Battcar Batten Traveler Systems, 13mm System AA Components

Battcars let you raise, lower, and reef at any wind angle while enjoying efficient sail shape underway.

Batten Traveler Systems replace conventional sail slugs with ball bearing traveler cars to handle the compression loads from full-length battens. The main becomes easier to hoist and lower, and won't damage the sail track. Add a lazy jack system, and raising or lowering your mainsail becomes a single person operation.

Battcar systems also improve sailing performance, because they do not require the sail to be cut flat, or reduce the size of the roach, as with other systems like in-mast or in-boom furling. They make mainsail handling safer, by allowing you to raise or lower the sail with practically no effort at all, even with the sail powered up.

Each system consists of four basic components:

• Track: The Battcar track attaches to the mast with special "slugs" that fit into your existing sail track
• Battcars: At the inboard end of every batten, special ball bearing or slider Battcars move along the track
• Luff cars: Between battens, a luff car keeps the intermediate part of the luff attached to the mast
• Headboard car: At the head of the sail, a special headboard car takes the extra loads imposed by the halyard and leech tension

The track can be installed with the mast in place. Your mainsail will need to be modified for your headboard, short luff cars and inboard batten fittings by your sailmaker.

Choosing the Right Battcar System

1. Determine System Size: The four sizes, Systems AA, A, B, and C, are based on sail area. If you need to reduce car stack height on mast, contact Product Advice about the Harken Switch T-Track Battcar Systems.
2. Determine track quantity and type: Use Mainsail Luff Length chart (see attached section from Harken catalog, below) to determine number of track sections
3. Choose endstop kit: Quick-release: Includes screwpin or pinstop endstop for bottom of mast and fixed endstop for the top. Fixed: Includes two fixed endstops.
4. Choose cars: Order one headboard, one Battcar for every full batten, and use the Intermediate Car Chart (below) to determine number of intermediate cars. CB system: All captive ball bearing components. Lowest friction for fast sail hoists, douses and reefs; Combination System: CB headboard and Battcars, slider intermediate cars. Reduces cost but uses CB cars in the most critical load areas; Slider system: All slider components. Raise and lower sails without jamming in the groove. 

Harken Battcar Catalog Section

Which Battcar System?

Intermediate Car Chart