One of the yachts we sailed 10 days ago in Thailand was fitted with the
latest (?) 'hi-tec inmast mainsail fitted with vertical battens'.
Has anyone else tried these? I have to say I was very impressed, both
with the sail shape and with the ease of outhaul/inhaul. It is also
larger than the 'standard' mainsail - hence in light airs the
performance is markedly improved. In 6 knots of breeze we were sailing a
steady 3.5knots.
What emphasised the benefits was the previous 10 days on a non-battened
inmast rig - a bigger, more slippery yacht which just could not point up
as much as the smaller hi-tec system.
Not a cheap option - on the 38footer it costs an additional 2,430 Euros
- but it really transforms the handling.
--
Keith replace nospam with ilf0rd
