Dacron Cruising Sails
The Batmain | Powerhead Dacron Mainsail | Roller Furling Mains
The Passagemaker Genoa

                   

The Powerhead mainsail's full-length top batten gives you many of the durability benefits of a full-batten main (UK's Batmain), while offering performance benefits. The Powerhead gives you more control over the shape of your main, especially the draft's depth and fore-and-aft positioning because the full-length battens prevent the sail from changing shape much. The Powerhead is easier to trim than a full-batten main since the leading edge of the sail is free to luff. And the Powerhead is a lighter sail than a Batmain since it uses shorter battens and no special luff hardware.

The long top batten stabilizes the highly loaded head area, and stabilizes the leech allowing UK to build a maximum-roach sail that gives you more sail area. The full-length top batten also increases longevity by dampening the damaging effects of luffing and by preventing the draft of the sail from moving aft over the years.

Along with the full-length top batten, the Powerhead features the new longer length battens in the lower positions. The longer battens support the leech better and eliminate a hard ridge that sometimes develops at the inboard end of the battens as sails age. When used with lazy jacks or the Dutchman® flaking system, the Powerhead main can be made with the bottom batten full-length to help catch the sail better as it comes down.