Delphine's mainsail is fully battened and the battens extend beyond the leech of the sail by an inch or so (20 - 30mm!) As a result, it's very easy for the ends of the battens to get caught in the lazyjacks of the stackpack when raising the main, even when we're head to wind. I can't think of any reason why the batten ends aren't flush with the leech of the sail, unless this somehow gives extra support to the roach. Do other people have battens that are flush with the leech - and if so, does this seem ok? It would be worth us shortening the battens slightly if it avoided the hassle of having to watch the main and keep adjusting the heading, especially in choppy water or the dark! I've posted this in the Other Technical Issues part of the forum as I think it's not just the 275s which have fully battened mains.

Gilliane

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We have short battens on our 27 and get the same annoying issue with the lazy jacks,one batten near the head being the particular culprit,which often requires lowering the main again ,and sometimes unhooking the line with the boathook.
I thought that this projection was provided so that you could apply a force to the batten end so that a tapered batten such as found on a windsurf sail would snap to an aerofoil profile,but this wouldnt seem to apply to battens of constant section.I suppose over a period with sail stretch a flush end at the leach would no longer allow you to fully tighten the batten to the pocket or give you anything to get hold of when removing a batten.
Perhaps having slack in the fit of the batten would allow a movement that would wear the sail unduly.
Peter

Gilliane I know what you mean and share the same experience. I will not comment on batten length but instead offer an alternative approach to hoisting your mainsail. If you’ve tried this already then I will leave you to continue your investigation into batten shortening. A call to your sail maker might reveal why the battens usually protrude.

By chance, the lines on my lazy jacks / stacker are fairly long. If let them run out of the coach roof jammers until near the end, there is sufficient slack to allow me to hook the slackened lines around the reefing horns. The lines are then well out of the way and do not impede sail hoisting. This simple arrangement works well and the sail usually stays on the boom until hoisting commences, even with the lazy jack lines slackened. Sometimes I tuck the lazy jack lines away before I leave port. I hook the lines around the horns by hand but you might consider an additional line coming from the mast to pull back the lazy jacks from the cockpit. Either way you have ample time to release the lines from the reefing horns before the time comes to lower the sail.

Ken

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