Hi all,
Long time reader here, first time poster. I have a HyperGlide 2 8.0m sale. It is the earliest version with the four black SDM cams, not the larger XL cams.
I was having rotation issues with the cams above and below the boom (as detailed in other posts). However, I discovered that the the bottom three battens were "telescoping" (ie getting shorter under pressure) which has likely caused the issue. Ill explain:
There are two parts to the battens - the front tapered rod (camber inducer) which flexes to the give the shape; and the carbon tube at the back (which more or less stays straight). The carbon tube fits onto a section at the leach end of the camber inducer and presses against a flanged "stop". So when you crank up the batten tension, the 'stop' prevents the tube from moving forward and adds tension to the sail.
It turns out the "stop" is not fixed onto the tapered rod by much, just some strong plastic wrap. What seems to have happened on mine is that the stopper was getting pushed forward, leading to less batten tension, so more tension was applied to the batten, which pushed the stop down further reducing batten tension...and so on.
As this process continued the "stop" got pushed further and further forward on the tapered rod, effectively shortening it. In the end mine had moved about 8cm. The previous owner had started adding small sections of carbon tube at the leach of the sail to allow more tension as the wind-on tensioner was already maxed out.
My theory, is that the reduced length of the tapered rod meant there was less distance for the shape of the sail to form on those battens, with the result that all the bend gets pushed forward onto the remaining part of the tapered rod at the mast, forming a pronounced knuckle. I am going to replace the tapered rods on my bottom three battens (just to be safe) and will let you know how I get on.
The only problem I have is that I can't find replacement tapered rods for an HG2, nor the measurements to cut new ones (I can't be sure the old ones are the right length any more as some was cut off the end). The Severne website has the batten specs for the HGO (IQ version) on their website, but I don't know if they are the same for the HG2?
Does anyone know what the measurements are, or (if you are feeling really helpful) have an 8m HG2 and could measure the length of the front section on the bottom three battens?
Thanks in advance
I don't have that sail. But I have about dozen severne race sails.
What sometimes happen with excessive batten tension, from the cam rotation, is the end of the plastic ferule pops off. Then the front batten slides. Ideally replace the ferule. But now I don't bother sourcing those fiddly parts instead I prepare the surface with 80 grit, and use a little bit of glass and UV epoxy, to make a sleeve for the ferule, like this.
For working out the length, the tapered batten comes all the way to where, the plastic end used to be.
Yep, that exactly what I did last night! Great minds eh. The only problem is on the no6 batten, the fibreglass rod poked through the ferrule (that was the word I couldn't think of in my OP) about 5cm-ish. I couldn't understand why at the time and the tube was broken so I cut off the excess when I replaced the tube. Now I can't figure out how long it was originally! ????
Now that you know how it goes together. I would carefully lay the battens, on the pocket, and work it out, that way. Allowing for the batten tensioner, in its shortest position. You should be able to get very close, assuming the original tube batten is intact.
