Throw it overboard. Let it drag behind the boat. I throw it away when I raise the spi and if I don't need to go on the wire I leave it there for all the downwind leg, steering with the rudder bar.

I use my feet on the rudder bar to steer while I set and douse the spi.

YEA YOU BARBARIANS!!!! haha,... most of the guys i sail with don't EVER release them during the week, nor do they even take the spin off the boat (out of the snuff) during storage.

I am in the same boat except i have done a bunch of testing with my sail/tension this year, and i put a tarp over my snuffer bag to protect the bag/sail inside from UV

Conclusion?

Yup just toss the tiller out the back and it will keep the boat almost dead downwind as long as you let out the traveller about 2 American feet ( 600mm would not mean a lot to you guys on the other side of the pond ) If you find the boat trying to head up a bit whilst dousing then let out the traveller a bit more.

Round the mark, pull in the traveller, clip on the wire and as you go out, pull the main in as you go ( I think thats what I do ).

I conclude that adjusting tension was needed for my sail/mast.. i had overly tight battens and it moved my draft to far forward and caused a ton of grief when tacking in light air. it also made raising the sail much harder.

i have since lightened the tension and those problems are gone. i do not release my battens when not in use.. i sail every weekend and do all i can to reduce set up/tear down time (still takes about 70 min). I am positive i would extend the life of my spinnaker by 30-50% if i removed it from the snuffer, washed it down, hung it to dry and flaked it.. but i live in an apartment, and that isn't easy to do.

i am sure i would extend the life of the sail by 5-10% if i did the same (release battens, wash, dry) but dont have the facilities to do that either...

either way.. i will have to buy new sails every few years regardless.. and would rather sail more, and rig less...

Why are you sure that not storing the spi in the snuffer and taking the battens out will extend the competitive life of the sails?

I do not have any conclusive data but:

it is recommended by every sail maker (that i have seen or read from) that washing the salt off your sails and drying will extend the sails life. it seems very reasonable to me. Also i have read on many occasions to release/remove the battens for long term storage.

Almost everyone swears that removing/washing/drying and flaking will extend the life of a spinnaker (significantly) and it seems reasonable to me...

but as i said... I would rather sail more, and rig less...

Well, I store my boat mast up, with the spi in the snuffer. My current snuffer bag is completely cooked by UV exposure after 14 months (and that's in the UK!). So I've ordered a new snuffer bag which is UV resistant, hopefully it will last a lot longer without changing the way I store my boat...

I think both propositions are old myths that are now accepted as facts.

Taking the battens out of the sail will harm it more than let it in, because the edge of the batten will chaff the sail where it is most vulnarable.
Since most battens and sails are of non-creeping materials, I don't see any benefit in releasing the tension. And tension the battens takes a lot of time which I want to spent on the water.
I am not aware that salt will harm a sail, other than moving the sail with sand/salt on it. And you have more movement, when you take the sail out of the snuffer.
In my opinion a sail last long, if it is protected from sun light, if you stuff, furl or fold it as less as possible, if you avoid flagging in the wind.

Cheers,

Klaus

The reason for removing the battens is to stop them warping.

As for chafing as you remove them, do you to fair / sand your battens?

good info...
as i said.. i leave the battens in.. and i leave the spin in the bag...

Pepin, i cooked my firt spin bag in about 9 months. i now coat with 303 (it claims to be spf40) and use a very small tarp that covers the tube (with sail inside). this takes about 30 seconds for me to secure.

Hi Simon,

I have never had (permanent) warping on my sail battens (Dart 18, then home build wood/glass, now Fibrefoam) so far.
Be carefull with sanding battens, if the fibres are uncovered by resin, they really damage the sail. But yes the edge shouldn't be sharp of course. I have seen more than one sail torn in two at the batten pocket. Luckily it wasn't my sail.

Cheers,

Klaus

I've still got my A cat sail that I bought with warped fibrefoam battens from being stored in the sail long term. I had the battens taped to straight timber for 6 months and they still twist up.