Batten - Other Uses

Other Uses

• In sailing, battens are long, thin strips (usually fiberglass or some similar material nowadays, but historically wooden) used to support the roach of a sail. They are also used on tall ships to form the ladders up the shrouds in a fashion similar to ratlines. They are also used to help secure tarpaulins over hatches, thus giving rise to the common phrase "batten down the hatches!", meaning to secure the hatches against an approaching storm. Used by analogy in non-sailing contexts, it means to prepare to weather a coming storm, whether that storm is metaphorical or real.
• In cabinetry, battens may be used to strengthen panels made up of multiple boards, as in a batten door, or to cover joins.