I just purchased a new used main for my Hobie 20. It is a 1998 model, and came with green foam battens.
Hobie Cat updated their battens sometime around 1998 or later to austrian white foam battens. Anyone have any reports on one kind of battens versus the other?
Has anyone out there switched? I think I want to get the new battens, as the green ones seem a bit on the stiff side for the current sail.
Any reports from you racin' folks would be appreciated!
Fair winds,
Tim J.
The green batten are the "old" stiff battens. My boat runs a mixed set with green ones up to the top 4, which are the newer white ones. The difference is just as you stated, green = stiff, white = softer. The white ones come in several flavors... stiff, med, soft... ect. The soft ones are really too soft for the most part. I think w/o doing any research, the current set up is mostly med white battens.
For purposes of tuning, owning a set of both would probably be a good idea. Use the green when it is really blowing and the white ones for when it is not.
Will R.