What sort of Traveller?

[chrisbitz]

I need a traveller on my boat, as everyone else seems to be able to point 10 degrees higher than me...

It's a centre boom traveller.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/gene...~27614229968&gclid=COayk8nJpL4CFdShtAodJkoAVQ
This one seems reasonable, but I can get it with either cleats on the traveller, or cleats on the end at the side.

in my cockpit, with 3 men in, it's very cramped, so my thought is cleats on the traveller, as the alternative is the rope coming out about where your hip is, and there'd be no leverage.

I think ideally, I'd like cleats on the end of the rail, but coming off vertically, but I haven't seen any kits that have that option, and I'm guessing that buying it as a kit saves money?

Does anyone have any opinions or experience?

 

[PaulMcC]

I have what looks like the same traveller (with cleats on the traveller car itself) and it works fine. Pulling the traveller up is relatively easy as you just reach over and pull and can brace with a leg if you need too. I can't imagine it being so easy to get the leverage with the cleats at the ends of the track, at least assuming you like sitting on the windward side of the cockpit. The main downside I find is that the tails (after the cleats) come directly from the traveller car and so are often in the middle of the cockpit and so there to get tangled in other lines and people's feet.

 

[PeteCooper]

You don't need to have the purchase for the traveller actually on the traveller. On a previous boat I had a single line to each side of the traveller leading to a separate purchase arrangement where it was convenient for me - it was actually led to the top of the cockpit coaming. It worked for me.

 

[chrisbitz]

You don't need to have the purchase for the traveller actually on the traveller. On a previous boat I had a single line to each side of the traveller leading to a separate purchase arrangement where it was convenient for me - it was actually led to the top of the cockpit coaming. It worked for me.

Exactly! That's what I'm after, but none of the kits do it - they all exit the ropes on the side. And I bet it's much more expensive to build a kit from scratch, than get one off the shelf.. :-(

 

[mrming]

I've raced with various systems, and imo cam cleats on the car are better for a small boat as you tend to sit in different places depending on the conditions. The only caveat is that the cleats must be workable from a good range of angles. Our boat came with a knackered Harken windward sheeting system which we've now rebuilt. It works great but is eye-wateringly expensive to buy new. The car alone is £375!

Btw chris 4:1 might be a bit overkill. We use 2:1 and it's easy (and fast) to play the traveller. Mainsail area is around 140 sq ft.

 

[Daydream believer]

It is mechanically more efficient to have the traveler control lines coming off the car as you are pulling the car along as you pull in the lines. The amount of excess line is minimal

However, are you really so certain that the traveler will make you point higher
If the cut of your jib is full in the luff then it will not point higher
You could test the theory by rigging a temporary rope to windward to the boom to pull it up towards the wind.
Although a traveler is a very useful bit of kit everything else has to be right as well

 

[PaulMcC]

Btw chris 4:1 might be a bit overkill. We use 2:1 and it's easy (and fast) to play the traveller. Mainsail area is around 140 sq ft.

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For reference my main is about 220 sq ft with the mainsheet attached at the boom end. 4:1 is an easy pull but I wouldn't want to go down to 2:1.

 

[Yacht Yogi]

Another common way to rig the traveller, with the cleats on the cockpit side for a vertical pull is to use one single loop of line to do both ends. This leaves you a continuous line side to side and allows you to uncleat the leeward side cleat while sitting on the windward side of the cockpit. This is especially useful if you're sailing short handed or when you've had both sides cleated to lock the traveller amidships while running downwind and are changing to an upwind leg when the traveller is probably the final adjustment to be made.