How do you tie your battens?

good question. I'm tired of tieing my battens and untieing them everytime I sail. Hopefully there is a solution to this that would allow adjustable tension, with ease of changing and relieveing tension.

First of all, never trust plastic for cleats, whether V cleat or clam cleat or cam cleat. You need to tie your battens in with a couple of half-hitches (or whatever knot works best for you).

And, obviously, this is going to sound really dumb to all you high-tech sailors, but Rick and I don't like to have to try to get everything dialed in perfectly again every time we sail, so we always tie our battens in at the beginning of the season and we leave them that way until the end of the season. In Florida, that means forever.

I can almost hear the groans from the purists who believe in relieving their batten tension whenever they are not sailing -- and those like Jake, who want to be able to change their batten tension easily and quickly. So, please don't follow our example.

But, on the other hand, we have paid our dues when it comes to battens. Rick and I are from the same generation that back in the 1960's used to be up all hours of the night before a regatta shaving battens to get that draft exactly right in the sail from top to bottom. And we would lay the boat over on its side with the sail up and roll a marble down the sail to make sure the symmetry of the draft was correct. If not, more shaving. I'm sure that yacht clubs up and down the East Coast still have fiberglass particles in their yards from all the shaving cat sailors did back then.

So when people worry about how to secure their battens at the ends of the pockets, that's a minor problem compared to what we used to go through in the search of perfection. Thank goodness for tapered battens.

Jake,
There is a decent diagram at www.ahpc.com.au/. Go to the "owners manual" section.

Regards,
Bill Moran
T4.9 #224

I would agree with Mary

I recieved my new sails today and the advice from the sailmaker, a well regarded catamaran sailor, was to tension them battens to eliminate any wrinkles and leave them alone. Furthermore he did not think it was necessary to release batten tension between sails. The main thing in his opinion was to get the wrinkles out and use other adjustments for sail shape.

Sail Faster!
Bob Fraser
P19MX w/spin

Jake,

I use the hole to tie them. More than half the time I forget to loosen them after a sail. While I understand the theory, my sailing is not at a level where I notice the difference from varying batten tension. I did, however, replace my battens with a set I got from Randy Smyth. They really seemed to give the sail a better shape. When I swapped them out, I noticed the effect of rolling the sail with the battens not quite parallel. The old battens had taken on a sort of a twisted shape. Don't know if that was affecting performance, but now I'm pretty careful to be sure and roll the sail with the battens parallel to the roll.

yeah - Mary's got me pegged. I couldn't possibly sleep at night knowing my battens (in my sail that's rolled neatly and dry in it's bag laying underneath my pool table after every weekend) were still tensioned....brrrrrr...I shiver at the thought

I agree with Mary. I tie my battens at the beginning of the season for everthing except stock Hobie sails.

The loads on the sail from battens are trivial compared to sailing loads.

I was given a bunch of old Tornado sails, many with battens that had been tensioned for over 10 years. I havn't worried about batten tension since then.

A good way to be able to repeat the same batten tension and still be able to loosen the battens is tie a small button on to the line. Tie it so it's easy to loosen and adjust. If you don't want to use the plastic caps you can notch a small "V" or take a hack saw and put a 1/4" deep cut at the end of the batten and hook the button there.

Have Fun
Mike

Okay, I'll bite. Why treat the stock Hobie sails differently? Does dacron loose it's shape?

I loosen my battens after every sail and grumble while tightening them prior to the next one...

-Todd, TheMightyHobie18 in MN

I tie my jib battens once, then tape them up forever, that way they don't get damaged or come loose every time they hit the mast in a tack or gybe (Hobie 16). With the mains they are loosened after every sail.

Hi Jake, The best batten tensioning system does not require tying. It uses cloth straps and plastic fittings that allow you to very quickly and easily tension the batten and lock it in place. It takes the flick of a finger to ease the tension when done. The Mystere 4.3s all came with this system and it is really sweet. I haven't looked, but it is probably available from Murrays.

Having said that, I tested Rick's method of not releasing batten tension all season a several years ago, convinced that my Hobie 18 dacron main would be permanently stretched at each batten pocket at the end of the season. It was not. I was surpised, but with this simple batten tension system we have on the Mysteres, I still adjust the tension each time because it is so easy and I have to take out the top batten (flathead) each time anyway.

I think I know the system you refer to. My Calvert Square head I bought for my 5.2 came with nylon straps sewn into the leech end of each batton pocket and the plastic buckle on the opposing leech side. It was a great and very secure way to lock in batten tension. However, that would require me taking the sail to a sailmaker and getting all this sewn in place. Is this what you are talking about?

I'm leaning more and more towards just leaving them set permenantly - If I can sleep at night.

We catsailors like to think of ourselves as being pretty high tech, but really, we don't hold a candle to windsurfers. I believe Calvert has a long standing historyin the world of windsurfing. The batten tensioning system you're talking about is used extensively on windsurfing sails.

Cheers!

Tim J.

I can`t believe I`m reading this - sailors in the first world still use string to hold battens in, with those plastic batten-ends that have a V-cleat in them ?
This can only be due to those one-design purists who won`t let you change anything about a 1960`s design, so you end up living in the past. Long live Hobie.
In the third world, at the southern tip of Africa, we use an allen key to adjust our batten tension. Of course, we sail a development class, so we`re allowed to use nifty gadgets that were invented AFTER the first moon landing.
The Hobie sailors here still use string. There`s nothing quite like being class-legal. The fact that anyone still uses dacron sails also amazes me - why not canvas ?

Just kidding !
Steve

Ooooo - tell me more? Allen Screws? Hmmmm... A little stainless wire, a nut and a tack welder, ooooo.. Tell us More! Tell us More!

