Mainsheet traveller - the best position?

I like KS's mainsheet position along the top of the aft cockpit coaming. It goes vertically up to the end of the boom, so any sweeping of the cockpit is confined to the very aft end where nobody ever sits (they'd be in the way of the tiller). Pulling in or letting out the sheet as I maneouvre feels very natural - it's just like the dinghies I grew up with (never liked newfangled centre-mainsheet ones).

The only downside is that I can't reach the sheet from the forward end of the cockpit if it's dangling straight out of the block. So when the tillerpilot or an inexperienced crew is steering, I drape a loop of the sheet over the forward end of the tiller. That way I can ease it from anywhere in the cockpit or even from the companionway.

Pete
 
The german mainsheet system available on some boats uses a coachroof traveller then routes the mainsheet back to the helm down the sides - may give the best of both worlds in an out of the way traveller but mainsheet still to hand
 
No one has mentioned it, I quite like having moveable 'stops' on the traveller, where ever you choose to fit it. Will prevent sliced fingers if the outhaul adjuster ropes get knocked, which is very easily done, imo.
 
My Reckoning is that the traveler should be positioned so that the sheet is as close to vertical as possible and as close to the end of the boom as possible in order to get the best control on the main leach.
The traveler on HB is at the aft end of cockpit, (very small cockpit) and last winter I fitted a longer boom so the mainsheet was closer to the vertical.
New Boom,
P1010290.jpg


Old Boom, the sheet angle can be seen here with the man holding onto it, I also found that the mainsheet snagged my head a lot.
scan.jpg

C_W
 
Tiller helm with companionway traveller works fine for me on this boat; had wheel and companionway traveller and it was difficult/impossible to work the main effectively when single handed.
Delivered a Fast 42 with the traveller just in front of the wheels and it still managed to rip off a binnacle guard rail in a controlled gybe. Had a German Mainsheet which was too slow to pull in during the gybe.......
 
how important is it to have a traveller at all? our main has been attached to a horse behind the the tiller. we're taken the horse off due to making a modification to the transom to fit a larger outboard. the choice is to replace the horse, setting it a little higher so the tiller can still be lifted to get the outboard in the well. alternatively there main could be set in the cockpit sole just infront of the tiller with there is already a fitting that would suit - that would mean no traveller. or we could go with the lakesailor set up which i like the look of but involves yet more diy (for longsuffering HWMBO) - i'm just wondering what the benefits for the sail trim are by fitting a traveller and whether they are worth it on a simple boat like ours.
 
forward of the companionway. The traveller sheets on Tigger can be adjusted from the cockpit. Even single handed it is not too difficult ot tweak. maybe it is because we cruise rather than race, but tweaking the traveller is not something you have to do every other minute. Even dumping the main is not too difficult.
 
MoodyNick said:
What arrangement do others prefer?
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I use a traveller on my Folkboat only. All other boats I have removed the traveller and use two mainsheets. One to a starboard U-bolt, a second complete identical mainsheet to a Port U-bolt.

Yes lots of rope but total control and no gybes, no preventers, no fatal hanging by the neck. Other advantages are a rigidly held boom which cuts down on mainsail slatting in light winds but big waves. Good hand hold going forward. Clear cockpit with no shin bruising bar to step over.

Yes two mainsheets to adjust but what the hell. Do you have anything else to do? Place the U-bolts where you want. Revert back to traveller dead easy when selling on.

I used that system on a catamaran and I was able to use the boom as a gin pole to lower the mast with great control and no A-frame.

The folkboat is too narrow to get much advantage from a double mainsheet.
 
Pixie's mainsheet pulls almost vertically down from the end of the boom to aft of the companionway.

It works for us, if someone want to go down they can either climb over the mainsheet or drop the traveller down the track (we're not racing). She's tiller steered so the sheet is infront of you and handfulls of main sheet can be pulled in, or if you're sailing up to a buoy you can just grab all 4 lines and pull the whole lot in and dump it as required.

The helm can dump it, the crew can dump it, and the pull is in the right place for the leverage of the boom.

I do have a tiller, so what works for me, might not work for you. With a centre cockpit your cockpit is further forward so a mainsheet in the same position as mine won't offer you the same benefits as it does to me.
 
