A few months ago, I moved my boat out of its mast up storage facility because of the periodic rate increases. I'm an old hand at trailering and stepping the mast solo but it's occurred to me that it now takes me an hour to set up even though I consider myself efficient at it. But my question is should I still load and unload the battens every time. I know that the general consensus is yes. But I also know that the load on the battens is static when the main is rolled up and the real forces that could possibly stretch the sail material come when sailing. I'm just considering the things I can do to make rigging and derigging a little more efficient. If anyone out there has any good ideas that help them rig and derig, please share.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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For those of us who "do care" about our sails, the answer is simply YES.


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Master UniRig Sailor
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For my H16:

Newer sails only for racing: Yes
Older sails only for daysailing: No

Other things I do/use only for daysailing...
Jib clew fast shackle (pin makes life easier and can't be lost, sheets stay reeved properly between blocks and traveler). Sorta like this but with quick pin & lanyard:
Skip checking hulls for water before sailing. (Always drain afterwards, but never get much.)

I store sails and mainsheet at home and leave boom in sailbox with boat. If I were bringing the whole mess home, I'd probably leave daysails and mainsheet attached to boom.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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I'm still looking for an answer to this question: Does leaving the battens loaded stretch dacron sails enough to cause concern? The other thing going on is I'm considering going back to trailering backwards which has the big obvious advantage when you step the mast solo.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Not sure how it happened, but of the 2 boats I salvaged, both had a few battens that were warped from either being left in the sail or more likely rolled up improperly (not in line of axis with the roll, but partially wrapped around the roll?) Either way, it appears battens will take a set over time if under tension/not stored straight. May not be relevant.

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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For the record, my dacron sails were new in 1987, having come with the catamaran from the manufacturer.
I still race with them, though the jib really needs replacing.
They are 36 years old and the main still has the stiffness (hand) like new because I never leave the battens tensioned overnight unless I leave the sail up onshore, which is rare.
The sails are always rolled, starting at the third batten, with the jib inside the main, stored out of the sun and dry in a Sunbrella zippered bag in my cat box on the trailer.
The boom is detached from the main.
This may seem extreme, but the sails are my engine and I want them to be as efficient and reliable as possible.
And look at how long they have lasted.
With these sails we took second place in a 36 mile offshore catamaran race a few years ago, in a fleet of 10.

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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These are the kinds of responses I wanted. Yes, I do have adjustable batten caps but loading and unloading them also involves finding a clean grassy area and unrolling the sail, loading them, partially re-rolling it, putting it back on the boat and then reversing the process before going home. I won't do it on the boat because of the possibility of scraping the window on something sharp. Now this is no big deal, but this is SW Florida and I'm rigging the boat in a place that is blocked from the prevailing wind. What I'm trying to say is in the Summer, the heat is almost unbearable and the sooner I get out there, the better. Anyone reading this that lives here knows what I'm talking about. So, I'm going to continue doing the right thing, but I'll tension the battens before I leave the house, on a nice cool floor and most of the time when I get home, I'll rinse the sails and un- tension the battens then. By the way, tomorrow's marine forecast is calling for mid-70s.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Now you're just bragging...it's a downright freezing 54 degrees here... I feel you about the setup in the heat of the summer, but more so the take-down when you're spent at the end of the day. Makes sense to unroll at home, wash off the sail and let it dry along with releasing batten pressure.

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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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charlescarlis

Makes sense to unroll at home, wash off the sail and let it dry along with releasing batten pressure.

+1

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Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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Now that's settled, I can work on more efficient trailering. Before I was in mast up storage, I was a big fan of having the boat on the trailer backwards. The big advantage of course was not having to carry a 6ft A frame ladder and set it up behind the boat. Even when tied, it still was a little precarious. But the one really bad thing about having the boat trailered backwards was draining the hulls. My boat is pretty watertight but I like to leave the ports open all the time to ventilate the hulls but some fresh water gets in. I can't always be around to screw the covers on the ports when rain comes. I used to (with the mast up) roll the boat back a few feet, put all my weight on the aft beam and as the boat tilted back, take up the slack with a piece of line tied to the beam and the trailer so the boat wouldn't roll backwards. I had a 5.7 back then and I couldn't do it if there was too much wind. I'm not concerned with point loading on the rollers because the G-Cat has deep V hulls. So to eliminate having to do that, I could every so often take the boat out frontwards, not forgetting to take my A frame ladder. I have too much time on my hands because and I obsess on this stuff.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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I use a tripod made of aluminum tubes to support the mast, same diameter as the rudders crossbar, easy to use, weights nothing and doesn’t really bother.

shortyfox

A few months ago, I moved my boat out of its mast up storage facility because of the periodic rate increases. I'm an old hand at trailering and stepping the mast solo but it's occurred to me that it now takes me an hour to set up even though I consider myself efficient at it. But my question is should I still load and unload the battens every time. I know that the general consensus is yes. But I also know that the load on the battens is static when the main is rolled up and the real forces that could possibly stretch the sail material come when sailing. I'm just considering the things I can do to make rigging and derigging a little more efficient. If anyone out there has any good ideas that help them rig and derig, please share.

I am one that loosens/tightens battens every time and sails are kept in a special climate controlled room. You will probably not notice any damage or distortion with the sail, but the battens can acquire a memory and get twisted. I have acquired a number of old battens that have been in a sail tensioned and not rolled correctly - everyone of the battens are twisted about 60 degrees.

I understand about the rising costs of mast up storage. I had my boats at a couple of mast up facilities and it was fantastic for getting on the water within minutes. With my current house, I am able to keep the boat on the trailer at the house and able to ramp launch it. If I focus and rush, I can be on the water in 20 minutes. I leave all shrouds hooked up and rudders on the transoms. I'll keep the boat in this configuration for traveling trips under 2 hours; over that, I'll remove rudders and maybe the shrouds. It's a matter of figuring out what works for you and how to save time.

But, on the battens... this really depends on how OCD you are with your equipment. If you keep the sails in the trailer box, it really doesn't matter; the weather the sails are stored in does more damage. Does it save time? yes... Does it do long term damage to sails and battens? yes...

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Scott

Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC

Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White)
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Quote

If I focus and rush, I can be on the water in 20 minutes.

20 minutes? 20 minutes!! It takes me that long to just step the mast by myself. I'm not doubting you, but I'm really curious about your technique.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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shortyfox

Quote

If I focus and rush, I can be on the water in 20 minutes.

20 minutes? 20 minutes!! It takes me that long to just step the mast by myself. I'm not doubting you, but I'm really curious about your technique.

I hear ya. I used to race the boat every Wednesday for 24 weeks a year and time was critical to get off work and on the water. I leave all the rigging attached. Rudders on. Boards in. I store the boat at my house with a cover and launch from a boat ramp that is 1/2 mile from the house. I attach a trapeze to each side of the front beam to help stabilize the mast. Luckily, I still have the back and shoulders to lift the mast by hand, but I have a design to easily lift it by winch.

Here is a video I did on raising the mast: https://youtu.be/KjPgEDVKAZk?si=Mh4S3-dgxrYyqcAv

Some weeks, it takes longer waiting for others to clear out from the ramp. I will say, some weeks it takes me 30 minutes as I get distracted with a cocktail in between some steps.

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Scott

Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC

Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White)
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