Do I Really Need a Traveler?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by irwin37

OK do I really need a traveler?

Far as I'm concerned you don't NEED a traveler! It mostly falls into that space between sailing and sailing well. If getting rid of it is worth the trade off to YOU, then by all means get rid of it!

[Target9000]

+1 on what Don said. Its nice to have for sailing purposes. It can be troublesome as far as living space. Its a trade off. Which is more important to you?

[Jim Cate]

Crikeys!

Why are we arguing about this? If there was ever a no-brainer question, this is it.

Do you NEED to have a traveller? Of course not!
Will a traveller allow you better control of the shape of your mainsail? Of course it will!

It's like asking if you NEED good sails and a clean hull... you can go sailing with blown-out baggy sails and a weedy bottom, but the boat will not perform as well as it would without these handicaps. Only you (the OP) can determine if this matters to you.

And Zee... it seems that to you, only boats like yours are true cruising boats, and that the solutions that work for you and yours are the only correct ones. There are lots of cruising boats (my definition being that they are out cruising for a long time and a long way from home) that are very different from your beloved CT. And many such boats (mine included) have travellers, use them frequently, and enjoy enhanced sailing performance as a result. May not matter to you, but it matters to some folks... and yes, to some real cruising folks. Perhaps you are the one that "knows nada", at least beyond your narrow viewpoint.

Cheers,

Jim

[ardoin]

40 ft is near the limit where it is really handy to have one. Small boats don't need this at 30+ ft you are on the edge. It doesn't hurt unless the holes in the deck leak

[irwin37]

Thanks all for the input.

I think I have a plan of action. Going to mount a pad eye amidships for main sheet attachment for now. I can add or reinstall traveler later if I feel it is needed.

John

[Thumbs Up]

Lots of boats have two mainsheets (one going to each side) instead of a traveler.

[bobconnie]

My mizzen, and staysail have no travelers, they are basicly just blocks and a deck mounted pad eye, On most points of sail they are self tending leaveing only the main traveler to be tended, and of course the Genny which is a furler set up, makes for a simple to handle set up for a couple! of course the mainsail is a heavy bugger, but a powerd offset drill handles the raiseing. Connie just loves to raise she say's it makes her feel like Powerful Katrinka!( yea a 5ft 110 lb power house lol) Nothing like a simple Ketch rig to make sailing by a couple easier!! We are able to sail her with only 3 winchs, 2 for genny and 1 for the mail traveler, both easy to get to from the Pilot house! Of course we are not racers, with all the sails pulling she passes a few ! Blocks and pad eyes are an old easy way to handle sails ! Just my 2 cents

[Rakuflames]

[QUOTE=zeehag;1214855]

Actually, by now the fiberglass would surely have soft spots. I invite you to come and find the leaks on my boat.

Are we really going to bicker over the leaks you are certain are on my boat, which you have never seen? Please say no. I really would like to see your alternative system to traveler, because I would learn from it. I would think many would. But it's a bit of bother to take a picture, upload them, write the explanation, etc., and it's a lot to ask. If you don't want to, I can't blame you for that
[/unquote]

raku--look at any gaff rigged sloop. look also at cruising boats. not day sailors, not racing boats, but true cruising boats that cruise. you will find a world there you still know nada about.

the only one arguing is you, i am imparting knowledge to souls requesting same. and, yes i DO have enough experience to so do.

as i have found out from ownership of fg boats, they do leak where you do not expect them to leak. i am not nor did i ever saying yours does, i am saying they do..

now that i am going to be in golfo de california for a bit of time, i will not be able to upload any more than i am able to here in bandwidth poor mexico. the wifi and banda ancha in baja and up the golfo is very sketchy and unreliable. that is why i refer you to other boats with similar set ups. they are everywhere. costs a lot less for you to go to a boat with similar set ups than for me to post a picture, at 500 pesos for each 2 gigabytes.

You're right. I know nada about your idea. That's why I suggested you take pictures, so we can learn from you. But I can see why it's not a good idea for you.

My boat has no leaks. I'm extremely lucky. It ain't perfect, but it doesn't leak.

I'm satisfied with my traveler. I'm only aware of one gaff-rigged cruiser around here. Is that what your boat is, gaff-rigged? They're so beautiful.

