Hunter 27-2 1989-94 traveller
- Thread starter inkunzi
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jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,879
I tried to find an image of a Hunter 27 for sale with a traveler over the companion way. No luck. All seem to use the bridal. The traveler needs to be raised so that the hatch can slide beneath the traveler. Control of the mainsheet will take work for a solo sailor. Consider all options before jumping Into this project.
Talk with Garhauer Marine about the fit of their traveler for your boat.
Talk with Garhauer Marine about the fit of their traveler for your boat.
I had a Hunter 27-2 that I liked a lot after getting rid of the bridle. With the help of my rigger, we installed a Garhauer traveler as shown in the pictures. That was a great improvement.
Good luck,
Jess
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For mid boom sheeting, I don't know if I would go forward with this project.
My observation is that those with sheeting on the cabin top and a traveler, don't use the traveler that much. I had a Mark 25 with a traveler on the cabin top and found it to be more trouble than it was worth. I tore it out and went with a simple 2 or 3 part mainsheet. There was way less friction, sail control was almost as good and I enjoyed sailing the boat more.
My observation is that those with sheeting on the cabin top and a traveler, don't use the traveler that much. I had a Mark 25 with a traveler on the cabin top and found it to be more trouble than it was worth. I tore it out and went with a simple 2 or 3 part mainsheet. There was way less friction, sail control was almost as good and I enjoyed sailing the boat more.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,879
Your experience might explain, after searching for images of a Hunter 27, looking for a traveler I found 1. The expense maybe bling for the boat more than a functional major improvement.
I appreciate all the responses. I have to admit i am brand new to sailing and am learning a lot via forums, YouTube, fellow retired guys at the marina, books and so on. I did purchase a Hunter 27-2 1991for a good price and looking forward to practicing all the sail trim methodology i have encountered on land. Controlling heeling and weather helm using traveler, vang, Cunningham- moving draft forward while running close hauled
This is the stuff rolling thru my head. Hence the traveler.
Question for Jess: do you recall dimension between your bridge riser mounts.?
This is the stuff rolling thru my head. Hence the traveler.
Question for Jess: do you recall dimension between your bridge riser mounts.?
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,879
Measure your boat for the mounts. Get them as wide as possible. Remember this is a sail control piece of hardware. You will want to through bolt the traveler with a backing plate. Make sure you consider the inside required space and access to the bolts. Nothing screws up a good plan like not having the space inside the cabin to tighten the nuts.
Through the deck bolts need to be properly sealed so as not to leak into the deck.
Take care and the project should give you joy.
Does anyone have the location sheet on the encapsulated aluminum plates in the fiberglass on this boat? If not, call the help desk and ask for Al or Joe. I will do it. You all sit tight till I get it.
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I checked the owner of this website and there are no information for location of embedded aluminum plates in the fiberglass as they were not digitized. Nothing in the owners manual under boat information. There are several comments under owner installs which you can loook at.
However I wonder if there are any embedded aluminum plates in the seat area in front of the companionway? It has been a long time ago introducing that boat and top dealer selling it too.
I will send a private message to the poster and will advise back unless someone else has photos of a traveler in front of the companionway seat.
Please someone vouch for me. Thanks
However I wonder if there are any embedded aluminum plates in the seat area in front of the companionway? It has been a long time ago introducing that boat and top dealer selling it too.
I will send a private message to the poster and will advise back unless someone else has photos of a traveler in front of the companionway seat.
Please someone vouch for me. Thanks
Years ago I had a 27-2, and can confirm that the boat desperately needed a traveler, but I never got to it and replaced the boat instead so I can't say exactly how to implement it. Adding a backstay adjuster was also a huge increase in control. My never executed plan was to custom make a stainless bracket that would have bolted under the cabin top clutches where the embedded plate is definitely known to be, and angle the bracket up and forward to mount the traveler onto.
The suggestion that the vang makes up for the main sheet setup is definitely not true. The vang certainly helps, but it's nearly impossible to sheet the boom even close to centerline, and getting it even vaguely sheeted in it completely screws up the shape and twist. A proper traveler would gain you many degrees of upwind pointing performance.
The suggestion that the vang makes up for the main sheet setup is definitely not true. The vang certainly helps, but it's nearly impossible to sheet the boom even close to centerline, and getting it even vaguely sheeted in it completely screws up the shape and twist. A proper traveler would gain you many degrees of upwind pointing performance.
Sorry
I forgot to dig out those pics... Here they are...
There is an aluminum plate under the bridge deck and I threaded and through bolted. I got a piece of genoa T-track off of eBay for a few bucks and made this traveler. It is not high tech but it certainly made the boat sail better.
I have been considering going to a twin-mainsail system in lieu of installing a traveler.
forums.sailinganarchy.com
Thoughts on mainsheet traveler V’s Double blocked mainsheet?
For the seasoned solo sailors on here, i would be interested to hear your thoughts for and against keeping a knee high traveler across the cockpit or converting to a double block mainsheet setup on pad eyes on the deck level. I have my own thoughts but really want to hear other opinions. Thanks...
forums.sailinganarchy.com
The Hunter 27 may have an aluminum plate under the bridge deck as @rgranger pointed out on the 26. The ceiling liner is atttached to the deck plate with marine putty with air space in between. The aluminum plate is encapsulated in the bridge deck.
Ask the help desk for the sheet designating the aluminum plates to see if it is there. Ask for Joe or Al as they are former Hunter employees and they have the build list for your boat. Otherwise; you will need to test drill with a 1/8 inch drill bit to see if you get aluminum shards coming out
You can drill through the deck plate but you will need to remember there is dead air space. To access the underneath deck plate to put washers in, you can cut circular holes in the ceiling. Covers for those holes can be bought at hardware stores generally in white, black or beige
Ask the help desk for the sheet designating the aluminum plates to see if it is there. Ask for Joe or Al as they are former Hunter employees and they have the build list for your boat. Otherwise; you will need to test drill with a 1/8 inch drill bit to see if you get aluminum shards coming out
You can drill through the deck plate but you will need to remember there is dead air space. To access the underneath deck plate to put washers in, you can cut circular holes in the ceiling. Covers for those holes can be bought at hardware stores generally in white, black or beige
I sent an inquiry to Sailboat and Hunter Owners to see if there is a aluminum deck plate locator sheet as there is none in the manual
I fully agree with that. My sense is that a traveler over the cabin top would be a complicated project and expensive. And, the boom may not be designed for mid-boom sheeting. I like the solution @rgranger shows from a sailing standpoint. Liveability is a big problem though. On my Starwind 27, the traveller on the bridgedeck, right in front of the companionway, was a huge inconvenience when anchored or not sailing, and also when sailing with crew (it was great when I single-handed). Sue was always sitting across the bridgedeck and had to move every time I wanted to tweak controls, to her great annoyance! Don't even get me started on the complications of crew position when tacking! That said, I don't know what the bridgedeck looks like on your Hunter, or even if there is one that spans across the middle.
I would consider a traveler a little further back that bridges the seats and is removable. I've seen examples on youtube and it works well for sailing and is out of the way when not sailing.