DaySailer.org Forum

I lost three battens in a comedy-of-errors trying to raise the main in 25 MPH winds. We gave up.

I've ordered a new set from Rudy at D&R.

But has anyone tried making wooden battens, or seen them sold anywhere? All I've ever seen are fiberglass. I worry even the softest wood might be too stiff, and rip the sailcloth, but I'd like to know:
a) if others have tried wood;
b) what kind of wood was used, and
c) how they performed.

Thanks

When I bought my boat it had one wooden batten in the sail. The down side is that the battens were left in the pockets of the sail that spent a year or two wrapped up around around the boom, needless to say they now have a twist and bow to them that will not go away.

Wood batten looks to be mahogany, 1 1/2" x 3/16" (+/- 1/32")

With the edges sanded over I think a wood batten like this would be just as easy on the sail ,if not easyer that fiberglass ones. I might make some to replace mine as the glass ones I had in must not have fit the pockets just right.--see next paragraph

Odd thing I also lost some battens this weekend. Winds were 15mph gusting to 20+mph, some how the main sheet got un-cleated on a close reach (someone kicked it trying to brace themselves) and I didn't have a tight grip on it, end result was first thought standing rig failure with the way the sail and boom snapped over (going by sound) then as I looked I got to see two battens flipping through the air. The noise the sail made without the battens was almost unbearable as we slowly beat it back to the beach.

My boat came with wooden battens. (Actually yard-sticks, until they broke.) I then re-measured and made some out of pre-painted rounded lathe-strips laminated together. Soft white pine, i guess, Just don't sit om them ;-)
Two of those have been replaced with painted flat lathe strips, more flexible than yard sticks.
How flexible are they supposed to be?
Andrew
Central KY

my originals were bamboo slats.

When I first got my DS, the sails came with home-made wooden battens. As some of them didn't seem to fit the pockets really well, I went ahead and laminated some to fit. I think I used leftover paint stirrers. I recall those worked better than plywood.

Well varnished, they worked fine until I replaced the sails.