Norm, Probably a controversial topic. In theory a loose footed sail can give you better sail control over the shape of the sail. Most of the mainsail tuning (outhaul at least) only affect the lower 1/2 of the sail. The loose footed main will generally let some air escape between the food and the boom so the sail maker will curve the bottom of a loose footed main well below the top of the boom. I recently asked a retire sail maker and he felt that for small boats like the M15 he preferred a "shelf" in the foot of the main. I doesn't let the air escape downward but still gives very good sail depth control. With the outhaul well tensioned the "shelf" is nothing but a loose flop of sail. When the outhaul is eased the shelf fills out and lets the main along the foot move away from the boom. Well, I a sure I confused you even more. The full length top batten is a good idea as that is where the M15 has little to no ability to change its shape. 3/4 rig and not a bendy mast. Most casual sailors rarely tune the sails for optimum performance, in fact most never tune the sails. If that is the case the full batten mains could be a very good idea. Full battens reduce mainsail wear and stretch as most of the mainsail wear comes at the inside edge of the battens when the sail is flogging around. Thanks Doug Kelch "Seas the Day" M15 #310 --- doug <dougl20002001@yahoo.com> wrote:
I used KERN sails. very nice sail. Not very fast but good work and knew the Monty 15 well. I got mine lose footed with a full batten at the top. Good luck Kern's Sailmakers 1773 Whittier Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Tel: (949) 645-7741
--- Norm Bundek <nbundek@earthlink.net> wrote:
Does anyone used a sail making company who knows what a Monty 15 needs at a reasonable price?
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