One of the most common tuning errors I see on the beach is the lack of batten tension. Many brush this off as less than important, in fact batten tension ensures that your sail has the correct profile and helps to ensure that your sail performs as expected. To highlight the importance of batten tension we recently designed a new stainless steel batten key which is now being shipped with all sails. This brief guide will give you a few things to consider. 

Our new stainless steel batten key. 

Clearly not enough tension in this picture. The sail will lack shape where it is needed and this will affect the handling, control and reduce your fun. 

With the correct tension applied all the creases have gone and the sail takes the shape as designed. Each batten in every sail has different specifications (you should see Tom's spreadsheet!) when correct tension is applied then you get the sail that Tom & Jeff designed. 

Do all battens need the same tension?

The simple answer is NO. Start with the bottom batten, this should have the most tension and as you work the way up the sail apply less tension. When you get to the top batten just apply enough so that the creases are removed. 

Do I have to check the tension from time to time? 

Certainly YES. You will find that the tension will slacken off especially during the first few times on the water, keep the batten key close by and ensure that check regularly. Over time you will have to check less often but always give it a quick look. 

This final image shows how the profile of the sail should be fuller in the bottom and flatter in the upper sections, if you do not have enough tension you will tend to under downhaul/outhaul the sail in an attempt to keep the profile that you want. The correct balance between downhaul, outhaul and batten tension will ensure that the power is delivered in a stable and efficient manner.  

More to follow... 

Labels: Firelight, support