I sent my sails out for some work and when I got them back and put the battens in, I noticed that on two of them that had had velcro flaps at the ends (leech), the flaps had been removed. The battens are held in with line that passes thru gromets on the sail and a hole in the batten. Question: other than making it look cleaner, do these velcro flaps perform any other function? Ok, stupid question but I'm infamous at those!! Fair winds,
Batten Pocket Flaps
- Thread starter Bill P.
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Yes,
They keep the battens from sliding out in strong wind. Sounds like your sail maker has tied your battens in place instead. My concern is that you can't remove your battens when you store your sail unless you remove the ties. We insert our battens in the slots, cover them with the velcro flaps, and also wrap sail tape around the velcro and batten ends to keep from having to replace battens again and again. This arrangement has worked for us so far.
They keep the battens from sliding out in strong wind. Sounds like your sail maker has tied your battens in place instead. My concern is that you can't remove your battens when you store your sail unless you remove the ties. We insert our battens in the slots, cover them with the velcro flaps, and also wrap sail tape around the velcro and batten ends to keep from having to replace battens again and again. This arrangement has worked for us so far.
I have Velcro too ...
My battens are held in with a velcro strap, but it may be different that yours. It's a little hard to describe, but: The port hand "inside" of the batten pocket has one side of the velcro stitched to it (about 6" long). The starboard side has stitched to it a 10-12" strap with the other side of the velcro on it (velcro faces starboard when strap is not in pocket). The loose end of the strap has a ~6" retrieval line on it. To insert a batten, you need a "pusher" (a short stubby batten for example) to push the strap in. You place the strap over the back of the batten and push it down the port hand side of the batten. Pushing puts compression on the batten and once you push the strap ALL the way in, it will end up with its velcro facing the other velcro stitched to the inside of the pocket and thus securing the batten in place. The small line can be pulled to detach the velcro. The system is a little fiddly for inserting battens, but completely secure for keeping them in place. Because the strap in completely within the pocket, it cannot catch on anything, the natural compression keeps the two sides of the velcro pressed together. Chris
My battens are held in with a velcro strap, but it may be different that yours. It's a little hard to describe, but: The port hand "inside" of the batten pocket has one side of the velcro stitched to it (about 6" long). The starboard side has stitched to it a 10-12" strap with the other side of the velcro on it (velcro faces starboard when strap is not in pocket). The loose end of the strap has a ~6" retrieval line on it. To insert a batten, you need a "pusher" (a short stubby batten for example) to push the strap in. You place the strap over the back of the batten and push it down the port hand side of the batten. Pushing puts compression on the batten and once you push the strap ALL the way in, it will end up with its velcro facing the other velcro stitched to the inside of the pocket and thus securing the batten in place. The small line can be pulled to detach the velcro. The system is a little fiddly for inserting battens, but completely secure for keeping them in place. Because the strap in completely within the pocket, it cannot catch on anything, the natural compression keeps the two sides of the velcro pressed together. Chris
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