Editing Sail components (section)

===Battens===
[[File:Verschiedene Segellatten.jpg|thumb|Sail battens made from a variety of materials.]]
{{Main|Sail batten}}
{{See also|Junk rig}}

A ''sail batten'' is a flexible insert in a fore-and-aft sail that provides added stiffness and definition to the sail's airfoil cross-section.<ref name=Textor/> The most common use of sail battens is in the [[Roach (sail)|roach]] of a mainsail. The batten extends the leech past the line that runs from the head and the clew of the sail to create a wider sail towards the top. Cruising sailboats may have four to six battens. Racing sailboats may have full-length battens, as well, that allow for better sail shape.<ref name=Textor/> Battens are also found in jibs of [[Beachcat|beach-cat]] catamarans.<ref name = Berman>
{{cite book
 | last = Berman
 | first = Phil
 | title = Catamaran Sailing: From Start to Finish
 | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company
 | date = 1999
 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/catamaransailing00phil/page/219 219]
 | url = https://archive.org/details/catamaransailing00phil
 | url-access = registration
 | isbn = 9780393318807 }}</ref> Most battens are fiberglass [[pultrusion]]s with a thin, rectangular cross section.<ref name=Textor/>

[[Junk rig]]s feature full-length battens that facilitate short-handed sail handling, including reefing. The battens are attached loosely to the mast with lines called ''batten parrels'' that allow fore-and-aft motion as the sail is controlled by individual sheets leading to multiple battens.<ref name = Mudie>
{{Citation
 | last1 = Mudie
 | first1 = Rosemary
 | last2 = Mudie
 | first2 = Colin
 | title = The history of the sailing ship
 | publisher = Arco Publishing Co.
 | year = 1975
 | pages = 152
 | isbn = 9780668037808
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SyFUAAAAMAAJ
 }}</ref>