Mainsail resource thread

Mainsail comparison and discussion

Here is my old mainsail after the repairs. IF this photo you can barely see where the repairs where completed.

In the photo to the right, I edited white lines to show where the sail suffered the rip from me falling through it.


Here you can see the difference in luff length. Compared to the old style main A, the new style is longer B.


Here you can see the difference in the foot and leach. Foot lengths are the same, but leach lengths are clearly not.


In this photo, you can see more difference in the leach again. I edited the photo and added a red line. The lighting conditions make it confusing to see the sails, so I added the line to clear it up.

[img]http://www.wildergfx.com/images/bmain/70108.jpg[/img]
Here are the photos of the heads.

[img]http://www.wildergfx.com/images/bmain/70109.jpg[/img]
In this photo, please consider the angle from where I took the photograph. I was unable to take a straight up and down image so the sails head look somewhat distorted.

[img]http://www.wildergfx.com/images/bmain/70102.jpg[/img]
Here is a closer look at the new mainsail on top of the old mainsail.


Now moving on to the battens.
The battens in the new mainsail are very different compared to the old style mainsail for obvious differences in the sails cuts. Here are the battens identifications, starting from the top (head) and working its way down to the bottom (foot). I took this photo because I want to understand how to use the battens in certain conditions.
[img]http://www.wildergfx.com/images/bmain/70106.jpg[/img]


[img]http://www.wildergfx.com/images/bmain/70107.jpg[/img]
IN A NUTSHELL, which batten should be used when?
As you can see, batten numbers 2 has TWO battens. One is heavy and one is "standard"?
Here are a few questions
When should I use the heavy batten alone?
When should I use the standard batten alone?
When should I use BOTH of them at the same time?
All these questions apply the same way to batten number 3.
Which one will better for head twist off?

The difference in luff and leach length explains why with the new style mainsail I had to pull more mainsheet and more downhaul in order to gain speed compared to the old style sail.

Could you please explain that? Did you mean that you were able to pull more on with the new main?

looks like that sail is repaired very nicely, Robi. Ready for full use again.

Wouter

Robi,

Those look like the glass RBS battens. I have the same thing in carbon. The heavy #2 and 3 are used for higher wind ranges. Depending on your weight, you would use them in winds 15 and over. When you use them you want to use both #2 and 3. Keep the batten tension fairly tight on the top three battens. I don't know of anyone using both at the same time. But you guys are approaching the windy hurricane season <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />
Ken

Well, what I meant was my mainsheet blocks were closer to block to block and the downhaul was further down (close to maxing out)

The new style mainsail has a longer luff and leach, making the entire rig to trim very diferently.

Ken I apreciate the clarification.

SO for heavy air 15kts+ I would use the hvy batten.
For anything under 15kts I can use the standard battens.
I should NOT have to use both RIGHT?

My weight is around 185lbs with all the gear. I also sail mostly UNI-RIGGED. Cant wait to go out with this fat top main.

Right.

Ken

Sadly I cannot edit my initial post. My intentions were to constantly edit it, to try to acumulate as much information on mainsail trim as posible.

For heavy air 15kts+ I use the heavy batten set.
For anything under 15kts use the standard battens.
There is NO need to use both heavy and standard at the same time.

Paul there is only ONE number one batten that is the very top batten. It is a standard batten.

Did you specifically mean batten number 1 or batten 2? If you look at the photos I posted you can see batten number two and three are to diferent battens. Those are the battens I was asking about.