No Traveller?

[OldFrog75]

Four of us took out a brand new Junneau 33i yesterday (beautiful boat) but we were all amazed there was no traveller.

Boat handled well in 12-15 knot winds and 3 foot swells but ability to fine tune was clearly limited - as in no way to center the boom on a close haul or close reach.

Any ideas what the logic for this rigging might be?

[Cheechako]

It was somewhat rare for me to move the traveller from amidships on my cruising boats. except on a reach sometimes. Pulling the main up more really didnt help, the heavy cruisier needed cracked off a little to be moving well.
I would imagine on the Jeanneau It's a cost cutting move.... making it an option.

[irwin37]

OK do I really need a traveler? I am rebuilding an Irwin 37, it had a traveler which ran across the top of the cockpit seat back. I removed to refinish and paint and would rather not put it back as it would be in the way of a complete inclosure I would like to have made in the future. There is a single amidships pad where I could attach the main sheet. I also considered placing two more fixed attach points on the outboard sides of the couch roof and using a snap shackle on the end of my main sheet so I could move it to the outside if I wanted. The vessel will be used strictly for cursing and I thought this might work out..... Any comments?

[OldFrog75]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I would imagine on the Jeanneau It's a cost cutting move.... making it an option.

That's possible but I wouldn't have thought the savings from opting for a boat without a traveler would be that great.

Maybe the company thinks it has come up with a design that makes the traveler redundant or non-essential for the way the boats will be used in which case it's possible more manufacturers might adopt this rigging in the future?

[OldFrog75]

Originally Posted by OldFrog75

Four of us took out a brand new Junneau 33i yesterday (beautiful boat) but we were all amazed there was no traveller.

How embarrassing. Just realized I misspelled both Jeanneau and Traveler. Geez - getting old is such a b*tch.

[irwin37]

After reading thread I realized I should have started a new one. Sorry, did not mean to hijack this thread

[Tortuga's Lie]

A traveler gives a bit more control over the main and you can use it to put in or take out some twist to the main along with the use of a vang. If you do not have a traveler, you need a boom vang to pull down on the main to get the belly out when going to windward and ease up on the vang when running to give some belly.

[Dos Gatos]

Jeanneau.

It's a market driven boat.

[roverhi]

With the almost universal use of rigid vangs on new boats, travellers aren't as important to mainsail control as they used to be. Now, they are mostly there to position the end of the boom, not control sail shape. Don't know the Jeaneau set up, but it's fairly easy to rig a mainsheet that will control boom position without a traveller.

[Hydra]

So many people think that a traveller is in the way when receiving guest in the cockpit.

Aside from cost, the final question is about sorting priorities: is performance under sail more or less important than convenience in port or at anchor?

Alain

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by roverhi

With the almost universal use of rigid vangs on new boats, travellers aren't as important to mainsail control as they used to be. Now, they are mostly there to position the end of the boom, not control sail shape. Don't know the Jeaneau set up, but it's fairly easy to rig a mainsheet that will control boom position without a traveller.

Sure, you can shape with the Vang, but how do you get the boom to center without over tensioning the leech? Easy with two managers and no traveler, but impossible with a single sheet

[Bikerwookie]

The lack of traveler on the non performance 33i is not a great issue. I did a few hundred miles on mine in up to 30knots until I decided I needed a traveler.

Fitted a harken 32mm unit in front of the spray hood with excellent results. I couldn't be happier with the upwind performance and the ability to dump in the gusts now.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by irwin37

After reading thread I realized I should have started a new one. Sorry, did not mean to hijack this thread

Two sheets, one on either side of the boat, would do the same thing. On a wider boat (cat or tri) this would replace the need for a vang or preventer also (but they should be detachable so the windward one doesn't need to span the entire cockpit/boat width. (Also useful at anchor to keep the boom still while the boat rocks.) Ideal is to have those control lines but also have the single (multipart) main sheet on a traveler.

[Heart of Gold]

I have become so accustomed to having one and using it for trim that I can't imagine not having it. I use it a lot for dumping wind without having to change sail shape.