sail battens

Question
I windsurfed around 30 years ago for a short time and liked it.  Recently I picked up an older (87) HiFly board with a 6.4 sail.  I used it last weekend and was able to sail pretty well.  The sail, however, is missing the battens.  What are they made of and where can I find some.  The pockets appear to accept 1" wide x 1/8" - 3/16" thick material.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you, Marty

Answer
Hey Marty,

You will need to measure the batten pockets to determine the size battens you will need. Figure out where the pocket ends near the mast and measure out to the opening of the pocket. Add about 6" to this measurement for each batten. You can go to windance.com and call them for generic battens. Give them the measurements for each. Once you get them, there should be two different end caps. One will be just a butt end cap and that end will go into the pocket. The other end cap will have either a slot for the batten strap or and end with two ridges to keep the batten strap in place on the end. Slide the batten into the pocket until it is firmly in the end. There should be about 2-3 inches of batten sticking out. If it is more, remove the batten, remove one of the end caps and trim a little off the batten with a hacksaw. Handle carefully as the battens will be fiberglass. I recommend some light gloves to prevent slivers. Use a fine file or sandpaper to smooth out the cut and replace the end cap. Try the fit again and trim again if needed. The batten should be nice and snug in the pocket to help remove wrinkles from the sail. Don't cut the batten too short. You can also check out windsurfingmag.com under links for other online shops that would carry generic battens.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover