Thanks everyone. The advice is consistent and fully absorbed! My sails are only 4 years old and in good shape. Suspect I simply didn't have adequate outhaul tension / good boom angle.
The day I have to get new sails I'll consider going without battens and hence no roach and lower performance. My racing days are over but then you know how it is when another boat is sailing close by, the old twitch and tweak kicks in..... :-) Seriously, I'll not leapt to conclusions until I've got a lot more miles under my belt. It is probably a case of building good habits. I have faith in Amel design. -- David Crisp SV Wilna Grace Amel 54 #58