Battens for furling mainsail

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haydude

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I need to make battens for a furling mainsail, I have never done it before so I was looking for guidance on what to use and where to buy.
Ideally I am looking for a material that is stiff enough but also can be bent and rolled up for storage.
Would anyone have any advice please?
 
Are you furling in the mast or in the boom? Either way the battens need to be parallel to the furler, if they can be bent around a furler they won't support the sail, and will take up far too much space. Do a google search to get some ideas; some sails have vertical battens for in mast furling.
 
I have a maxi roach inmast main, and now have ordered one from Crusader sails which also has vertical batons both work fine on my boat I have a seldon mast. I understand there is now a firm making a baton material which is very thin buy is slightly dished along its length which makes it stiff when unfurled these are horizontal of course not sure if they work or not, are you trying to put batons into a standard in mast main, if so I don't think you will benefit as the roach is removed on ordinary in mast mains. What boat is it for I have a spare maxi roach main spare if it would fit. My boat is a Westerly Corsair which is 35 ft luff is approx 15 meters.
Mike
 
I have full length battens with Selden furling. Originally some were carbon but proved rather too brittle. The repalcement look line nylon rods - both were round and joined with SS screw fittings. Making sure the diameter isnt too great for the slot is clearly critical while the batten also needs to be stiff enough to support the sail.

Nylon rods are commonly avaiiable on eBay and elsewhere but I am not sure of a source for the joints. Stainless rods mike work as well.

I suspect round is better than flat as it doesnt present an edge to the roller - if that is what you have.
 
It is for a furling main. so I am looking for battens with a lentgh of 16 metres max and shorter. I spoke to a sailmaker who said that he can do battens in one piece. I asked "how do you fit them?" He said they roll for shipping, so they bend enough to push them up from the deck upwards. The only problem is that he would charge hundreds for them and I was looking just for the righ material to make them myself and save hundreds.

Nylon sounds good, I looked on eBay, but under rods I can find only ... "rods" (cylindrical shape). I am looking for something flat.
I am not too bothered about performance this is just for cruising, I need something that can just hold the roach in place, that is long enough to make a 16m batten in one piece and that can be rolled for shipping and fitting.
 
ip485 said:
I have full length battens with Selden furling. Originally some were carbon but proved rather too brittle. The repalcement look line nylon rods - both were round and joined with SS screw fittings. Making sure the diameter isnt too great for the slot is clearly critical while the batten also needs to be stiff enough to support the sail.
I suspect round is better than flat as it doesnt present an edge to the roller - if that is what you have.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I am looking for, also for Selden main furling with "battens".
This is interesting because I can find rods, that are round (cylindrical) shape, but not flat battens. Are you sure yours are round? Please could you let me know what is the diametre?
 
Is there a specific reason why it needs to be full height? On a 'normal' mainsail the roach is kept in place with a batten that is about a third or less of the width of the main. Wouldn't 2 or 3 times the roach measurement suffice?
 
Tyep round nylon rods into eBay - plenty are listed.

Mine are about 4mm I would guess - but it is a guess. I dont know if they are nylon, but they are a creamy colour and clearly a type of plastic.

I suspect the reason for full length (having changed from much shorten battens) is it gives a far better shape to the sail.

They do come wound in a circle (or I ordered something similiar for window runners which came in a long tube). Made me chuckle that the ones from the sailmaker had danger stickers on them saying they would unwind with force if released in an uncontrolled way!

Mine are very definitely round. Flat might work but if you think about it unless they wound evenly you are trying to twist a flat batten in exactly the way it shoud give max. stiffness - possibly every chance of getting stuck as well as it distorts - I really think round makes sense thinking about it.
 
haydude said:
It is for a furling main. so I am looking for battens with a lentgh of 16 metres max and shorter. I spoke to a sailmaker who said that he can do battens in one piece. I asked "how do you fit them?" He said they roll for shipping, so they bend enough to push them up from the deck upwards. The only problem is that he would charge hundreds for them and I was looking just for the righ material to make them myself and save hundreds.

Nylon sounds good, I looked on eBay, but under rods I can find only ... "rods" (cylindrical shape). I am looking for something flat.
I am not too bothered about performance this is just for cruising, I need something that can just hold the roach in place, that is long enough to make a 16m batten in one piece and that can be rolled for shipping and fitting.
Click to expand...
Not so sure it is a good idea to try and convert an existing sail to a battened sail. The cut is different as the sail has shape rather than being flat. Not only is there the cost of the battens but you will need to add the pockets as well. A new battened sail is typically 30% more expensive because the extra work and high cost of suitable battens.

