Why Don"t Most Catamarans Come with Furling Main Sails?

[tp12]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Hey, TP, that's for sure! I thought we were discussing factors that impacted sailing performance. At any rate, I think it is quite clear that the answer to Kenomac's query is that cat owners don't want roller mains, so they don't buy them!

And the same is true for a good many of us monophiles!

Jim

We're agreed on that! I could have been clearer in my wording, apologies.

I can see that furling makes it a little bit easier but I'm not sure the minor added convenience would be enough to make me want to add the extra cost, complexity and risk of being over canvassed in a blow should it get stuck furling in on a cat. Also, I wonder if the weight up there might mean a more uncomfortable motion at anchor through increased pendulum effect? I'm hypothesising, of course...and it's likely negligible.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

SVNeko,
Would vetical battens work on a catamaran to help solve the performance issue regarding a furling mast? Aside from the weight issue which I now understand. Maybe for some cruisers less interested in performance and needing a little physical assist to keep them in the game longer?

I'm not a sailmaker and I think this has been covered before, but I'm fairly certain you would not be able to duplicate the roach and sail shape of a horizontal batten main with a vertical batten main. This is something of a moot point because, for all the reasons outlined in the replies to this thread, there are no modern cats that I am aware of, production or otherwise, that have in-mast furling mains. If you are looking for an alternative to slab reefing then in-boom furling would be a viable solution, although nowadays most reefing is done from the cockpit and does not require a lot of physical effort.