Fiberglass battens for sailpack?

[CowboyWay]

I built a sailpack for my 31' sailboat last year that has a boom length of 13 feet. I tried extending pvc pipe to make it work, but the joints ended up being the weak spot and long story short, it doesn't work well. I'm seeking an alternative for a full length batten (around 14') made of fiberglass and would appreciate any suggestions as to where to source that?

thanks!

 

[Ted]

When I had a Stack Pack made by Doyle Sailmakers they used 3/4" diameter fiberglass rods. Metal sleeve connectors were used to splice two 7 foot lengths to make one long 14 long section. Mcmaster Carr sells fiberglass rods up to 20 feet long if you want a continuous length with no splice.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[fred1diver]

I have made a few sail packs for costumers
What I used for battens is 3/4” PVC conduit, to make them long enough I Jan a wooden dowel inside the conduit by over 6” either side, a single screw on each side makes it very secure, not too expensive either

 

[billjoye]

West Marine has 5/8" and 1 5/16" wide batten fiber glass stock available online. Max length is 12 feet. Not cheap, but you can have it delivered to your local store free. Comes wound up in a loop and will fit into the back of a car or SUV.

 

[dmax]

You should be able to find some used battens that no one wants - I have some from old sails but they're in MA.