Mark Reynolds

Downwind it's more important for the leeward shroud to be loose and the leeward spreader to swing forward.  If not the top batten will even reverse to windward.  I have my mast butt slide aft so the shrouds get looser when the rig goes forward.  John MacCausland is using a lever on his shrouds so he can release the leeward shroud.  In very light winds the batten can stay reversed and not pop over after a jibe.  You have to push down and pull on the boom to pop the batten.  Not exactly what you want to do in light wind.  Our first sails with the full top batten still had a stop so you could use the old shorter batten if you wanted but no one did.