches of some of the battens. There are softer battens available that might reduce this issue as well.
I agree with you on the more mast rake / more jib problem issue. I also agree that lengthening the pig stay might cause some slight improvement. Instead of using a longer pig stay you could use a second chain plate between existing pig stay and pulley. A second chain plate is often used in order to extend the length of the forestay to accommodate more mast rake. Most of the time I see the second chain plate directely attached to the original chainplate.

Patrick

Here's one from some A fleeters of yesteryear :

With the battens in place mark where the batten-pocket grommet is. Remove the batten and drill a hole at that point. Insert the batten and have a friend hold it in place so the hole lines up with the grommets. Pop a rivet through the. Cut the batten off even with the leech. Tape over and/or sew the pocket shut. Definitely tape.

It is a permanent fix and some people won't like the idea of leaving the pressure on the jib forever - but I never knew it to matter that much. Believe me though, it won't hang up.

There are do-hickies designed to hold the halyard to the side of the mast also. They are great. Install at least two of them.

The hinges work pretty well too.

Sail on sailor

_________________
The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

I just bought one of these hinged battens but it makes no sense to me how it's supposed to be installed. Are you supposed to cut the batten and put the hinge in between two pieces?

Here's the piece I bought...at the bottom of page 25.

http://static.hobiecat.com/2010_archive/support/pdfs/22_25.pdf

-Rich

Yes. Cut as per the instruction. Cut the short piece shorter still (about the amount the hinge will replace). Install the hinge on the long section and install the short batten into the hinge. The final batten will be the same length as the original without hinge.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Matt,

Thanks for the response. That's the problem... I didn't have any instructions. Do I want to have the hinge just inside the sail and the short piece sticking out of the end?

-Rich

Good stuff! Thanks for the information, I really appreciate it.
Regards,

Eric

Here are the instructions:



I would make the long cut. Install the hinge on the longer section and install the smaller piece in the hinge. Insert the complete batten in the pocket and check the length. Mark the batten and trim so as to just stick out the pocket enough to get batten line tension on it.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

The hinges work pretty good, as I said, but there is one drawback to them. The hinges tend to hinder your ability to tension the batten for sail shape. As you tighten the battens in place, the hinge tends to do - well - what it is supposed to do - fold over.

Whether you like the idea of riveting the batten in place or not - "shaving" the battens to make them thinner overall, so they flex more easily, will help with the hang-ups too. If you shape them to be a little thinner at the preferred "belly" of the sail it can also aid in sail shape.

_________________
The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

Thanks a lot for posting the instructions Matt. They worked perfectly! I think this will definitely help out with the hangups and was very quick to install.