Does anyone have a set of the soft battens for the top two pockets of the STX main sail that they would sell?
Also, do the soft battens have the word "soft" printed on them, like the hard battens have the word "hard"?
A previous post in this forum suggests that both soft and hard battens were provide with boats that came with the STX main sail, but my 2006 Tiger (sail 1696), which I purchased from a Hobie dealer in 2007 as a "demo", had only the hard battens. My dealer has been looking into the matter, but didn't sound optimistic about any being available soon.
Another previous post suggests that the soft battens should generally be used, and make a significant difference. I believe I've also read that the only time to use the hard battens is in very heavy wind, when they help de-power by flattening the top of the sail.
I am thinking that the hard battens might be contributing to my slow speed upwind, and little increase in speed when I foot. Even though we are near minimum weight, in medium winds it seems like we are under-powered for the amount of mast bend / spreader rake / diamond wire tension. And in very light wind I have to pull the boom really hard & fast to get the top battens to pop over. (We put them in with minimal tension, just snug.) So, I'd sure like to see if the soft battens help.
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