I bought a old M17 & the battens were missing, I just made some from some walnut I had in my shop & they work fine. Made them to fit the pockets without much thought as to exact size or stiffness. I have seen commercial battens made from fiberglass. Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: <BILLAMICASR@aol.com> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2004 8:15 AM Subject: M_Boats: Mainsail Batens M-17 My main has 4 batten pockets. Respectively, top to bottom, the battens are: 12 1/4 20 1/4 22 1/4 22 3/8 inches The batten pockets will accept 1 1/4 in wide battens. Here’s the questions: * What width batten do you use? * Are there any theories such as ½" batten in light airs and wider in heavier air? * Any benefit to using tapered battens? OR… ** Does any of this matter? You know… just put battens in there and go sailing. Thanks, Bill M-17 "Tipperary" Billamicasr.funtigo.com _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats