C36 Mk. I traveler replacement

[jviss]

A couple of questions for you C-36 experts, if you don't mind:1984 Catalina 36, hull number 240. 1. Will the new Garhauer traveler components, car, etc., from the MT-2 traveler work on the existing track?2. Anyone install the curved track replacement traveler MT-2CT on a similar vintage C-36?Thanks,jv

 

[Don Guillette]

Traveler

JV: I don't think the car will match the track. On the curved track: a number of years ago I tried to mickey mouse the curved track traveler om my 1981 C30. I had Garhauer rework and add to the blocks but the first time I tried them I was dissatisfied with the performance. Turned out to be a waste of money which I should have put toward the straight track in the first place. The curved track traveler is a very inefficient system that is full of friction. The car on the Garhauer straight track can be moved so effortlessly that it makes working the traveler a pleasure. When I lived in So Ca I sold and installed Garhauer products. I suggest you give them a call to discuss your situation. Ask for Guido or Mark and tell them Don Guillette told you to call. They will go out of their way to help you. If you decide to go to the straight track, get the car with 3 shackles. It spreads the load better than the single shackle car.

 

[jviss]

Options

Thanks Don,I guess I don't understand how the curved track can be so much less efficient than the straight, although Guido told me this, too. I imagine it must be a poor traveler car design. The issue with the straight track, according to Guido is:a. Need two brackets, at $100 each, in addition to the traveler, fro a bolt-on solution. b. If you skip the brackets, and make wedges of some material to align the angled towers to the straight track, the holes in the track must be drilled at an angle, so he's have to send a track without mounting holes, and you'd have to drill it. Also, the traveler price went up since last week, when I spoke with him! I had rationalize $400 as a quick fix, but at what is now $650 plus shipping, I don't think so. The only real problem with my old one is that the plastic sheaves on the traveler control tackle have disintegrated. The fix would require finding or making sheaves, drilling out the stainless rivet axles, and fitting the new sheaves. Maybe that's what I'll do. I wish I knew where to buy a piece of 2" dia. UHMWPE, or even nylon (white) to make the sheaves out of on the lathe; and perhaps a bag of Delrin balls if I'm ambitious enough to make them ball bearing sheaves.

 

[Don Guillette]

Curved vs Straight Traveler

JVISS: It is much more effficient and easier on a traveler car to run horizontally than on a curved track. I'm sure the original designer thought the curved track looked trick and blended nicely with the curved line of the hatch. When you are closehauled and moving you car up the track the car actually starts going downhill. The original traveler car is crappy to begin with. On the older C30's (and I assume your boat also) the 4 rollers are rubber or some cheap composit and on a 1984 boat they became wasted long ago. Even when they were new they were inefficient because when you were moving downhill on the track the force of the mainsheet was exerted on the front rollers only. In other words, the car wanted to tip upwards. None of this happens with a straight track traveler - no matter who's product you buy. The pulling force is equally distributed especially if you have the car with 3 shackles. The Garhauer traveler car runs on SS ball bearings that are machined 3 times.At boat shows I attended with Garhauer, to demonstrate to interested sailors how effortless the car moves, I would set the car at one end of the track and merely flick it with my finger and it would glide to the other end of the track.I know the Garhauer traveler setup isn't cheap - what is on a boat? - but the traveler is an important sail trim control. It controls the angle of attack. It my case, I tried to "jerry" my original traveler and it just turned out to be a waste of my time and money. The first time I used it I was unhappy with it. I sold it to another C30 owner. With the old setup there were times that I had to put my foot on the bulkhead as I pulled on the traveler line. I can adjust a Garhauer traveler with 2 fingers!!I've race with the Catalina team at C30 National events and sometimes we would get stuck with a loaner boat that had the curved track (frequently they stuck us with the crappiest boat they could find but even with that we rarely finished lower than 2nd) and since I worked the traveler when I saw the curved track, which was the first thing I looked for, I knew I was in for a long and hard event.

 

[jviss]

Interesting!

Thanks Don, for your usual deep insight into these topics! Budget being what they are, I opted to rebuild my old traveler and use it for this year. Maybe I'll upgrade next year. The big issue was that the sheaves on the control cards (end cars) disintegrated. I took these apart - I didn't figure out the easy way 'til it was over, of course. They are assembled finally with drive studs driven into the tops of the hollow axles; the drive studs look like rivets from the top. They can be driven out from behind. The axles are belled at the ends and must be ground a bit to disassemble. I made new sheaves on the lathe using 1/2" Starboard. It machines beautifully, looks good, and spins smoothly on the axles. Reassembled with 8-32 button head SS screws. Will test them out this week. On the traveler operation, I'm not sure I have to apply that much force, regardless of the "downhill" motion, since I have a solid vang, so the only force needed is to move the boom sideways. Agreed, though, the cars wheels are primitive, and need some lube to spin freely. Do you happen to know who made the original hardware? Was it Merriman?Regards,jv

 

[Don Guillette]

Original Hardware

JV: Nope I don't know who made the original hardware. One of the things I was considering before I went to the straight track was to have Garhauer build me a 3 sheave setup for the end cars so I would have more purchase and not have to fight my setup. Garhauer would have built it for me but they talked me out of it.It sure helps to have the ability that you have to machine your own parts.