Looks like this batten is busted. Any tips on fixing/changing?

Unscrew the tensioner and remove, then from the mast end of batten sleeve push and wiggle the batten out of the sleeve, I will push from the mast end to wrinkle the batten sleeve and then pinch the sleeve holding the batten rod while I then pull on the mast end of the sleeve to remove wrinkles and repeat, make sure to get the plastic end cap too because it tends to come off, for the end cap push it inside the sleeve while holding mast end of sleeve vertically to get gravity to help. If the plastic cap got broken make sure to get all the pieces out, so when you put the repaired batten with new plastic end cap in it seat properly in the sleeve end.

As for repair, it is probably the hollow tube part of the batten, you can buy that or get one from a shop that saves old sail battens, then just cut to the correct length and reassemble.

Do you all fix your broken battens? When pulling a sail apart after complete destruction, I often realize that half the battens were broken...

I've had a crashes in big waves where there has been very little left to salvage...

But the sail in the picture looks like a wide sleeve race sail?
The tips of the battens can sometimes break, and then it is worth keeping the tube part while just replacing the tip of the batten, and the sail will be fine again.

Similarly, if the tube part is broken, there is no point in trying to repair at the breakage point itself. Simply keep the unbroken parts/sections and replace the broken section with a new one.

Pull the batten out and give us a look .

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Imax1 said..
Pull the batten out and give us a look .

Not sure I have ever done that but will give it a go

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thedoor said..
Looks like this batten is busted. Any tips on fixing/changing?

Sailworks sells pretty much all that is needed to fix it, although some items are out of stock. www.sailworks.com/the-gear/parts-lines/battens.html. If this is your Point-7 you can also request the broken part from them point-7.com/product-category/spare-parts/?v=7516fd43adaa

It is easy to take the batten out and then insert the new one.

Broken yes my point 7 AC one

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thedoor said..
Broken yes my point 7 AC one

You probably found it already but this: point-7.com/product/full-batten-point7sails/?v=7516fd43adaa is pretty good. Every batten/sail combination from 2013. Shipping Euro 90 is quite a lot, maybe it is the length, but I would drop them an e-mail and see what they can do. I just bought an AV Modena Slalom 98 from them and the shipment for the board was Euro 90 ...

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thedoor said..
Broken yes my point 7 AC one

Race sail battens from different makers are similar and usually made from three components, luff end consisting of tapered solid fibre glass or carbon, middle section of carbon tube, leach section of solid fibre glass rod.
These sections are joined together with connectors. In your case you only need to replace the luff end. I'm sure someone from the SF bay area who will have some old slalom battens or sails lying around for you to cannibalize the replacement length you need.

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John340 said..

thedoor said..
Broken yes my point 7 AC one

Race sail battens from different makers are similar and usually made from three components, luff end consisting of tapered solid fibre glass or carbon, middle section of carbon tube, leach section of solid fibre glass rod.
These sections are joined together with connectors. In your case you only need to replace the luff end. I'm sure someone from the SF bay area who will have some old slalom battens or sails lying around for you to cannibalize the replacement length you need.

Adding to this, even if you decide to order new bits from Sailworks, Point 7, etc, you can get a close enough fit from an old batten of similar construction. Wouldn't be surprised if you have a local brick and mortar if they didn't have an entire bin of the darn things. Have rescued a few sails this way. Old NPs which rigged with cams on the mast used to eat battens.

Cheers. The bit that broke is flat if that makes any difference?

That is a typical breakage in a race sail, it can happen during rigging and de-rigging if one is not careful enough.

The link provided earlier is for the full batten, and that is hard to ship due to the length. You only need the batten tip, and it is usually a good idea to replace the ferrule at the same time. The cost is only around $10 +$3 for the ferrule, and shipping should not be that much since the item is short and lightweight.

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thedoor said..
Broken yes my point 7 AC one

Yes that's properly munted. I'd cut the damaged bit off and use the good bit for a blow pipe to shoot spitballs at cats.
I assume it's glass. Expensive sails use carbon tubes. You could possibly score a close match from your local windsurf shop.

I have never seen carbon used, in the tapered section that fits into the luff, it would not make sense. You probably find its the same as used in as many rotational sails. Its the tube part that is a little more special and is sometimes carbon as often makes sense for it to be stiff.

Severn has carbon in the batten tip for their race sails (and their pro wave sails) lower weight I guess.

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SurferKris said..
That is a typical breakage in a race sail, it can happen during rigging and de-rigging if one is not careful enough.

The link provided earlier is for the full batten, and that is hard to ship due to the length. You only need the batten tip, and it is usually a good idea to replace the ferrule at the same time. The cost is only around $10 +$3 for the ferrule, and shipping should not be that much since the item is short and lightweight.

Sailworks sells the parts separately, and so does Point-7, if you take the time to look at the link point-7.com/product-category/spare-parts/page/2?v=7516fd43adaa. The tip, that is universal, is 8 Euros and ships for 28 from Italy. If you want the whole batten, that might a good idea to kip as a spare, the shipment might be less then listed. Point-7 has both fiberglass and carbon tubes bodies for the battens.

all good advice.

other tip: put some electrical tape along the new tip before you insert it into the batten pocket so that, if it breaks again, you can pull out the whole batten without having to cut into the batten pocket if the broken tip were to shear off and otherwise stay stuck in the batten pocket.