Some sailmakers have stopped using full battens and now use short battens at the head to support the leach. Claim that they are easier to furl but retain a good shape as well as being cheaper than full ones.
 
alahol2 said:
Is there a specific reason why it needs to be full height? On a 'normal' mainsail the roach is kept in place with a batten that is about a third or less of the width of the main. Wouldn't 2 or 3 times the roach measurement suffice?
Click to expand...

Because that is how the sail is designed!
 
Tranona said:
Not so sure it is a good idea to try and convert an existing sail to a battened sail.
Click to expand...

I have never said I am converting any sail. I am looking for the battens for an existing furling main with pockets for full vertical battens. The original battens are lost and I do not want to spend hundreds charged by the manufacturer for replacement battens thus I am looking for the best solution. I hope this clarifies.

To summarize I understand that nylon rods could work, it would be fairly easy to make the ends. What diameter should the rod be?
 
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ip485 said:
Tyep round nylon rods into eBay - plenty are listed.

Mine are about 4mm I would guess - but it is a guess. I dont know if they are nylon, but they are a creamy colour and clearly a type of plastic.

I suspect the reason for full length (having changed from much shorten battens) is it gives a far better shape to the sail.

They do come wound in a circle (or I ordered something similiar for window runners which came in a long tube). Made me chuckle that the ones from the sailmaker had danger stickers on them saying they would unwind with force if released in an uncontrolled way!

Mine are very definitely round. Flat might work but if you think about it unless they wound evenly you are trying to twist a flat batten in exactly the way it shoud give max. stiffness - possibly every chance of getting stuck as well as it distorts - I really think round makes sense thinking about it.
Click to expand...

Thank you! This helps a lot. What is your main size, or your boat size?
Just to understand the proportions regarding the rod diameter.
 
alahol2 said:
Is there a specific reason why it needs to be full height? On a 'normal' mainsail the roach is kept in place with a batten that is about a third or less of the width of the main. Wouldn't 2 or 3 times the roach measurement suffice?
Click to expand...

In mast furling so flat battens, running vertically.

To OP try here - they provide all the sailmakers http://www.bainbridgeint.com/Categories.aspx?Item=Y300

You may find the battens are expensive and unless well-fitted, make holes in the sail - not any easy DIY job.
Just seen the further explanation - Bainbridge definitely. Your size of sail means a fairly robust batten which won't roll up easily so I'd suggest you collect.
I fear you'll find the substitutes ineffective - the extrusions are heavily re-inforced with glass fibre.

The probable reason that the battens have gone wlkabout is that they're at least 20% of the cost price of the sail (that's what I get off supplying my own).
 
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haydude said:
I have never said I am converting any sail. I am looking for the battens for an existing furling main with pockets for full vertical battens. The original battens are lost and I do not want to spend hundreds charged by the manufacturer for replacement battens thus I am looking for the best solution. I hope this clarifies.

To summarize I understand that nylon rods could work, it would be fairly easy to make the ends. What diameter should the rod be?
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying. But if your batten pockets are made for flat battens then that is what you need, rather than rods. And, yes they are expensive, reflected in the higher price of a battened mainsail over a flat cut.
 
charles_reed said:
To OP try here - they provide all the sailmakers http://www.bainbridgeint.com/Categories.aspx?Item=Y300

You may find the battens are expensive and unless well-fitted, make holes in the sail - not any easy DIY job.
Just seen the further explanation - Bainbridge definitely. Your size of sail means a fairly robust batten which won't roll up easily so I'd suggest you collect.
I fear you'll find the substitutes ineffective - the extrusions are heavily re-inforced with glass fibre.
Click to expand...

Thank you for pointing out Bainbridge, I just called them. The retail recommended price for a 30m 6mm diameter reel is £38, a LOT less than what I was quoted! The reel is a bit over 1 metre diameter so easy to ship too.
 
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Surprised at the cost. I had to have two replaced in my maxi roach genny. Total cost was much less than you have been quoted - tens of pounds. Would tell you exactly but can't find invoice at the moment but total invoice was £220 which included overhaul of sails, application of sail numbers and the battens.

Banks sails.
 
I have bought spare batons from Maxi Roach they took some time to come but they were not very expensive put maxi roach into Google and you will get his number give him a call. The sail from Crusader that I have now has carbon fibre batons about 4 mm I think what make of sail is yours.
 
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