[zeehag]

my boat is not gaff rigged, but i was looking into the conversion--i s very pricey to convert, as blocks alone are over 1000usd and i would need more than 10. i did grow up sailing gaff rigged sloop, she is in restoration , now, as she is 110 yrs old this coming june.

jim cate--i know better than that--there are many boats set up sans traveller--i know yours has a traveller, as it is deerfoot, and they are perfect!!! even tho i dont like the lines they present...too modern, i do know they are perfect in presentation and equipment. some of us arenot so fortunate as to be able to afford deerfoot and oyster.

as for pix--there is no way i can present pix at this time, due to bandwidth difficulties. there just isnt any in this place. that is why i referred to other sources, as is polite. i know usa residents do not understand the lack of bandwidth in other locales, as inside usa we are spoiled big time for the easier things in life, like bandwidth.lol.

op--find boats that do not look like all the rest. look at their main sheets and their rigging set ups. find one without a traveller--shouldnt be difficult. not EVERY boat has em.

as far as necessary--no, travellers are not necessary for proper sailing. even racing. LOL...

the new guys with the new look alike boats boats will tell you otherwise, as that is all they know. find an old salt and learn from that soul. they know how to do this right, and can help you immensely.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Don L

Far as I'm concerned you don't NEED a traveler! It mostly falls into that space between sailing and sailing well. If getting rid of it is worth the trade off to YOU, then by all means get rid of it!

I guess. But I've sailed on the Irwin 37' with and without and have seen the difference.

To me, pointing up well is important because I would so much rather sail than turn the engine on. An awful lot of part-time sailors turn the engine on any time the wind is on the nose, and it's my opinion that it's at least partly because they don't know that much about fine sail trim. It's just not that big a deal to execute a couple of tacks. But I was taught to sail by a die-hard racer (and a very successful one). I like being close-hauled but I like to sail my boat as fast as possible.

I'm not saying a traveler is better than what anyone else would use here. I'm saying that *for me,* sail trim counts. For people who barely have time to get out on the water once every two months (ex: the fellow I know who just finished medical school) -- being on the water is I'm sure the HUGE payoff and it doesn't have to be perfect -- or perfectly trimmed -- to be extremely satisfying.

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. For me, the best part is turning the engine off.

[GrowleyMonster]

You can get nearly the same effect with twin sheets, one to each side, through blocks at 2:1 or 3:1 advantage. Working together, they can put a lot of downward pull on the boom when it is anywhere between their mounting points. You could attach them to the deck all the way out by the toe rail if you wanted. The liability here is more lines to get hung up on stuff, and possibly a few seconds more time required to de-power. Depends on your setup. With a vang, you can set the boom to be self-tacking, with twin sheets, going to windward. Of course you can also do this with a traveler.

If you just absolutely don't like the traveler, rig sheets to port and to starboard. Mount the track, or store it, because I am guessing that before too many miles pass under your keel, you might think that maybe you kinda like a mainsheet traveler after all. At least don't toss it.

Other options are a traveler arch, or mounting the traveler aft of the cockpit. Running it from the end of the boom makes the vang that much more important, though, for peak performance.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by zeehag

jim cate--i know better than that--there are many boats set up sans traveller--i know yours has a traveller, as it is deerfoot, and they are perfect!!! even tho i dont like the lines they present...too modern, i do know they are perfect in presentation and equipment. some of us arenot so fortunate as to be able to afford deerfoot and oyster.

Nope, Zee, Insatiable II ain't a Deerfoot. You must have me confused with that Dutch malcontent Nick Jedi!

But really, Zee, my point was that there are folks who are really out cruising in boats that are quite different than a Garden design ketch. I think that if one has been thousands of miles from home port, and has been doing it for a number of years, then one is a cruiser, no matter what design the boat is.

Ya don't have to be a card-carrying member of the Leaky Teaky club (who seem to be nice folks in general) to be a cruising sailor.

And lots of those cruising boats have and use their travellers.

Cheers,

Jim

[zeehag]

oops--got me on that--and i didnt say had to be garden--many cruising boats have no travellers--i have seen ingrids that way, and wetsnails, many others--isnt just a garden variety thang...

[Visarend]

Originally Posted by GrowleyMonster

You can get nearly the same effect with twin sheets, one to each side, through blocks at 2:1 or 3:1 advantage. Working together, they can put a lot of downward pull on the boom when it is anywhere between their mounting points. You could attach them to the deck all the way out by the toe rail if you wanted. The liability here is more lines to get hung up on stuff, and possibly a few seconds more time required to de-power. Depends on your setup. With a vang, you can set the boom to be self-tacking, with twin sheets, going to windward. Of course you can also do this with a traveler.

If you just absolutely don't like the traveler, rig sheets to port and to starboard. Mount the track, or store it, because I am guessing that before too many miles pass under your keel, you might think that maybe you kinda like a mainsheet traveler after all. At least don't toss it.

Other options are a traveler arch, or mounting the traveler aft of the cockpit. Running it from the end of the boom makes the vang that much more important, though, for peak performance.

+1 for GrowleyMonster, my 38' cutter has twin sheets at the end of the boom and a rigid vang. Controls are not very far from a traveler, with a couple of advantages: 1) when running, the sheet that is not working can be used as a preventer; 2) when motoring, twin sheets block very efficiently the main.
Of course, using twin sheets implies a slower handling- not practical for sailing not to say racing. But for cruising it works, at least for me.

[flopresti]

You'll have a sailboat without a traveler.