Patent ID: 7878134

Claim:
A method for controlling deformation of a surface of a sail of a sailing boat during a direction change maneuver, comprising the steps of: arranging at least one inflatable batten into a respective seat obtained on a side surface of a sail of a sailing boat, said at least one inflatable batten being inflated at such a pressure as to impart to said at least one inflatable batten a bending stiffness having, with no bending load, a predetermined value; carrying out a direction change maneuver of the sailing boat, wherein, in a first part of said maneuver, said at least one batten is subjected to an increasing bending load and in a second part of said maneuver said at least one batten is no longer subjected to said bending load, wherein during said maneuver at least one mechanical property of said at least one batten is modified so that as said bending load increases in said first part of the maneuver, a value of the bending stiffness of said at least one batten decreases and as said bending load ends in said second part of the maneuver, the bending stiffness of said at least one batten returns to said predetermined value.