Vlad,

We do use something similar to what you describe - not flexible, but permitting of articulation through a fixed angle:

The simple form of hinge that I use. The double cone is turned from rigid uPVC bar, and the battens are of GRP tube. Most of the glass fibres are longitudinal, but some are spirally wound. Some extra reinforcement is added in way of the hinge.

In the first posting I sent about this, which was accidentally erased,  I suggested a continuous line , like this:

(click on it to enlarge)

This was how I did it on one of my sails, see JRA Newsletter 26, p.15. All my other junksails have been fitted with batten pockets.

Keep batten  -  from old rope
Another method is to tie a rope from luff to leech and let that work as the 'keep batten'. The rope could well be a cheap old halyard or sheet. As long as it is thick enough to resist being pulled through the grommets, one can tie the batten to this rope with a separate tie at each grommet.  The ties themselves can of course be made of string or from cable ties. In my work as a maintenance engineer, I learned that the black outdoor ties, made by Panduit, would last forever. The white ones were used in-doors.

Arne

PS 20170307: Now I have fixed the diagram a bit...

I tried cable ties, they were cheap ones from a discount tool store. It was much faster than lashings for three sails and eighteen battens. In less than six months of Florida sun they were already giving out. No real time saving there. I would only recommend them for people in a big hurry to go sailing.

David Tyler wrote:

I've been aboard a big junk schooner that had twin battens bolted through eyelets in the sails. The weight to be hoisted was quite incredibly high, and the owner was looking for advice on how to decrease it. My advice was to have just the one batten, and reduce the other to the absolute minimum.

The general opinion nowadays is that flexible battens are a bad idea - they don't bend when you want them to, in light breezes, and do bend when you don't want them to, in strong winds. 

I think I am going with your idea of GRP dowels. I also got someone who suggested duffle coat toggles and for lashings use zip ties, as they are strong and easy to replace don't know of anyone who has tried them

Has anyone any experience with lashing battens either side of the sail, my only experience so far is with a sail that had pockets.

I would lie to know if there will be any difference in sailing performance.

should I lash them tight or allow some slack in the lashings to try and create a better shape

Pete