Batten question

[Eddie C]

My 165 is missing 1 batten and the top batten is 4" too long, maintains a 'c' shape and hangs up on the topping lift. The other batten is limp as a noodle. My question is- what width battens do I get? I've searched and cannot find guidance to this question. Also I haven't had a boat with a topping lift for a long time. Do I unclip it from the boom when sailing?
Thanks, Eddie C.

[tjspiel]

My 165 is missing 1 batten and the top batten is 4" too long, maintains a 'c' shape and hangs up on the topping lift. The other batten is limp as a noodle. My question is- what width battens do I get? I've searched and cannot find guidance to this question. Also I haven't had a boat with a topping lift for a long time. Do I unclip it from the boom when sailing?
Thanks, Eddie C.

Topping lifts are often owner installed and aren't all set up the same.

They can be be used as a sail control but frequently they are only used to hold the end up the boom up while not sailing. So when you are sailing, you want it slack. Is there a way to adjust yours, or is it either clipped or unclipped?

On my fully battened wind-surfer sails, the batten tension was tight and forced a curve into the sail. That was normal. You sometimes had to give the rig a yank when on the opposite tack to get the curve in the sail to snap to the correct side. The same with my inflatable cat though there is not quite as much tension on those as there was on the windsurfer.

With partial battens, you want them long enough (or tensioned enough) so that there's not vertical wrinkles along the batten pocket. But you don't want them so long or highly tensioned that the fabric looks stretched and/or you have horizontal wrinkles along the batten pocket.

I have not had a sail with a mix of full and partial length battens so I'm not quite sure what's normal in that case.

You can order battens from sailrite that you cut to length. They're not very expensive.

[Straander]

The 165 does not come with a topping lift from the factory. When I installed my own, I made sure that it was lengthened so that there was a little bit of slack when the mainsail was fully raised, therefore leaving it attached did not affect sailing at all.

For V.2 of the topping lift, I installed a bowsie on it allowing for easy adjustments so I could get the boom more out of the way when the mainsail was stowed.

My 165 is missing 1 batten and the top batten is 4" too long, maintains a 'c' shape and hangs up on the topping lift. The other batten is limp as a noodle. My question is- what width battens do I get? I've searched and cannot find guidance to this question. Also I haven't had a boat with a topping lift for a long time. Do I unclip it from the boom when sailing?
Thanks, Eddie C.

[talbot]

No need to tolerate battens of wrong length. Order new ones from Precision or order the material and cut to fit.

[Eddie C]

Sailrite does have battens already in the lengths I need. I don't know what width to get. Thinking maybe 1" for the top (40" long) and 5/8" for the 2 lowers (24" long). The topping lift doesn't look adjustable. I may be able to gain a few inches by adjusting the knot or could just unclip it when the sail is up and attach it to the mast while sailing. Thanks for the suggestions.

[tjspiel]

The battens on my P-18 are 5/8 but I don't have any that are full length. You could call Bill at Precision Boat Works to get the definitive answer.

[Brian N.]

The battens should be snug in the pocket but not induce a "C" shape. Since they seem to be the wrong size (strange) you might be able to use a fine blade saw and file to cut and shape the batten down (although it might not have the correct flex after cutting). If the sails are original, most likely they are Rolly Tasker and you might want to call a distributer, or even direct. I also believe that Defender or even West Marine sell material to make your own battens.

Topping lift: The so called topping lift on the P165 is nothing more than a thin line from the masthead to boom end. I have mine cut so that it is slack when the main is set, and it is not adjustable. You'll get far more "performance" from a correctly set vang.