Don........

[dmc]

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to a horizontally curved traveler? I have a '78 Hunter 27'. I am preparing to replace the existing traveler, which has a horizontal arch to the traveler track. I could replace it with a flat traveler track. Any advantage besides head clearance?
The main reason for the change is for deck fittings to lead all control lines aft and the addition of traveler control lines.

Thanks

Peace

 

[Relentless]

The problem with a curved traveler is when you adjust the traveler it changes the tension on the main sheet

 

[Don Guillette]

Peace: Here's the problem I had with a curved track on my Catalina30. First of all the travelr car was of poor quality. The 4 rollers were cheap plastic and over time they deteriorated causing a great amount of friction to be generated.

At the Catalina30 national events they generally stick the Catalina national team with the crappiest boats they can find (except in So Ca where I knew who had the good boats we could borrow) and those boats had the curved track. Since I was the mainsheet trimmer those tracks caused a problem for me. Sometimes, actually most times, under heavy load I had to put my foot on the bulkhead to move the traveler.

Here is the major problem with the curved track traveler. When I'm trying ONLY change the ANGLE OF ATTACK and not touch the mainsheet because I don't want to change the set of the sail the action of the travelr car is what causes the problem. Say I want to ease the traveler down. The car in now going downhill and the force excerted by the mainsheet is pulling on one end of the car causing the car to lift up and the force goes to the front ball bearings.

I could not wait to convert to the Garhauer straight track traveler. It has a million ball bearing that are machined 2 or 3 times and the car is virtually friction free. Without any load on the car you can flick it from one side to the other with a snap of your wrist.

The curved track traveler was probably designed to look trick but the designer probably never used one.

My vote is for a flat track traveler.

 

[dmc]

Thanks Don.......

I'll keep in mind what you've said as I set up my new traveler. I'm more of a cruiser, than a racer. I plan to use the Harken system (the one with a million bearings) with a 4 part purchase.
Thanks for the input, Glory.

Peace

 

[Don Guillette]

Re: Thanks Don.......

DMC: I'm primarily a cruiser also. No matter if I cruised or raced that curved track traveler upset me everytime I tried to use it. I never raced my boat. In order to race it I would have to unload every convenience know to man that my wife had on board. I never realized how much stuff was there until I sold the boat and saw that waterline paint was 3' above the water!!

Check out the Garhauer straight track traveler. I prefer it over the Harken system. They both do the job but the Garhauer system is cheaper. Even though it is cheaper there is no scarifice in quality. Your just not paying for the Harken name and their advertising.

As an aside, I tried to fix the curved track traveler by adding another set of end block - I think I ended up with a 3 stack. My purpose was to save a few bucks because I did not want to spring for the extra bucks on the Garhauer straight track system. Anyway, I had Garhauer build the 3 stack system even though they told me it would not improve the performance. They were right and the first time i used it I knew I had made a mistake. I sold the curved track to another C30 sailor - why he would want it was beyond me - and bought the straight track system. It was the best money I ever spent on the boat.