New Traveler

[deluxe68]

Looking to replace the 30 year old Lewmar traveler on our boat. I have settled on the Harken 32 big boat line. The track needs to be curved and it is thru bolted into the deck with backing plates. I have decided to have the yard replace the track and deal with accessing the backing plates and resealing the holes. My question is regarding the car and end sections. Is there and magic getting these installed or do they slide on easily (car) and bolt on (end stops)? I would like to save the $100 per hour the yard charges to bolt on the hardware. Thanks.

[deluxe68]

I found some info on the Harkens web site. Some of the end stops are bolted thru the track and into the deck. The ones that are not have to be installed before the track is bolted down. Oh well.

[Stumble]

Installing a traveler is probably one of the easiest things in the world to do. I would really suggest giving it a try before paying the yard. With retrofit travelers you don't even have to drill any holes, just unbolt one and bolt on the new one.

[jdazey]

So is the track itself worn out? If not just replace the cars/blocks or even just the bearings or sheaves. That's the route I'm taking. Getting a curved track to match the one you already have will be a little bit harder and may require new holes. Still not a big deal. Pay yourself $100/hr

[jeremiason]

I had a 1984 Catalina 36 with a curved traveler... Because of the curve, it had significant resistance when using the traveler. I had Garhauer make a traveler with risers for my Catalina and it worked great.

I know you have made a selection already, but Garhauer Marine makes risers and main sheet tracks at a 1/3 of the cost of Harken.


https://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=34

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by Stumble

Installing a traveler is probably one of the easiest things in the world to do. I would really suggest giving it a try before paying the yard. With retrofit travelers you don't even have to drill any holes, just unbolt one and bolt on the new one.

It is not a simple bolt in. The existing track, cars, end stops, and parts are not made anymore. It was made by Lewmar and is 30 years old, none of their new parts fit. The track sits on a 3" (or so) tall block, the mounting bolts pass thru the deck and have backing plates under the headliner. The new tracks mounting holes do not match the old ones. My yard will not install parts I have purchased, so if I cannot complete the work I have to move the boat. There is a picture of the boat in my avatar and you might be able to see the setup.

[TheOffice]

Lewmar makes a replacement traveler setup that has a slot for the bolt heads so you can use the existing holes. I can't see the amount of curve you are dealing with, so I can't tell if it would work on your boat.

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

It is not a simple bolt in. The existing track, cars, end stops, and parts are not made anymore. It was made by Lewmar and is 30 years old, none of their new parts fit. The track sits on a 3" (or so) tall block, the mounting bolts pass thru the deck and have backing plates under the headliner. The new tracks mounting holes do not match the old ones. My yard will not install parts I have purchased, so if I cannot complete the work I have to move the boat. There is a picture of the boat in my avatar and you might be able to see the setup.

All of the major parts manufacturers now make track that captures the bolt head in a slot so you can match old bolt patters. Harken will (and I assume the others as well) will also custom bend a track to fit your boat. You just have to send them the measurements.

Getting the headliner on and off is the only tricky part of this at all, and even that isn't too difficult on most boats.

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by Stumble

All of the major parts manufacturers now make track that captures the bolt head in a slot so you can match old bolt patters. Harken will (and I assume the others as well) will also custom bend a track to fit your boat. You just have to send them the measurements.

Getting the headliner on and off is the only tricky part of this at all, and even that isn't too difficult on most boats.

The yard just gave me a quote for $2200 in parts and $1200 in labor. That does not even count the blocks or control lines. I am gonna do this myself somehow.

[Stumble]

i would like to see the quote sheet, but that sounds like a pretty high markup on the part and 12 hours in labor. The labor seems pretty generous as well.

I replaced the travler on a J-130 in about 3 hours of total labor (me and a helper).

Frankly I think they are trying to rip you off.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Pics, specifications, & dimensions of everything would help us to assist you a lot more, as I can't see much via your avatar image. But that said, I'm inclined to agree with Stumble regarding the quoted fees. Especially since the toughest part of hardware installation is the cosmetic bits, AKA the headliner & such.

[roverhi]

The photo kind of sucked for getting any kind of detail of what you are trying to do. From what I could make out, the traveller looked like it was flat so wouldn't need to be bent. If it does, will need a press to do the bending. Buy the proper length of universal bolt pattern high-beam track, appropriate car and end stop/blocks and you are in business for a lot less than the yard's material quote. Changed out my traveller in a couple of hours by myself and I didn't even have to pay for the boat yoga experience. You might be able to get by with fender washers as back up plates though might want to use something a bit more robust. Big problem is R&R'ing the headliner but you should be able find an upholstery guy for that for a couple hundred dollars. You might think about leaving the fasteners exposed. I've got a FRP headliner so bolts and backing plates are out there to seen. Used aluminum backing plates painted to match the liner. Looks great to me but it's your boat and you may feel better with everything hidden behind the headliner.

If you don't want to do the installation yourself, any rigger worth his salt will be able to do it in the water. Pull down the headliner so the rigger can see what's going to be involved so they can see what has to be done..

[Stumble]

Don't even think of bending the travler yourself, or having a local shop do it. Order it prebent from Harken. Bending this stuff is very tricky because of the small channels, and requires special jigs if you want to have it come out correctly. They do it all the time, and harken's customer support is second to none.

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

The yard just gave me a quote for $2200 in parts and $1200 in labor. That does not even count the blocks or control lines. I am gonna do this myself somehow.

You should look at Garhauer Marine...

Their most expensive Traveler is around $750 COMPLETE with car, blocks and lines.

I posted the link in my last post.

Here it is again
https://garhauermarine.com/catalog_process.cfm?cid=34

I pulled the attached pictures of the Internet.

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Pics, specifications, & dimensions of everything would help us to assist you a lot more, as I can't see much via your avatar image. But that said, I'm inclined to agree with Stumble regarding the quoted fees. Especially since the toughest part of hardware installation is the cosmetic bits, AKA the headliner & such.

The track is horizontally curved and the radius is around 10 feet. I am going to try to access underneath the headliner next time we are on the boat. IIRC the yard said it is attached with Velcro. Harken has a tall track that has variable bolt spacing, I just need to ensure that track is curvable. Maybe this pic will show more detail.