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Vertically Battened Mainsail overview

Vertically Battened Mainsail overview
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Vertically Battened Mainsail overview - 1

Neil Pryde Sails International INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AND TECHNICAL OFFICE Vertically Battened Mainsail Overview & Handling / Trim Guide The Neil Pryde Sails PBF or Power Batten Furling mainsail adds a more 'classic' look to the visual aesthetics of the mainsail while improving the aerodynamic efficiency and increasing the area of the mainsail. In working directly with US Spars and Beneteau in developing this vertically battened furling mainsail our goals were to provide improved performance without the loss of handling ease which makes in-mast furling systems so popular. In-mast furling mains are generally about 18-20% smaller than the classic mainsails and the PBF mainsails gain back 50% of this lost area. The performance gains due to increased area are obvious, but the boat will also gain an improvement in upwind performance due to the increased leech area, which makes dramatic improvements to the foil efficiency. The result is better airflow and increased pointing ability over the conventional furling mainsail. These sails are designed fairly flat to ensure ease of mechanical furling and with a specific amount of clew "rise" also to help facilitate smooth furling. Each mainsail is equipped with 4 vertical battens that are inserted with an internal Velcro tensioning system. In addition an external U.V. clew cover to protect the exposed sail surface from sunlight when furled is All PBF mainsails are equipped with a safety clew ring to be used in the unlikely chance of clew block failure. Patch styles include reefing 'buffer' patches at AiöPnofii«oftheFuiimg, head and tack that help to disperse sail loads when reefed and our new 'spider' verticallybatœnedand, clew patch that significantly lightens the corner reinforcement while improving the stability of the clew area.

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Vertically Battened Mainsail overview - 2

Neil Pryde Sails International Sail Handling: 1. The boom vang (kicker) should be off completely and the mainsheet eased before furling 2. The mainsail should always be furled with the boat head-to-wind or slightly from port. This is true for furling and unfurling the mainsail. 3. Furling or unfurling the sail with the wind on the starboard quarter will increase the friction of the sail on the mast, causing unnecessary wear. 4. Always take additional care when furling or unfurling at the bottom most batten, as the furled sail diameter is at its largest point and the internal friction is...

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Vertically Battened Mainsail overview - 3

Neil Pryde Sails International With these points in mind, we generally recommend that both the mainsail and genoa be reefed in tandem at the first shortening of sail. This will ensure a balanced helm as the breeze initially builds. Though you may be somewhat underpowered initially, as sailors we find it safer to assume the wind will continue to build and it is always more prudent to reef earlier than later. Should the wind decrease, increasing the sail area is easily accomplished by deploying the genoa so it can be full sized again. Assuming the breeze continues to build into the twenties,...

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Vertically Battened Mainsail overview - 4

Neil Pryde Sails International 1. The vang set as above will get you pretty close to the right trim. 2. As soon as you crack off bit, even as little as 3°, ease the traveler down in 3" increments until the boat balances and drives well. 3. 6° and deeper, the traveler will be all the way out and you will start to ease the mainsheet. The leech should be set correctly, assuming the vang was tightened as above and all your tell tails flowing aft. With a battened mainsail (Classic), you normally keep the top batten parallel to the boom...and you do this with the boom vang. Obviously, with...

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