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bel29 said..
other tip: put some electrical tape along the new tip before you insert it into the batten pocket so that, if it breaks again, you can pull out the whole batten without having to cut into the batten pocket if the broken tip were to shear off and otherwise stay stuck in the batten pocket.

An alternative to tape, is to use some electrical "heat shrink" ... it works exceptionally well for stopping carbon/glass splinters spearing through luff-pockets.... and it allows completely-snapped battens to be removed !

Ok so I have the new tip do I just pull out the old one and tape the new one in? What stops it from sliding too deep? And what kind of tape to secure?

I would contact the mfg, on my Aerotech sails there is a plastic piece/ferrule that each ends goes into, and think I just used "wet" Weldwood contact cement to secure the ends inside the ferrule.

look what I found

The batten has three pieces: the flatish tip, the 10mm middle section, and 14mm tail. I only ordered the tip thinking i could reuse the 10mm mid section and 14mm tail, bit i dont think i can get the old tip out so i guess i was meant to order all three pieces?

Before doing anything, using a Texta or tape, on the floor or bench, measure exactly the length of the batten.
You have to break the glue holding the tip in the 10mm tube. This may or may not work. Most of the time for me it does. I would cut the tip part to about six inches long. Then with a hammer try to knock sharply the tip into the 10mm tube. Not all the way, just crack the glue. Sharp fast knocks, not big whacks. Then pull it out. Don't hold the batten in the vice. (Unless it's the tip part pulling it out). If it's still not moving, either butt the big end against something when tapping or spear the batten into the concrete. The problem with these methods is that the glue between the 10 and 12mm tubes may separate. No problem, it's just that you have to glue it together again.
Make sure the new bit slides in and out easy. Laying the batten on the marked-out area, Superglue in the new bit. You only have a few seconds, so do a dry run first.
Also, just looking at the replacement tip, it is very long. You could just cut the 10mm tube about 5cm short and insert the new bit. You have to cut the tip anyway. you only want the new bit glued in a few cm.
Another also, you want the thickness of the batten tip to match the original, to get the same curve. You may have to cut some off the front and back to copy the original. Measure the diameter of the new bit to make sure everything fits.

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Imax1 said..
Before doing anything, using a Texta or tape, on the floor or bench, measure exactly the length of the batten.
You have to break the glue holding the tip in the 10mm tube. This may or may not work. Most of the time for me it does. I would cut the tip part to about six inches long. Then with a hammer try to knock sharply the tip into the 10mm tube. Not all the way, just crack the glue. Sharp fast knocks, not big whacks. Then pull it out. Don't hold the batten in the vice. (Unless it's the tip part pulling it out). If it's still not moving, either butt the big end against something when tapping or spear the batten into the concrete. The problem with these methods is that the glue between the 10 and 12mm tubes may separate. No problem, it's just that you have to glue it together again.
Make sure the new bit slides in and out easy. Laying the batten on the marked-out area, Superglue in the new bit. You only have a few seconds, so do a dry run first.
Also, just looking at the replacement tip, it is very long. You could just cut the 10mm tube about 5cm short and insert the new bit. You have to cut the tip anyway. you only want the new bit glued in a few cm.
Another also, you want the thickness of the batten tip to match the original, to get the same curve. You may have to cut some off the front and back to copy the original. Measure the diameter of the new bit to make sure everything fits.

Such great info thanks so much

Tried quite a bit of banging with mallet and tip down into ground. Not budging. Hit it harder?

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thedoor said..
Tried quite a bit of banging with mallet and tip down into ground. Not budging. Hit it harder?

What about a heat gun to soften the glue first?, and then put broken end in a vise and twist/pull old rod by hand to separate the two, do not want to make invisible fractures in the old rod only to have it break next time you are out. Or as said before, contact the mfg. they can be very helpful IME.

You could also try cutting off broken section flush with hollow tube, and then drill out what is left of broken section, depending on how far it goes into hollow tube and how long your drill bit is.

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Sandman1221 said..

thedoor said..
Tried quite a bit of banging with mallet and tip down into ground. Not budging. Hit it harder?

What about a heat gun to soften the glue first?, and then put broken end in a vise and twist/pull old rod by hand to separate the two, do not want to make invisible fractures in the old rod only to have it break next time you are out. Or as said before, contact the mfg. they can be very helpful IME.

You could also try cutting off broken section flush with hollow tube, and then drill out what is left of broken section, depending on how far it goes into hollow tube and how long your drill bit is.

No - NEVER twist a heated piece of carbon or fiberglass. You'll shred the fibers before you remove the section. You can use a heatgun but be very careful with how much that you apply because the Epoxy holding the parts together will have a release temperature only 20-30? lower than the epoxy which is holding the layup together. Cutting and drilling is fine but the same caveat applies - the drill can easily heat the matrix enough to destroy its integrity, so go low and slow.

It is hard to tell from the image alone, but it looks to me like there are two nails (at 90 degrees to each other) holding the batten-tip in place. These will need to be pressed out first and then the rest should come apart.

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SurferKris said..
It is hard to tell from the image alone, but it looks to me like there are two nails (at 90 degrees to each other) holding the batten-tip in place. These will need to be pressed out first and then the rest should come apart.

Good eye SurferKris, so contacting the mfg is really advised, they will know how it was assembled, and how to disassemble it without damaging it.

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SurferKris said..
It is hard to tell from the image alone, but it looks to me like there are two nails (at 90 degrees to each other) holding the batten-tip in place. These will need to be pressed out first and then the rest should come apart.

Maybe. Is nailing battens a thing?