Anyone know What these are????

[crazy charlie]

Got these from a marine store that closed and was selling boxes full of items.They are very hard/rigid but with some flex, made of fiberglass I think ...Strips are all the same width and lengths vary from 3-5' long.The longer ones have rubber caps on the ends.
sorry for the lousy pics.Got approx a dozen of these things just dont know what they are???? Charlie

 

[jbcurt00]

Ribs/bows to support boat cover to keep rainwater from pooling

 

[racerone]

Battens for the sails on a sailboat.

 

[crazy charlie]

Ribs/bows to support boat cover to keep rainwater from pooling

Battens for the sails on a sailboat.

thanks guys,I dont have a sailboat so no sails.However I could probably use these battens in the bow of my Grady to support the winter cover/ shrink-wrap.Will just have to figure out a way to connect them.Charlie

 

[dwco5051]

Seachoice Boat Cover Sockets, Chrome Plated Zinc

Chrome plated zinc. Will accommodate 3/8" battens up to 1-3/4". Overall dimensions: 3-1/4" x 5/8". Opening dimensions: 1-7/8" x 7/16". Use #6 screws.

www.iboats.com

 

[crazy charlie]

Seachoice Boat Cover Sockets, Chrome Plated Zinc

Chrome plated zinc. Will accommodate 3/8" battens up to 1-3/4". Overall dimensions: 3-1/4" x 5/8". Opening dimensions: 1-7/8" x 7/16". Use #6 screws.

www.iboats.com

Yep,these I have seen.What I need is a way to connect the battens to each other.Probably need to string 3 together to cover the bow.

 

[Comogene]

Duct tape!!

 

[dwco5051]

Duct tape!!

Started to think about this and once again more questions this answers. Treating it as an arch made me wonder how the loads and stress varied as the width increased i.e. 5 feet to 10 feet with no increase in cross sectional area of the battens. The result of the half hour or so I spent looking up formulas in books I hadn't looked at in a long time was the final result that I have forgotten a lot of math in the last 60 years. How wide will you be going to span? It might make sense to laminate pieces together with some type of epoxy cement to increase the strength (cross sectional area) and lengthen at the same time.

 

[crazy charlie]

Started to think about this and once again more questions this answers. Treating it as an arch made me wonder how the loads and stress varied as the width increased i.e. 5 feet to 10 feet with no increase in cross sectional area of the battens. The result of the half hour or so I spent looking up formulas in books I hadn't looked at in a long time was the final result that I have forgotten a lot of math in the last 60 years. How wide will you be going to span? It might make sense to laminate pieces together with some type of epoxy cement to increase the strength (cross sectional area) and lengthen at the same time.

Lol ,sit and have a brewski, you are straining your brain on this one. Probably have to cover 10' maybe a little less.Thought of duct tape.Also thought of large shrink-wrap seals at overlaps and then duct tape over that.Probably gonna need some support from underneath unless I get a good bow to it.There has to be some sort of buckle looking metal to slide these into as they overlap and hold them in place.Still looking.Charlie

 

[Scott Danforth]

hose clamps to clamp two of them together. ductape wont hold, heat shrink wont hold.

zip ties may hold.

 

[crazy charlie]

hose clamps to clamp two of them together. ductape wont hold, heat shrink wont hold.

zip ties may hold.

Hose clamps will never hold on anything this shape

 

[airshot]

Many years back an okd boat had two supports put together with a little bracket so the two support bars could be made shorter or longer to give the arc you needed. I can picture them, but have no idea what they were called. Trying to look them up but haven't thought of the right name to locate them yet....

 

[airshot]

Foubd some on Amazon for wood slats, but no longer availiable. They are a couple stamped sheetmetal brackets with springs on them, run two slats thru them then you can adjust the length to get the arc you need. On Amazon they were under " hardwood adjustable slats for boat covers by Atwood"... You will see a pic there.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Hose clamps will never hold on anything this shape

so I should go remove the hose clamps holding the ones together on my late fathers boat for the past 40 years?

 

[crazy charlie]

Foubd some on Amazon for wood slats, but no longer availiable. They are a couple stamped sheetmetal brackets with springs on them, run two slats thru them then you can adjust the length to get the arc you need. On Amazon they were under " hardwood adjustable slats for boat covers by Atwood"... You will see a pic there.

Thanks will have a look.

 

[crazy charlie]

I think I may try these from amazon

AKOLAFE 12PCS Mending Plates, 10” Heavy Duty Flat Straight Brackets, Black. or just overlap the battens and drill holes for nut and bolt​

 

[dwco5051]

I think I may try these from amazon

AKOLAFE 12PCS Mending Plates, 10” Heavy Duty Flat Straight Brackets, Black. or just overlap the battens and drill holes for nut and bolt​

Color	Black
Brand	ASelected
Material	Cast Iron, Metal

Straight cast iron does not take well to bending stress. Also will not let the joint maintain a natural arc if it is strong enough to not break under the load. If they are malleable cast iron they may work.

 

[crazy charlie]

Color	Black
Brand	ASelected
Material	Cast Iron, Metal

Straight cast iron does not take well to bending stress. Also will not let the joint maintain a natural arc if it is strong enough to not break under the load. If they are malleable cast iron they may work.

probably not the best choice but cheap enough to try.

 

[airshot]

Instead of steel try looking up uhmw or lexan plastic plates and do the same thing, drill and bolt together, but..these will flex, lighter weight and easier to handle. Some hdwr stores may have plastic pieces you could cut to size.