Flattens are the first Furling sail battens that are as stiff as a non furling batten yet allow the sail to furl better than conventional, bendy furling battens. This revolutionary combination results in sail shapes that were previously not possible for furling sails.
They have been developed by Dan Primrose & Simon Fry and are currently available solely through Contender UK +44 1329 849 036 General@Contender.co.uk
In short, 2015 was a quiet year for us. And although that's not good, it was all "our own fault" as we just had too many other things we had to do, such as various World Championships, national and International events for Simon Fry, working with Acro Aircraft Seating and Land Rover BAR for Dan Primrose and a whole host of other projects for Oscar.
But now, in 2016, our first aim is to follow up on all the fantastic reviews and inquiries we have had about out Flattens specifically for the smaller sports boats, such as the J70, M20 & 24.
The FL015 was something that Simon and Dan started looking at sometime back so when we were given the opportunity to put a development set on the top UK J70 we were only too happy. That boat, with the Flattens in, came fourth in the World and won the UK championships. They have also been used by various sail makers around the globe, all of whom are very interested in "putting them on their shelves", with one major sail maker considering making them the standard item for their whole group. Very exciting times!
Now that the Flattens are becoming more and more public, Dan and Simon thought that they should show a few clips of the Flattens so that everyone can see the technology first hand.
This first clip shows a standard Flatten (FL050, for boats from approx. 30 to 55ft) rolls. The key point here is that as the leading edge splays open (as it does when it comes toward the headfoil) the Flatten naturally wants to roll up.
Once rolled, you can see that the Flatten is stable. This means that the furled sail is held tighter than it might be with no battens at all, and certainly tighter than it might be with a furling batten that wants to straighten out.
With the Flattens in their open state, they are stiff in both directions. The main difference to the Flattens and a traditional batten is that they if they bend more than a certain %, they simply fold up.
For this reason, the Flattens are only used in the flatter sections of the sails. In this clip you can see the bend characteristics of the FL030Flatten (for yachts of approx. 20 to 35ft).
And like any non-furling batten, if the Flattens are rolled the "wrong way" or if you "fold rather than roll" by hand, then the performance could reduce. In the next two clips they show what might happen if the Flatten is folded at the leading edge (rather than "splayed" as in the previous video) or, in the very unlikely situation, that the Flatten is rolled the "wrong way" the Flatten is obviously not perfect after, but can still be used in the sail if no others are available.
Simon, Dan and Oscar along with their distributer, Contender UK, are extremely proud to announce that their Flattens have been nominated for the highly prestigious DAME awards at the 2014 METS.
This is an annual award where the nominated products must meet the highest demands of the judges in all areas such design, functionality, ease of operation, innovation & originality and cost verses performance.
Hundreds of new products were submitted for this award and these have now been whittled down the last few, of which one will be selected as the winner of the 2014 DAME award on the first day of METS in Amsterdam on the 18th November 2014.
Dan, Simon and Oscar look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam on the Contender BV stand in Hall 01, stand 516
Its with great excitement that Primrose Fry Technologies can announce that Contender UK with be distributing the Flattens.
After years of developing the Flattens it was a natural step to work with a global company like Contender UK and Alastair Shires (MD of Contender UK) was just as keen to work with PFT to distribute the Flattens.
The Contender Group covers the majority of the areas of the world that will be using the Flattens.
Contender will be distributing the Flattens directly to the sailmakers and can be contacted on +44 (0)1329 849 036
For those who only have a few spare moments in the day, here is a quick overview of the key points that have come out of the last two years of development that Dan and Simon have done, that ultimately led to a J-111 in the USA, called "Spaceman Spiff" winning her class at Quantum Key West Race week earlier this year, with a full set of Flattens in their Light-Medium Jib. The feedback from the trimmers and sail makers on and off the boat was nothing but extremely positive and the Flattens had allowed them to trim the sail in ways that were not possible with existing furling battens systems. The full story can of course be seen on previous posts here.
Here are some of the images from that week, from North Sails library.
J-111 "Spaceman Spiff" with NS L-M Jib with full set of Flattens
J-111 "Spaceman Spiff" with NS L-M Jib with full set of Flattens
close up of Lower Flatten on J-111 "Spaceman Spiff"
Furled jib on J-111 "Spaceman Spiff" with full set of Flattens
Up until Key West, most of the work done was on J-111's and J-109's in the UK, where the unique design of the sail pocket allows the Flattens to be simply retrofitted to any appropriate sail.
2 off 1000mm Furled Flattens
When Simon and Dan started this project, they were pretty sure that the furling ability of the product would be good, but were not 100% sure about the sailing performance. However, these doubts were very quickly dismissed when images of the J111 sail were compared to the original design files, and showed to be "almost spot on".
So here are some images that we can show, that will hopefully show why PFT's confidence level is so high. Most of the testing that has been done has been in lighter winds, which as anyone who has used a furling batten knows, is the hardest conditions to get them to work as they should (i.e. produce a tight furl whilst still giving the correct profile for the flying sail). Testing has of course been done in all conditions up to near gale force and were all very successful; "the Flattens were faultless and very good value" to quote the owner of the boat that was racing, shorthanded, offshore. In these extremes of conditions, the simple fact that the Flattens are "stable" in both sailing and furled forms, makes them unique and will give the end user the advantage they are looking for.
J-111 Code 3.5 Jib Furled with Full set of Flattens
J-111 Code 3.5 jib Upwind with Full set of Flattens in 9kn TWS
This sequence of images were taken in early 2012. They clearly show the sail shape, both furled and unfurled.
Here is a clip, again from the J-111, sailing and furling with a full set of Flattens in about 9 knots TWS.
As mentioned, Dan & Simon have also been developing the Flattens for In Mast furling. This testing is still on-going whilst they concentrate on the final spec for the baseline Jib Flattens but is a short clip showing some of that work, done at Seldon Mast in the UK on their test rig.
Following on from all the development and testing done over the last two years, culminating in that win at Quantum Key West Race Week, Primrose Fry Technologies are now talking to potential partners to bring the Flattens to the global market.
Whilst this is no small task, following all the development that PFT have done, and the feedback from sailors, owners and one of the largest sail makers in the world, PFT are extremely confident that the right partner will be found and the Flattens will be distributed around the globe.
As the plans move ahead, we will of course update this blog but if you would like any further information about the Flattens, please do not hesitate to contact us at Dan(at)PF-Technologies(dot)com.
Earlier this month Dan and Simon were extremely happy to be able to announce that Oscar Strugstad had accepted their invitation to become the Chairman of Primrose Fry Technologies Ltd.
Both Dan and Simon have known Oscar for a great number of years and have sailed with him at all levels of competition. Having recently retired from the City, it was an excellent opportunity for Oscar to "keep his hand in" the business world.
Since joining PFT, Oscar has been in involved at all levels of the development and negotiations of the Flattens Technology, and will key to future success of the business.
On January 6th, 2012 at the London Boatshow, Simon and Dan met many of the key people within Yachting business, to reveal to them their Flattens for the very first time.
Whilst we cannot say much more at this time, what we are extremly proud to say is that they were extremly well recived, and we look forward to the Offcial Launch of Flattens later on this year.
In the meantime, if you require any information, please do not hesitate to contact Contender UK on +44 1329 849 036
.JPG "Primrose Fry Technologies Flattens on North Sails Jib")
.JPG "Primrose Fry Technologies Flattens on North Sails Jib")
