Hi every one! I've bought an old Catalina 22 ( sail number 2307 , no serial). I've started to put some much love on it, and it's getting ready for her first launch on the water in probably quite some year. The thing is i don't have any traveller cart. I only have the inverted U shaped tube that act as track. I was looking at idea to replace this setup. I know i can buy the cart and the cleat from Catalina Direct, but i live in quebec canada. Just the Owner Manual cost me nearly 75$ cad with the shipping and usd to cad rates. I've mesure the travelling distance allowed by the track to be 12 inches. There is at my local store a ronstan I-beam that's in the same dimension as the tube track for only 60$. (22 inches for the ronstan, 24 for the original track) if i could find a way to raise the bar a bot for the tiller to clear it would fit. Do you guys have any idea or picture of replaced traveller track for a Cat 22?
Try to post some pictures of your current set up, I'm having a hard time understanding why you only have 12 inches of travel.
I understand the problem of the tiller hitting the bottom of the trailer bar, but you don't need to raise it 12 inches to get more clearance. There are many solutions to this problem, it just depends on how you want to tackle it. You may just need a new traveler car; that will give you the full range of motion it should have, but does not solve the issue of not being able to lift the bar very high. I am assuming you don't have the original car, if you did its possible to replace the worn out sheaves, just a simple rebuild. we have a member here, Sting Sailor, who has his own website, StingySailor.com, he makes replacement sheaves for the traveler car.
For raising the bar so you can lift the tiller higher, there are several ways to do it but all require some fabrication in stainless steel. I'm a welder, so I do all my own work. My modifications are quite extensive and beyond the capability of most DIY sailors. You could have a new bar made that sits about 4 inches higher than the original, but you'd need to find a local welder/fabricator that will do it at a reasonable price. A friend who works for beer is always a great asset! BTW, adding a new track to the existing trailer bar is a waste... The bar is solid, not hollow. It will be very difficult to drill the mounting screws unless you have a proper drill press an V Blocks. If you went through all the trouble you still wouldn't gain any height to address the issue of the tiller lift limit.
Here is a pic of what I did to my stern pulpit... this was extensive work; adding two new down tubes and a cross bar, then using a 24 inch X track to mount the the new style trailer car.
