Thining a batten

cb32863

cb32863

.
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
So my upper 2 battens are a bit stiff, really no bend at all. So I have always heard about sanding them down so that they are more flexible. Has anyone done this and what did you use? I was thinking 80 grit on the random orbital. Not sure if that is too aggressive or not.

Thanks.
 
cb32863

cb32863

.
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
They are full battens. Wondering if would just be easier to measure and buy thinner ones.
 
Gunni

Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
cb32863 said:
They are full battens. Wondering if would just be easier to measure and buy thinner ones.
Click to expand
Yes, yes it would. And you will save yourself the itch and annoyance of all those fiberglass fibers exposed by sanding.
 
D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
13,997
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Full battens are often tapered. The leach end of the batten should be stiff with the forward end soft. This helps to create the shape of the sail. Could be that a PO lost a batten and just replaced it with a plain batten.

Contact a local sailmaker to see if they can order some for you.
 
cb32863

cb32863

.
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
dlochner said:
Full battens are often tapered. The leach end of the batten should be stiff with the forward end soft. This helps to create the shape of the sail. Could be that a PO lost a batten and just replaced it with a plain batten.

Contact a local sailmaker to see if they can order some for you.
Click to expand
The PO is me. ;) Bought new sails when I bought the boat. Need to bring in my head sail so I will ask my sail maker then. Thanks all!
 
thinwater

thinwater

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Mar 26, 2011
3,959
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
With full battens, some of the curve is induced by tensioning them in the pockets. Tension can even be adjusted to suit the wind and sea state (mostly a racer thing). So try jacking up the tension.
 
Gunni

Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
thinwater said:
With full battens, some of the curve is induced by tensioning them in the pockets. Tension can even be adjusted to suit the wind and sea state (mostly a racer thing). So try jacking up the tension.
Click to expand
I have a couple of small custom expedition boat sails with extremely stiff full battens. They are tensioned for conditions - lots of curve and draft for light winds, eased / flattened for higher winds. This works well in lieu of a vang, Cunningham and optimized sheeting angles of a small boat.
 
Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

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Oct 19, 2017
8,119
O'Day Mariner 19 3444 Littleton, NH
Gunni said:
They are tensioned for conditions - lots of curve and draft for light winds, eased / flattened for higher winds. This works well in lieu of a vang
Click to expand
How do you tension full battens while underway? I use to have a hobie 18. I set the tension for higher winds on a beat and left them that way because I couldn't rely on winds staying one way or another. I also couldn't sail downwind oneway and upwind back and expect to change the batten tension in the middle of my sail.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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