Battens Tension

[Pavel]

Hi guys,
How do you know when you have correct battens tension? I know you are supposed to get the wrinkles out, but at what point do you stop? It seems that the more I tension it, the more shape my sail has. Do you adjust this according to the wind strength?
Thanks for your help,
Pavel

[C36]

My understanding: Just until the wrinkles are gone, any more and you are overstressing the sail. Set once and use.

[Pavel]

Thanks!

[mjamero]

Hey Pavel,

Just until the little wrinkles are gone. In the Retros (and most camless freeride sails) you will still have some bigger wrinkles; especially in the lower area. The bigger wrinkles will go once the sail is powered up and it fills with air.

A couple "Retro" specific links for you.

1. http://www.sailworks.com/retro-rigging
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axlN-cth644

Mark

[Pavel]

Thanks Mark

[arg]

Another thing to check, once a year, are the batten-tension-screws in the top two or three battens. Those screws can loosen to the point of being lost over the course of a season.

Another resource, if you haven't found it yet, is check the sailworks website; they have photos, text, and video (I think) about the appearance of a sail when the battens are properly tensioned.