Good wooden shipwright's battens are really hard to find in large lengths now. The shop that I work in has switched over to fiberglass battens (It makes sense to us because we build fiberglass boats.) We have battens that are about 10 meters long. Since fiberglass is a pretty stable material the batten isn't affected by temperature or humidity. To make a fiberglass batten you'll need:
Once you've acquired the materials and found a good build area you can start to construct your future batten.
- Wax the surface of your mold until it is smooth and you are absolutely sure your batten will not stick to it
- Cut your fiberglass into strips a little wider than the finished batten will be
- Mix about a 2 L of resin and the correct amount of catalyst together in a bucket.
- Wet out the strips using a piece of mat then spread a bit of resin over it and place a piece of roving or cloth on top of the mat brush until the white color has left the fiberglass
- Lay that on your mold
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 overlapping the pieces of fiberglass
- Wet out a piece of mat and lay it on top of the previous ones
- Repeat for the remaining length of the batten
- Brush the fiberglass once it is in place in one direction to remove air bubbles
- Let the batten sit until it is firm and able to be cut by a sharp razor knife
- Cut the edges of the batten to the finished size making as long and straight a cut as possible (A straight edge will make this easier)
- Once you have done this remove the batten from the mold and sand the edges so that they are smooth and rounded.
Okay you now have a finished batten. this batten will last for decades and never lose it's fair or springiness.
please feel free to /msg with corrections and/or questions.