Battens in MK2 Full Rig

Eyeper

Active Member
I'm really liking the shape of this new sail. But I recall hearing someplace that you should "tape the battens" to reduce wear on the sail pockets... I know one end of the battens is thinner and tapered, but can anyone give me more detail on how this taping should be done?
 
- as further info, I never let my sail sit and flog while not sailing, and I also roll it rather than fold, so the battens stay in all the time....
 
The MKII battens are secured with Velcro straps. There's no way they can come out. I always east eh tension on the straps after sailing and leave the battens in when rolling the sail for storage.
 
I wonder what it was that you heard, because the class rules don't really allow applying tape on battens. Moreover, wear on the pockets isn't a real problem with the MK 2 Standard, as the battens are more flexible, the cloth is stronger, and there's even an extra reinforcement patch. I'd say forget it.

_
 
Intensity Sails recommends taping the ends of the battens on their MK 2 practice sail. Not sure how the taping should be done.
 
Dennis,

When I got the Intensity MK 2 sail, the first thing I noticed was how sharp the tapered ends of the battens were... even though one would think, as LaLi said, there's probably an extra reinforcement patch inside the batten pocket. So, I sanded the batten tips very slightly to round off the sharpness then taped the ends with electrical tape as seen in the attached photo. I taped on one strip longitudinally (parallel with the length of the batten) up and over the end and to the other side, folded in the sharp corners from that strip of tape, then spiral wrapped it with another strip of tape. That seems to have blunted the ends enough.

This arrangement is just temporary though because one of the battens is so short, it barely sticks out the end of the pocket enough to be able to apply tension on the batten with the velcro. So, I'm planning on building out the tips with a bit of glass and resin to lengthen them then sand/round the ends so I won't need the tape.

- Andy

taped-batten.jpg
 
Dennis,

When I got the Intensity MK 2 sail, the first thing I noticed was how sharp the tapered ends of the battens were... even though one would think, as LaLi said, there's probably an extra reinforcement patch inside the batten pocket. So, I sanded the batten tips very slightly to round off the sharpness then taped the ends with electrical tape as seen in the attached photo. I taped on one strip longitudinally (parallel with the length of the batten) up and over the end and to the other side, folded in the sharp corners from that strip of tape, then spiral wrapped it with another strip of tape. That seems to have blunted the ends enough.

This arrangement is just temporary though because one of the battens is so short, it barely sticks out the end of the pocket enough to be able to apply tension on the batten with the velcro. So, I'm planning on building out the tips with a bit of glass and resin to lengthen them then sand/round the ends so I won't need the tape.

- Andy

View attachment 30435
thanks, Andy! Next time it stops raining I'll roll my sail out on the lawn and have a look at the pockets and see if I might want to copy your taping idea. I've only sailed the MK II 4 times and sure love the shape and lack of leach flutter!
 
I'll roll my sail out on the lawn and have a look at the pockets and see if I might want to copy your taping idea.
As I already said, never mind... IF your sail is a real Laser sail. If it's a fake, you really should say that right away. If you're outside the class rules to begin with, then any general class knowledge won't necessarily help at all.

Problems like Andy's are one more reason to stay away from the "I" brand and the likes of it.

_
 
YES! Lali, my sail is "fake." Since I don't race at all and just love the boat as a solo sport for 36 years now, many little things about my Laser are not class-legal. And I find I can always afford to keep a nice Intensity sail or two, including their larger "powerhead" version which is blast in lighter air. I hope my (and Andy's) posts could stay welcome on this general class knowledge forum. :D
Cheers!
 
YES! Lali, my sail is "fake." Since I don't race at all and just love the boat as a solo sport for 36 years now, many little things about my Laser are not class-legal. And I find I can always afford to keep a nice Intensity sail or two, including their larger "powerhead" version which is blast in lighter air. I hope my (and Andy's) posts could stay welcome on this general class knowledge forum. :D
Cheers!

I think LaLi's frustration comes from going down an unnecessary rabbit hole due to a lack of information. If you had said my MKII is an Intensity, (or non-class legal) brand sail it would have saved a couple of us time as we have no experience with that. However, as you've see there are those that have and you were ultimately helped. Post anything laser related, but the devil is in the details regarding the feedback you receive being accurate or not.
 
Thanks, Rob. Good points you make. And when it comes to "the devil in the details," I wonder if anyone has done a careful comparison of the Intensity MKII and the Class Legal one? I recall when I bought my first full rig standard Intensity sail I laid it on top of the Class sail and could not find any substantive difference in cloth or construction. Just missing the expensive little red button.
 
For what you are doing the Intensity sail is a good product. I used to use one as a practice sail back in the MK 1 days when Intensity first hit the market. You are correct that when laid on top of a class sail they are the same size, (or plenty close enough) but there is a difference in the material. The Intensity MKI was a stronger material than the class sail and I found out it trimmed differently from the class sail in regards to Cunningham and outhaul adjustments. For that reason I stopped using them. When racing the Laser at a decent competitive level many things need to become "muscle memory" or "automatic" in the ability to react to adjustments without having to think it through. So, when I practice it's always in full race mode. Now, that said our district does allow non-class legal sails in our regattas, (not GP events) to help those with smaller budgets get out on the course. It has helped participation and growth a lot for us. I've only seen one sailor do well with the Intensity MKII sail, but he's also a very good sailor. In the end I do feel like the class sail is a little faster, but there's not enough data to draw any kind of conclusion on that.
 
I have two MKII, class legal, sails (North). Both of them are experiencing vertical tears in the external reinforcing fabric at the inboard end of the batten pocket, which I've repaired with sticky-back dacron. The battens will not come out of the pockets because there is a loop of material inside the pocket supporting the inboard end of the batten. One of these sails is at the practice-only, end-of-life stage with about 45 days of sailing on it. The other is at the regional racing stage, with about 17 days on it. The sailcloth used for the MKII sails is far more rigid than the MK 1 sails and is subject to more wear from the levering of the battens. I'm not sure if taping the inboard ends of the battens will help, but I surely intend to tape them for my new MKII sail.
 
I have two MKII, class legal, sails (North). Both of them are experiencing vertical tears in the external reinforcing fabric at the inboard end of the batten pocket, which I've repaired with sticky-back dacron. The battens will not come out of the pockets because there is a loop of material inside the pocket supporting the inboard end of the batten. One of these sails is at the practice-only, end-of-life stage with about 45 days of sailing on it. The other is at the regional racing stage, with about 17 days on it. The sailcloth used for the MKII sails is far more rigid than the MK 1 sails and is subject to more wear from the levering of the battens. I'm not sure if taping the inboard ends of the battens will help, but I surely intend to tape them for my new MKII sail.

I've heard of this being an issue with some of the early release sails. In the US it takes us a year or two post release to get any new stuff so by the time our suppliers get their hands on anything the bugs have been worked out. A little silver lining I guess..
 

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