Catalina - Capri - 25s International Assocaition Logo(2006)  
Assn Members Area · Join
h.jpg Home.
a.jpg Association Forum
s.jpg Ships Store
c.jpg Cruising
r.jpg Racing
t.jpg Technical Tips
g.jpg Photo Gallery - New
o.jpg Boat Search - Updated
m.jpg Manuals & Brochures
3rdrpt.jpg Swap Meet
l.jpg Links
f.jpg Officer Flag Line & Staff
b.jpg Bylaws & Constitution
 
1.jpg Members Area
1.jpg Join the Association
 
Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
 
Association Forum
Association Forum
Home | Profile | Register | Active Topics | Forum Users | Search | FAQ
Username:
 Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

 All Forums
 Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums
 General Sailing Forum
 I can’t get the battens back in		  New Topic  Topic Locked
 Printer Friendly
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  

Summers Eve
Deckhand

Member Avatar

USA
10 Posts
Initially Posted - 02/03/2008 :  11:58:58  Show Profile
Sorry to start another batten thread.

I just got my reconditioned sails back from Sail Care. They look great. I got out in the front yard just now to put the battens back in. This is a fully battened main for an 84 Catalina 25 tall rig. The (expletive) things are too long to go back in. There is no flap on the open side of the pocket. The batten sticks out at least 1.5 inches when it is FULLY pushed into the pocket. There is a plastic piece on the opposite side of the pocket and I removed one to be sure the batten was all the way in the pocket. To get the batten in far enough to close the unsown end it would have to bow quite a bit. Having only two hands doing this and re-sowing the pocket is impossible. I think the reconditioning may have shrunk the sail somewhat.

This is Sunday and the Sail Care guys are off today. I sent them an email asking if they have any suggestions. Being the impatient individual person I am I’m posting here before they can respond.

The only idea I have is to sail the boat without the battens in the pockets. Maybe there would be enough stretch after a couple of good sails to get them back in.

As always I am open to any suggestion.

Thanks
Steve
Summer's Eve #4489
1984 Catalina25 Tall Rig
Eagle Mountain Lake
Fort Worth, Texas
Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  12:42:25  Show Profile
"As always I am open to any suggestion."

Shorten the battens. Put them in in vise and cut with a hacksaw. Sandpaper/grind/rasp so the cut end is smooth and rounded. Buy some new battens if/when the sail stretches out again.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3444 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  13:30:39  Show Profile
Good addvice. Make sure your don't forget the "smooth and rounded" part or you'll be sending the sails back to Sailcare for repair.

I might give the folks at Sailcare a day to come up with another idea, though.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  13:33:14  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Aren't the battens supposed to sit inside the plastic fittings at the luff?
Maybe you should have velcro straps added so you can adjust them as the sail stretches back out, and it will.
I am not a fan of sail reconditioning, when was the last time you bought retreads for your car or put a tube in a bad tire?
I think it is better to go another year or two and buy new sails.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  13:43:26  Show Profile
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Frank Hopper</i>
<br />...I am not a fan of sail reconditioning...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">But Frank... That way you can have bright, white, crispy, blown-out sails!
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

djn
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1561 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  13:47:30  Show Profile
If you do cut them down, you should get the little plastic endcaps for them. Cheers.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1883 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  15:11:15  Show Profile
SAILCARE SHRUNK MY SAIL. IT WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, AND A LESSON LEARNED.

Val on the hard, DAGNABIT, # 3936, Parchogue, N.Y.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4593 Posts
Response Posted - 02/03/2008 :  21:54:31  Show Profile
Steve and Val, I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience with Sail care. This is interesting. I've used Sail Care several times over the past 20 or so years, and have never had a bad experience with them. The last time was when we sent the main and 150 to them after we bought the C-25 in the fall 2006. They came back looking great, and I'm sure that we'll get several more years of use out of them.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Summers Eve
Deckhand

Members Avatar

USA
10 Posts
Response Posted - 02/04/2008 :  10:05:50  Show Profile
These are fiberglass battens. They’re about ¾ of inch wide and about 3/16 thick. I have never sawed fiber glass before. I’m guessing a little tape at the point of the cut would be a good idea, to prevent splitting. A brand new hack saw blade too.

Feed back?

Thanks
Steve
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1608 Posts
Response Posted - 02/04/2008 :  11:18:54  Show Profile
I had my sail 'reworked' they didn't clean it, they (north sails) just worked on it to make it function better. Looks like I may have made the right choice by going the re-work route rather than the recondition route.

When I was a hard core windsurfer, I had 7 or 8 sails at any given time. When I used a sail infrequently - there were often batten issues. So, as a fix on difficult sails I would have velcro sewn in at the openings of the pockets. Generally speaking, when the sail got loosened up with use, I would be able to push the batten in all the way, then tighten up the velcro. I had also used a twin ring locking system that was a little more effective. (like a belt with two rings in which you pull the working end to tighten)
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4593 Posts
Response Posted - 02/04/2008 :  22:44:24  Show Profile
Steve, those sound like fairly thick battens, almost a quarter inch. Tape sounds like a good idea. I would select a very fine tooth blade, like for metal pipe, and use short light strokes, not much more than the weight of the saw itself. However, the hardware guys may have a better idea.
I would also try to go all the way around the batten with the blade, if you can line it up right, i.e. score the underside before cutting all the way through. Might keep the edges cleaner. Then give it a thorough sanding to smooth the edges. then see if it will go back into the plastic fittings.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts
Response Posted - 02/05/2008 :  08:41:19  Show Profile
...but cut them only after you've talked to Sail Care.
Edited by - on
Go to Top of Page
  Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
 New Topic  Topic Locked
 Printer Friendly
Jump To:
Association Forum © since 1999 Catalina Capri 25s International Association Go To Top Of Page
Powered By: Snitz Forums 2000 Version 3.4.06
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.