Full battens won't fit

[chris.doubleday]

New sailer and new boat here, so be gentle.

45 foot cruiser with full batten main (Incidence sail makers). All new last year. We removed the battens last year to store the main, tried reinstalling last weekend but it's almost like the sail shrank or the battens grew by an inch or so.

The battens slide in through the batten tensioner on the leach, and they fully seat in the symetrical batten receptacle on the luff side. But 3 of the 5 battens still protrude by about one inch on the leach side. No apparent wrinkles in the sail or batten pocket.

The tensioner uses a threaded cap to secure and compress the batten. No way to muscle it in. We scratched our heads for a while and decided to come back to this next weekend, thinking maybe the sail will relax a little on a hotter/sunnier day.

The battens were not this tight when we removed them last fall.

Any ideas appreciated! Thank you.

[Jammer]

Sails shrink.


Trim the battens so they fit. A sailmaker can do it, or you can with an angle grinder or die grinder, or hand tools and patience.

[tkeithlu]

Jammer speaks with wisdom. Make them tight, but not impossible to get in, and very smooth. Go sailing.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

[Dusty Mac]

Before you go cutting battens the fit last year, are you sure they are in the right pockets? If it's only an inch I would guess they are not fully seated or the caps not backed off fully.

[chris.doubleday]

Originally Posted by Dusty Mac

Before you go cutting battens the fit last year, are you sure they are in the right pockets? If it's only an inch I would guess they are not fully seated or the caps not backed off fully.

Thanks for your response and I definitely agree we should not be cutting the battens since they fit fine last fall (although it was discussed during a fit of frustration).

I am confident we've got them in the correct pockets since the differences in length are measured in feet, but the issue we're seeing is one inch or less.

To ensure they were seating correctly, we actually removed one of the receptacles so we could visually confirm the batten seating.

[Dusty Mac]

Could you tell us the brand of caps and tensioner or post a pic? It would be very frustrating, I'm sure.

[Redline452]

Sounds like they are hung up on the reinforcement at the end of the pocket. Usually several layers of sailcloth so fairly thick.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Dusty Mac

Before you go cutting battens the fit last year, are you sure they are in the right pockets? If it's only an inch I would guess they are not fully seated or the caps not backed off fully.

As an owner of full battens too, I agree with this. I doubt your sails have shrunk!

Welcome aboard by the way!

[Timreyn]

I had the same problem just last week. This is the first time I have installed my battens and not let a sail guy do it. Several had about an inch sticking out and I tried to push them in. Mine are round fiberglass rods. I was by myself so I tied a cord around the receptacle and put a little tension on it to stretch the sail out. Was easy and did not take much tension to do that. I assume I stretched out the sail just a little. I screwed in the plugs and away I went. I am no expert but this worked for me.

[Paul Carey]

When the battens were removed , were the 'batten end caps' still attached , or could they have been left some where in the pockets & are now fouling ?

[Moontide]

If they fit last year they will fit now. If dacron/polyesther they can indeed shrink, or rather stretch. One key is to make sure the sail is very flat when trying to insert. Is a pain but can be done with constant pressure on batten and pulling on the fabric.


I would definitely not cut the battens as they will end up being too short when the sail stretches back out.

[Mike Crothers]

Have you tried bending the sail as you put the battens in? The battens often are too provide some foil shape to the sail. A call to your sail maker should help also rather than a forum.


Good luck with your new boat.

[chris.doubleday]

Originally Posted by Redline452

Sounds like they are hung up on the reinforcement at the end of the pocket. Usually several layers of sailcloth so fairly thick.

There is a large epoxy fitting at both ends of the pocket.

The fitting on the luff end of the pocket has a hole to receive the end of the batten. I'd estimate its about 2" deep and we're 95% sure the batten is fully seated in that fitting.

The fitting on the leach end of the pocket has a hole through which the batten is inserted to enter the pocket. It has a threaded plug that secures the batten and i think also serves to adjust compression of the batten.

Right now I'm leaning toward the sail/ pocket not being completely relaxed. It's a brand new sail so pretty stiff.

Will look at it again this weekend. I really appreciate the feedback. Any other feedback or experiences always appreciated!

Thanks,
Chris

[Paul Carey]

Ah Ha , its a brand new sail ,, suggest sail taken back to sailmaker c/w battens ..

[JPA Cate]

Apologies if you have already tried this, Chris.

First, make sure the built in tensioner has no tension on it.

Then try inserting a batten. If it still won't work, get the sailmaker to help you, either by taking the sail and battens to him/her, or by having him/her come to the boat.

This should come right, and it is probably something simple. Leech line eased?

Ann