TiggerToo said:
ftweaking the traveller is not something you have to do every other minute. Even dumping the main is not too difficult.
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I'm considering putting a traveller on my boat (I happen to have one in the garage). I don't race but with no reefing and a rather tired sail it is a way to flatten the main yet still allow the boom over to the lee when sheeted hard. On my other boats it helped control the boat in the gusty conditions we get and I thought I'd try it on this boat as well.
 
on current boat ours is on the coachroof with controls in the cockpit. Works quite well until the wind gets up and then you need to winch it in. On previous boats I have had bridgedeck and cockpit mounted travellers. I don't think they were any easier to use than the coachroof one. The sail shape was no different since with the coachroof traveller you use more tension on the vang and the mainsheet to get the desired shape. There were many accidents with the bridgedeck and cockpit mounted travellers. Accidental gybes even with experienced helmsmen. I've been on a run in 25 kts and accidentally gybed after a 40 degree windshift I didn't see coming. And it's amazing how many people manage to put their hand or foot on the traveller just as a gust hits and the main trimmer releases the traveller. Bridgedeck and cockpit mounted travellers are fine on dinghies and small boats but once it can do some serious damage I prefer the coachroof.
 
thanks for this thread guys , i have a mainsheet dilemma in that due to a refurb there was no traveller , originally a "horse" was across the hatch garage but this has been removed and lost in a prior ownership, then a wheelhouse was made and the traveller fitted to the top of this , when i got hold of the boat (countess 28 ) the wheelhouse was in poor condition so i've since removed it and this left me with no where for the mainsheet to go .

i thought that it would be ok behind the tiller and fitted a track there with fingers crossed that the sheet angle wouldnt be to great ,the boat was in a shed at the time so mast and boom wern't fitted , now i find that the angle is too much , similar to the pic in previous post of "hummingbird" .

now do i buy a new 2ft longer boom and leave my nice new track in place ?
or move it to the companion way ?
or devise a new coachroof mounted system ?

ease of use and crew safety are top priority as there are 3 children whose fingers i want them to keep .

i like the idea of the twin mainsheets as used by Blue two but i would have to fit U bolts , cleats / winches etc to coach roof .

decisions decisions :confused::confused:
 
nigelm said:
ease of use and crew safety are top priority as there are 3 children whose fingers i want them to keep .
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These conflict somewhat. I would recommend top of coachroof for the safety of your children and of the grownup crew too (especially if you are cruising and not racing).
 
My previous boat (Etap22) had its main sheet taken to the cockpit sole as you propose and it worked OK. However, the current boat has a traveller mounted on the bridgedeck and I must say I really like the extra flexibility it gives with much better control over sail shape. I would not like to go back to a more basic system.
 
The traveller is a primary sail control and as such it should be to hand, and easy to adjust. On both the old and the new boat it was/is trimmed frequently and going upwind in gusty conditions it was/is kept in hand. That meant bridgedeck on the Twister, ahead of the wheel on the Arcona.

Tales of AWBs broaching in gusts are often because the traveller can't be quickly and easily dumped.

One downside of end boom sheeting is that it increases the length of sheet required. With a four or six part sheet this can be a bit overwhelming and can make the cockpit floor look like a snakepit in an Indiana Jones movie.
 
snooks said:
Pixie's mainsheet pulls almost vertically down from the end of the boom to aft of the companionway.

It works for us, if someone want to go down they can either climb over the mainsheet or drop the traveller down the track (we're not racing).
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I leave the stops on Jumblie's traveller just slightly wider than the main hatch, so the main sheet is always out of the way for crew, and especially for the four-year-old section of the crew.
 
On our boat (Moody centre cockpit) the traveller is altogether behind the cockpit, with the traveller car controlled remotely via ropes led to two small winches at either aft corner of the cockpit behind the helm. The main sheet is led through the boom and back to the coachroof top where it can be handled from the cockpit.

Seems pretty sensible to me. To dump the traveller the helmsman just blows the approprate line which is right under hand. No apparent danger of human casualty in case of an accidental (God forbid) gybe as the main sheet is far away from the cockpit. In any case the most noticeable difference from our old boat is how much more effective the traveller is, located under the end of the boom, rather than closer to the mast on the coachroof.
 
Twister_Ken said:
Tales of AWBs broaching in gusts are often because the traveller can't be quickly and easily dumped.
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Just the traveller or the sheets as well?

Do a lot of people (excluding those on here with a vivid interest in sailing) know what to do with a traveller, or do they just leave it in the middle and dump the sheet?

I'll go for the latter

Etap did a lot of research with their owners during the design of the 46ds and the found there was little difference in the sheeting angles without a traveller on a cruising boat, so they did away with it!

If you know what you're doing with a traveller, it is a primary sail trimming device. If not, it goes the way of genoa tracks and is left in one position with the contol lines neatly coiled in Flemish coils which turn green and weld themselves to the coachroof. Not that I've seen that on a boat, you understand : D
 
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The mainsheet is always a potential danger when the main is big enough to drive a 30-odd ft boat. Behind you, where you can't see it would be a worry.
Too close to a sprayhood can also be an issue, you don't have space to get away from it.
I would not want a boat where you cannot play the main and steer at the same time.
With the Lightwave 395 this meant sitting just in front of the wheel to reach the sheet on the bridgedeck.
Easing the fine tune on the main in gusts when cruising makes it much easier for SWMBO to create a decent lunch.
When racing it keeps the boat on its feet.
Most cruising boats need a traveller, because they do not have powerful enough kickers or strong enough booms to sheet them like a dinghy.
 
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