Moving a traveller

[exranger]

OK, been away for a bit, and i see how much i have missed!

I need some opinions, please. The traveller on my Catalina 27 is at the back of the cockpit. Gets in the way.

How hard is it to move to, say, above the companionway hatch?

What are the negatives of that?

thanks!

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Ex,
I once had a Catalina 22 with the same arrangement that you have on your 27. I moved the traveler to a system that bridged the cockpit. It became a lot more efficient but then was even more in the way.
I have a friend with a Cal 2-30 that bridged his companionway hatch with a traveler and it is much much better. I would plan the installation so that you will not hit your head when going below. In other words put the bridge athwart at the aft end of your cockpit hatch when it is in the fully open position. My friend fashioned two spacers out of hard wood to get the track high enough over the cockpit hatch and then through bolted the track on both ends port and starboard through the spacers and through the cabin top. He used substantial fender washers as backing for the throughbolts. I can't remember how many throughbolts but it was really hefty when completed.
I believe the track and car were Harken but any system would work fine.
It worked very well, more efficent and everything was out of the way. While sailing he just left the free end of the sheet fall down the hatchway to stay out of the way of sail handlers in the cockpit while racing.
Regards, --John--

[Stevek]

As John suggested, put some thought into the ergonomics of other locations, and although it may not make much of a difference in your case, you lose leverage as you move the traveler forward.

Steve

[Pura Vida]

I've been wrestling with this for a while. MY C&C 27 came with an aft traveller that I will be moving this weekend. The most common fix for C&Cs is to move the traveller to be bridgedeck but that is not a reasonable solution for a Cataline 27. Moving the traveller to the top of the cabin has a couple of issues. First is the boom stout enough to handle the midboom sheeting? I've seen some bend. The second is how to mount the traveller so the cabin top will take the stress and not crack. Some Catalina expert is going to need to chime in here.

Harken makes a complete "kit" in what they call the 'mid range' that includes risers, a track, sheeting car and all the extra bells, whistles and pullies that are needed and it was way out of my price range. Depending on your home shop you might want try to fabricate everthing but the track and sheeting car. Frankly I prefer to spend my money and time on other parts of my boat.

Where I have ended up is to mount two eyes to the cabin top, one on each side, outboard of the companionway. From there I'm putting a twin tackle, one from each eye to the boom. Together the twin tackles serve as both a mainsheet and vang. It is not the best setup for racing but it gets whole the mess forward. Surprisingly several of the boats in the marina have changed to this rig and no one has changed back. I'm being careful to put the eyes in the same location as the risers would be in case I want to go ahead and put in a traveller later.

Hope this helps.

[exranger]

Good points, I see that if it IS moved, bridgeing the hatch is about the only way to do it. I was going to make a "turtle shell" for the hatch, so maybe mounting it on that at the same time would work.

I did wonder about the stresses on the boom. Moving it to the middle or almost forward of mid-boom, would that cause a problem??? Has anyone tried it and had one?

Hmm

I also liked the Pura Vida's solution, it's easy and simple, which always proves good. Might try that...

thanks!!

Anyone else?

[SkiprJohn]

Hi Ex,
Pura's suggestion is good. If you mounted the eyebolts in the aft corners of the cabin top there would be plenty of strength in the cabin top and it would move the midboom sheeting more aft where there is less stress on the boom. a really solid backing plate for the eyebolt would be a good idea. If there is any question about strength then you could also run a stainless strap up the aft side of the cabin top like small versions of an exterior chainplate and mount blocks to it. Possibilities seem endless.
There might be some people tangling up in the sheet if it were slack while they were exiting or entering the cabin but still it is a great solution if you are not a hardcore racer. Regards, --John--
P.S. I didn't have the option of eyebolts in the cabin top on my 22 because it was a poptop.

[Starbuck]

Just as a consideration, when Catalina changed from end-boom sheeting to mid-boom on the C30, they arranged three attachment points, i.e., bails with attached blocks, on the boom, each about a foot apart, to spread out the load along a section of the boom, intead of just one bail handling all the stress and letting everything aft bend. You'll need more mechanical advantage because of the leverage you're giving up by abandoning the boom end.

Whatever you do, draw it up first, and don't forget to plan the mainsheet run: from the forward-most boom block mine runs forward, through a turning block at the forward end of the boom, through another at the mast base, then out to an organizer where it meets up with the main halyard; they then run straight back, through a double rope clutch, and share the starboard cabintop winch.

When everything is running free of twist, my setup introduces enough friction to keep the boom from swinging out when the mainsheet is released only in very light breezes that aren't strong enough to lift the boom off the topping lift, and when I feel fine about leaving the wheel to stand on the cockpit bench and give her a push outboard for a ghosting run.

Good Luck,
Jeff

[Pura Vida]

I did my install this weekend and it went quickly. As soon as I take her sailing I'll post a report on performance. I backed the padeyes with 4"x2" stainless backing plates. Did the "drill and fill" with West epoxy and filler and bedded all the hardware in 5200 ( a waste of most of the tube.) I may post a photo in a bit.

[Pura Vida]

I set up the old traveller and the vang as a demo for the photo. Soon the bimini frame in the picture will be moved to cover the whole cockpit. The total cost so far is about $90.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Pura,
I like your system but could you walk me through process of what you would need to do to jibe? What I see is fiddle blocks with cam cleats for adjustments port and starboard for your traveler system. Are these led to a two purchase block at your boom for sheeting?
Regards, --John--

[Pura Vida]

Howdy SkiprJohn,
Let's say were headed somewhat down wind with the wind coming over the port quarter. The sail would be under the primary control of the port sheet with the starboard sheet acting as a vang if necessary. To jibe I would release the starboard sheet from the cam cleat, if it was cleated in the first place, hold the tail of that sheet and go ahead and jibe. Once the boat was sailing with the wind on the starboard quarter the starboard sheet would be adjusted to position the boom and the port to vang the boom. Both are fastened to the bail on the boom and there is no block on the boom. Again this is not a racer's rig and this is my first try with it. If worse comes to worse I can go back to traveller on a track and have a couple of new padeyes for my jacklines.
Regards, pv

[SkiprJohn]

Thanks PV,
Now I get it. I was thinking of it being way more complicated with your two vang sheets used for athwart tension adjustment as you've shown, then going up to a two purchase block on the boom where you could adjust your main verticle tension via mainsheet using a winch. Your way is much simpler. Basically it is two mainsheets vs one mainsheet. Caution would be to make certain you have uncleated your sheets prior to jibing so you can let them run free once you are on the opposite tack.
Thanks
Regards, --John--