Hey Dave,

As Tom says, there's really no other alternative... Mine's a high-aspect main with full battens, I keep thinking about setting up some lazy jacks out of light Spectra, but I've managed to do without them so far, maybe one of these years...

Wish there was an alternative, actually... Flaking over time takes its toll on a laminate sail, repeated creasing in the same spots is beginning to break down my North 3DL main in some spots... When it eventually comes time to replace the sail, I'll go with a more conventional material for the main...

If I had a larger boat, I've come around to thinking I'd be inclined to go with a Leisure-Furl boom, largely because it's less "destructive" to such a sail... The Valiant I just took down to Antigua had a main that is several years old, and it still looks almost new... I'll bet it wouldn't look nearly as good, if it had been flaked/stowed in the conventional manner...

Say it ain't so, but I'm really beginning to become a believer in a non-electric Leisure-Furl setup for boats larger than 40' or thereabouts - it worked flawlessly for me on this last trip... (grin)

best regards,

Jon