(Ohh and BTW - I sail a Nacra).

My battens don't even have little plastic caps. Just some holes in the battens and some string. I like it that way. It doesn't get any lighter and there are very few things to fail. Maybe I will go high tech and make the holes in my battens bigger.

Tornado US 782

We went to North Sails to develop a new mylar mainsail for our class (Mosquito), they came up with the Allen-key thingy, it`s a plastic end-cap of sorts with an allen-key head in the back of it which fits over the end of the batten. It`s very neat, no string & knots hanging behind your sail, can`t come undone by itself, and reduces drag.
I`d imagine you`d have to have webbing straps sewn onto your sail to retro-fit this system to an existing sail, but that would be easy.
A few turns of the key & you get tension, if you like de-tensioning your battens & retensioning each time you sail, just remember the number of turns you undo, & put them back in next time. I tend to leave them tensioned, and I don`t lose any sleep over it. I think if you have Dacron it might be good to release the tension, I have mylar & I`m lazy.
The dig at the Hobie guys was the "just kidding" part. I used to sail a Dart 18, but found that antiquated class rules that tell you to use dacron sails and then charge you as if you`re buying kevlar, made me look at a class with more open rules. Now I buy Mylar sails which are really well put together (including the batten-ends AND battens)at a lower price than I`d pay for a dacron Dart 18 sail WITHOUT battens.
Classes which have rules that have the intention of making their boats cost less very often acchieve that, but the one-manufacturer classes don`t pass the cost saving onto the buyer, so you get an average product at an above-average price. I buy into one-design, but one-manufacturer classes are pushing the cost of sailing way beyond acceptable.

There, now I`ve had my say. I`ll post a pic of the batten tensioner when I can get my mainsail & a digital camera near eachother.

Cheers
Steve

Sounds like what I saw once. (See attachment) It was held in place by the sail. The back of the batten pocket was "T" shaped. You really had to twist and push to get the batten cap in or out of the sail. The owner said it worked as long as you didn't want to change battens for sail shape.

Hi,

I got fed up with the string and plastic, as both broke down in the Sun's UV here.

So I tried the European style screwthread adjusters, I think they are in the Hobie Catalog, but after adjusting and readjusting I found that all I really needed was one setting for all conditions.

I didn't like the idea of leaving tension on the battens when storing the sail...especially my new H17 Mylar sail, so I now have these nifty over-center locking batten tensioners.

The caps are set up to the tension you want, then you just flip the over-center lock to loosen the tension when storing the sail....then when raising the sail, just flip the lock and the batten is tensioned...neato...and it's streamlined and has no screws or fiddly bits.

If you would like a photo of either system, I can post them no problems.

Nige

Jake - Check out any windsurfing sail these days. North made some similar to what the "third worlder" describes. I have those sails, and the adjustment is pretty sweet. No, you can't move it over an inch or so, but you don't need that much slack adjustment if you put the right sized battens in.

And I tensioned them and forgot about them.

I also agree that when it comes to battens and batten pockets, one design classes are pretty much living in the past. But that's also a strong point, knowing that I don't have to jump into every latest thing to keep me in the middle of the pack (my sailing skills keep me there!) keeps my budget in line!

I was in the arms race in windsurfing, and collected a quiver of over 12 sails, replacing them every year to be competitive (not to mention the 7 boards), and I wasn't even professional level! Today (less than 2 years later), I can barely recognize the equipment they are using!

I see the benefits of both one design racing to keep sailing strong (allowing the average budget to be competitive), and the development/formulae class to push the envelope (like that new fangled M20 and the Vectorworks x-boat) for technology that can be used to upgrade or establish another class.

And if we REALLY went high-tech and exotic, you don't NEED battens. The radial cuts and "smart" materials would hold the shape. Some NASA/Military projects even have material that can re-anneal after sustaining a rip or impact, or change properties under different conditions.

Imagine controlling your mainsail shape with a laptop.... Or better yet... Voice control...

Nigel, Kwiksilver:
Can you please post or email me pictures? It's the right time for me to decide which method to use. Thanks. Dennis

I had been tying my battens as per the diagram someone posted above for a couple of races. It's not doing it - perhaps I needed some kind of waxed string; but it's tough to get them as tight as I want and they continue to work loose over a matter of minutes sailing. I never could convince myself to leave them tied during storage either (and even though they were loose, they were a pain to disengage). I ended up taking two different sized v-jam caps (I have five different sizes of battens), wrapping the ends of the battens with saran wrap, filling the caps with epoxy, and taping them in place. They fit very well now. I also tied two knots in the adjustment string so I am sure they stay in place (and it gives me two settings).

Just another cheap way.

Tie one end to the port grommet(with a bowline, or cow hitch, or two half hitches),
take the loose end through the batten,
then loop the loose end, TWICE through the starboard grommet, then...

The TRICK is to create an OVER-RIDE with the SECOND loop,
(you may have to guide the line to create the over-ride as you pull it)
the over-ride if done properly will carry the load.

Then put the loose end in v-jam cap, OR just tie loose ends together.
I UNDO the over-ride, by pulling the loose end in the opposite direction
of the over-ride (opposite direction it went through the grommet).

Where were you when this post originated three months ago? You could have saved me all that work! I am not sure I follow you exactly but it sounds nifty.

Any chance of posting a picture? I'm not sure what an "over-ride" is.

Here's a pic, see attachment above.
Instead of over-ride, shall we rename it stateride.

The TRICK is to create an OVER-RIDE with the SECOND loop around the grommet,
(you may have to guide the line to create the over-ride as you pull it)
the over-ride if done properly will carry the load.

Great wind & waves,
Chris Stater