I have an idea for a cambered sail which I have not seen on any of the fora so thought I would describe and see if anyone has tried it or has any comments on the idea.
The suggestion is to build curved battens to the desired camber, these would then be attached by a batten pocket to an elliptical sailcloth panel of the same camber on each side, and this would then be attached to the main body of the sail. Only the rectangular lower panels would be cambered, the boom and upper of the parallel battens would be straight with a barrel cambered foot and top to the rectangular section of the sail. A slit or hole would be needed in the elliptical panels to allow the sail to sit against the battens on port tack. The cambered battens would need a supporting tie to hold them in the correct orientation.
As I see it the advantages would be that a vertical seamed sail could be used that was basically flat except for the curved head and foot thereby preventing a full length horizontal split in any panel. The sail would be easier to make than a barrel cambered sail as the sail is flat and the camber is controlled by the elliptical panels or the battens.
Possible disadvantage is that the sail may not set properly when reefed.
Any thoughts, comments or suggestions?