Ahoy, halyardz, Once again Jeff is correct however I have a few suggestions, before you put the battens back in try having some lighter and stronger battens made up and see if there is a difference. Also look at mast rake. Subtle adjustments could help you . A quick fix to chaffing would be to place the chafe material on the spreaders themselves. Also take a hard look at the spreaders themselves. Designers are great at following the book put if your mainsil isn''t exactly what was planned for that
rig some modifications might be in order. My boat has a similar problem after the retro-fit and moving the spreaders has helped me. Keep in mind though I''m on the far left of sailing theory and Ill try anything just because I can.Big Red 56