Ask SAIL: are Two Full Length Battens Enough?

Author:
Brian Hanncock
Updated:
Aug 2, 2017
Original:
Oct 14, 2015

TWO FULL-LENGTH BATTENS ENOUGH?

Q: Can you resolve a debate I have been having with a fellow sailor? He insists that I should have full-length battens in my mainsail. But I read somewhere that just two full-length battens at the top is a better way to go. Which is the proper number and type of battens?

Tracy Carson, Chicago, IL

BRIAN HANCOCK REPLIES

Like much in sailing it’s a matter of opinion, and while I’m sure your friend feels that he is right, it’s my opinion that he is wrong. I prefer a mainsail with two full-length battens up high and standard length battens through the reef area. The full-length battens up high stabilize the fabric and make the sail more manageable if you are using some kind of lazyjack system. Leaving them out down low, however, gives you much better control over sail shape. Fewer battens also means a lighter sail. If you are concerned that a sail with only two full-length battens will not work well with lazy jacks, don’t be. In fact, the sail will probably work better, because there will be less friction from having fewer full-length battens.

Brian Hancock is a sailmaker, whitbread race veteran and creator of allaboutsails.com

Do you have a question for our experts? Submit it to sailmail@sailmagazine.com

September 2015

Related

promo-2048x

With so many manufacturers dreaming up bigger production boats, more and more mid-sized cruisers fall on the smaller end of their lines. However, “smaller” does not mean less, and the tricks for optimizing larger models have helped with squeezing more enjoyment into less LOA. As ...read more

05-DSC_0638

A sail on Lake Tahoe has been on my bucket list since the day I first laid eyes on it, and come hell or high water, I decided I was going to someday charter a boat there. North America’s largest and deepest alpine lake, Tahoe sits at 6,225ft above sea level and straddles the ...read more

East-River-Rapids

I was never supposed to take my boat through New York City. After getting sucked backward through the Cape Cod Canal on my way south from Maine, when the speed of the current exceeded the maximum speed of my little electric auxiliary, I wanted nothing to do with Hell Gate and ...read more

LEAD-Celeste-in-the-Tuamotu

As a classic-boat sailor, I’ve long held that simpler is the better. I still think this is true: a simpler boat is cheaper, she has less gadgets to break down and there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you’re able to handle a bit of discomfort. Thus, for a long time, I sailed ...read more

01-LEAD-IDECsport_180919_032

Design and Technology

Although the 1903 defender of the America’s Cup, Reliance, was deemed a “racing freak”—the boat pushed design rules to their limit and couldn’t be beaten, at least in very specific conditions—designer Nat Herreshoff was nonetheless onto something. A century later, purpose-built ...read more

BVIFeetup

Three tips on managing the madness First-time charterers and first-time sailors aren’t at all the same thing. One group may struggle with beginner chartering issues, like sailing a multihull, catching a mooring or dealing with base personnel. For the other group, though, ...read more

AdobeStock_455372159

Sailboat Cruising

Even the dome of light glowing above the city behind us had disappeared as if swallowed in a gulp by Noah’s whale. The moon was absent. Not a star twinkled overhead. The night was so dark we could have been floating in a pot of black ink. The only artificial lights to be seen ...read more

00-Lead-549215sJL2uLEa

Every year, countless parents find themselves navigating the do’s and don’ts of enrolling their children in a summer learn-to-sail program for the first time. While the prospect of getting your kid on the water is exciting, as a sailing camp program director, there are a lot of ...read more

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE

CLOSE