Submitted on October 25, 2004 by Larry Green

Question: I have a Tayana 52 with a North full batten main. There are 5 battens. I removed the sail prior to hurricane Charley and now am not sure how to properly tension the battens. I have Schaeffer Batten ends (with the adjusting bolt) riding on Antal cars. Also, any advice on the proper tension for the staysail stay would be appreciated. The boat is set up with hydraulic backstay adjusters for tensioning the headstay and running backstays for the staysail. The runners are set up for hand tightening with a 5 part purchase.

Thanks for your input.
Larry Green

Answer: Hi Larry, there is a space of about 1.5" between the aft end of the batten receptical and the forward end of the batten pocket where the batten is exposed. A good rule of thumb for tensioning the battens is to wind the adjuster bolt until the fabric under the batten in this exposed area is drawn tight. You should not be able to get your finger under the batten if it is tight enough. After the first day of sailing you may need to add more tension to the adjuster because the batten will settle in to the aft end of the pocket when it is compressed by the leech load.

Tightening the backstay on your rig will make the masthead headstay tighter, but won't have as big of an effect on the inner stay. In fact, if the mast can bend from compression when the backstay is tensioned, the inner stay will actually get slightly looser. The runner is there to restrict compression related forward bend, mostly to keep the mast from pumping as the boat drops off of large waves. The runner will not have a noticeable effect on reducing the amount of sag in the inner headstay when the staysail is working on an upwind angle. No matter how hard you tension the running backstay with the 5:1 purchase, you won't get it tight enough. With that in mind, pull it as hard as you can.

Regards,
Dan Neri

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