Interesting how junk rigs vary in their habits and ills. This may not help yours, but...

On mehitabel, I use the 'other' kind of mast lift, that doesn't loop the mast. First thing when the anchor's secure, I pull all the sail fabric out of any pinching between battens and mast and tuck the flaps in under the yard. Then I make sure the hauling parrels are pulled out clear of snags so the old sails are ready to raise. I also 'triangulate' the bundle if it's choppy. Chafe while furled is minimal.

Cheers, Kurt

Is your sail bundle able to move when the sail is stowed, either back and forth, up and down, or from side to side? Because it is movement of the sail against the mast which is what will cause chafe. After 5 years with the 'new sail' on Footprints there is a very negligible amount of chafe on the sail where it comes in contact with the mast. This is after thousands of miles of coastal and some offshore sailing. In fact I know exactly when the various bits of chafe have occurred, and it has all been whilst underway. When the sail is stowed the boom and sail bundle is lashed down to a substantial boom gallows so there is no movement of the sail against the mast. This is probably the secret to preventing chafe when the sail is down, ensure that there is no movement at all of the sail against the mast.

So after all this time I have worn only one small hole through the actual sail itself which I have repaired with some glued on sail cloth. There is some wear of the webbing which sits over the foam padding on the battens and yard, and the stitching on the webbing has worn through in several areas but not enough the make it necessary for me to carry out repairs. All of this damage has occurred while underway in rolling sea conditions when I knew I should have dropped the sail but did not.

Neil,

No, I have no special padding or patches on the sail at the mast. My armchair tip is that padded battens will reduce the problem.

Another armchair idea popped up, right now: What about sewing on a 60cm tall pvc sock onto the mast where the sail bundle rests? Under the sock there could be a 10mm thick layer of padding material. I have sewn pvc anti-chafe socks on two yards and booms, and they can be made to fit very tightly.

Arne

Until now, I have not bothered with padding the battens at the mast. I have only used thick pvc cloth for batten pockets. I think it would be a good idea to make the batten pockets at the mast roomier to let one add some soft padding on the battens. This will increase the contact area between the battens and any cloth pinched between them and the mast. Maybe that will reduce the likelihood of chafing holes in the sail.

My motif for the padding was rather to avoid kling-klong noise...

Arne

I've also used webbing since I rigged Tammy Norie and have not seen this problem. Are your battens completely secure when the bundle is on the gallows? Mine don't budge at all. I wonder where the movement is coming from. Is the sailcloth flogging when the bundle is stowed? You might just need some elastics around the bundle when you put the cover on.