Yesterday, my wife and I took our H23.5 for a wonderful sail. Wind was constant at 10 -12 mph. Unusual for our lake. We were sailing with the bimini to avoid excessive sun. We tacked, gibed, and had a fantastic time. Right up until back in the slip and we noticed one of the battens had evidently slipped out. It's the second one from the foot of the sail. Any ideas about a replacement?
Battens
- Thread starter Bill Jones
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I have a H216 and lost a couple battens until I drilled a hole in the end of each and sewed them in place with dental floss.
This is a common problem if you are using a line to support the end of your boom. As you tack, the line tugs at the end of the batten pocket and will open the velcro tab and spill the batten into the drink. A good solution is to drill the end of the batten and sew it to the velcro tab or use sail tape to hold the pocket closed.
My H23 has tabs that fold over the open end of the pocket and are held closed with Velcro. I have no idea if this was OEM or the prev owner (PO) had these added by a sail loft - if they can be added to yours, they seem to work well for me.
Also, I recommend buying the batten end caps and gluing them on - the luff end of mine had tears through the pocket, and the battens could slide through the holes. The PO covered the holes with duct tape (ugh). I had them repaired last winter, and added the batten end caps, and they seem to be holding into the plastic fitting on the luff end of each pocket.
Also, I recommend buying the batten end caps and gluing them on - the luff end of mine had tears through the pocket, and the battens could slide through the holes. The PO covered the holes with duct tape (ugh). I had them repaired last winter, and added the batten end caps, and they seem to be holding into the plastic fitting on the luff end of each pocket.
I've had the boat for 15 years and never had this problem before. "Mike in Cape Cod's" response has sovled the issue. We had the bimini up and I suspect the topping lift was tighter than it should have been. During a turn, the topping lift pulled the velcro tab loose and voila! My batten is one with the lake!
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