Flaked Sail Inside Boom with Switch Track Batt Cars

There is a mainsail on that boom even though you would think it was a bare boom until you see the head at the front end. It is not a furling boom, the main sail is simply flaked, with the help of lazy jacks. Typically you would see a lot of sail sitting on top of the boom plus a stack of battcars at the luff.

The combination of Halls gull wing composite boom and Harkens Switch T track which reduces the height of the mainsail cars, makes for a very clean look on the Shipman 65.

The Switch T Track looks like a railway switching system. The battcars alternate fall down the portside then the starboard side helping the sail flake itself and lower stack height.

 In the picture of the forward end of the boom you can see the Switch T Track just above the mainsail cover. You can see lazy jacks pulled forward in the picture above. Lazy jacks work well with Antals low friction rings

For a review of other mainsail furling and flaking systems follow this link.

 And here's a closeup from Harken of their switch T Track system

 Switch T Track system for reducing stack height on large yachts. Battcars make mainsail handling much easier especially with full-length battens.

When a full length battened main coupled with Battcars is lowered the sail flakes on alternate sides of the boom. This makes for a very neatly flakes mainsail. The problem however is the combined height of all the cars stacked one on top of the other.
With the switch t track system cars are alternately pushed to one side of the boom or the other to lower the stack height.
Additional Resources
  Harken battcar switch track brochure 


Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't have got that roller  furling boom after  all. 

Holmatro’s new ‘Furl Finder’ Automatically Adjusts Furling Booms

This new push button auto-adjust system for hydraulic boomvangs offers maximum ease and control when furling your mainsail. Press the furling button, and the vang automatically moves to the proper boom-furling angle, eliminating the guesswork normally associated with this task.
This is one of the latest innovations of Holmatro Marine Equipment to make sailing easier. By simply pushing a button, a sensor monitoring the position of the boom activates a compact hydraulic system that moves the boom up or down to a predetermined furling angle. When the boom is in the proper furling position the crew is alerted by a green LED. Mainsail in-boom furling may then proceed. When sailing, the system acts as a normal push button system to move the vang up or down as desired.
Standard position indicating vangs have a digital numeric display. While sailing, most vang adjustment is made by observing sail shape, not by watching a numerical display. With a numerical display, a value has to be known and remembered. The display may not be readily visible or may be hard to read.
With Holmatro’s new Furl Finder you simply press a button to automatically position the boom for furling.

The development of in-boom furling systems such as the Forespar LeisureFurl and Reef-Rite, has been a real boon to cruisers who want the convenience of a roller furling main combined with the performance you get from a fully battened, high roach sail. But in-boom furling requires a sure hand and exactly the right angle to the boom (89.5 degrees) to allow the sail to roll evenly around the mandrel inside the boom-no easy task. Enter Holmatro’s simple and elegant solution. The new hydraulic vang has its own small hydraulic pump and a simple push button control panel that can be mounted in the cockpit near the helm. The vang can be eased or tightened with the push of a button for better sail trim. But, when you want to reef or furl the mainsail, all you have to do is press the “furl” button and the vang automatically sets the boom at exactly the right angle. Voila. No guesswork, no ugly sail jams and no fuss. Now, the in-boom furling sail will do its job exactly the way the designers meant it to. For more information, go to www.holmatro-marine.com.