First regatta
- Thread starter Slipaway Capri 22
- Start date
Yes, it was fun when I wasn't nervous or barking orders at my nonsailing shorthanded crew. The wind was forecast for 20 plus knots so I reefed the main, and it never got over 15. I ended up shaking out the reef about halfway through the race. Had to go wing on wing downwind instead of spinnaker because I pulled us out of spinnaker class when I saw the wind forecast. Thought I was near the back of the pack, but our perf rating helped out on a 10 mile course. Bingo third place. I would like to get a nicer mainsail and buy a racing Genoa maybe a 155 to go along with our 135. And this boat needs a traveler badly. The owner removed the traveler. Any Ideas on how to rig a traveler without a track?
As noted above, a traveler needs a track.Slipaway said:
Without a traveler, when you ease the mainsheet, the boom swings up and out. Up reduces the leech tension and out changes the angle of attack.
With a traveller, you set leech tension using the mainsheet and set the angle of attack using the traveler. So with a traveler setup, easing the traveler allows you to change the angle of attack without changing the leech tension.
But if you have a boom vang, you can get the some of the benefits of a traveler by using the the vang and the main sheet in a co-ordinated way. You will not be able to pull the boom above the centerline with this setup, but it puts all the other functions of a traveler at your finger tips.
So, you are sailing on your course (any point of sail here). You have adjusted the mainsheet for the sail shape you want (proper leech tension, twist, and angle of attack). Now apply tension to the boom vang to the point where it is snugged up, but not enough to change anything. This will hold the boom in place (maintaining leech tension) when you ease the mainsheet. You now have a arrangement where easing the main sheet does not affect leech tension, only the angle of attack. You end up using the main sheet like you would a traveler while the boom vang maintains your leech tension where you want it.
Once you get used to it, it is a very useable system. Dinghy sailors on small boats without travelers use it all the time. They call it vang sheeting.
Here's a little write up on vang sheeting using a Laser as an example: http://www.v15.org/articles/MainsheetTrim.PDF
Traveler does NOT need a track...
but one with a track will work better than the rope or rail designed ones that other boats in the past have used.
The Capri 14.2 uses a rope between 2 padeyes, with a block that rolls on it... and a creative person could setup snatch blocks to pull the sheet to windward... and that, is in fact a crude traveler.
Also I've seen travelers on the Catalina 25 and 22, that are nothing more than a pipe or rail, with a pair of blocks encompassing the rail. There are still blocks and tackle that move the "car" along the rail. It's technically NOT a track, but it IS still a traveler.
HOWEVER, the sentiment is the same, a basic traveler kit purchased from Catalina direct is the right way to go...
but one with a track will work better than the rope or rail designed ones that other boats in the past have used.
The Capri 14.2 uses a rope between 2 padeyes, with a block that rolls on it... and a creative person could setup snatch blocks to pull the sheet to windward... and that, is in fact a crude traveler.
Also I've seen travelers on the Catalina 25 and 22, that are nothing more than a pipe or rail, with a pair of blocks encompassing the rail. There are still blocks and tackle that move the "car" along the rail. It's technically NOT a track, but it IS still a traveler.
HOWEVER, the sentiment is the same, a basic traveler kit purchased from Catalina direct is the right way to go...
The problem I have is that the boat is there for me to use, but is not mine, so drilling holes and installing a traveller track is not an option. The owner put a dingy block in the cockpit floor and filled and faired the traveller holes. I thought I might be able to have a line spanning the cockpit and be able to pull the block up to windward with some extra block setup when the main is getting back wonder by the job. This should help me point higher.I Can use the vang when I want to lower it and still be able to control the leech tension. It's just in the case when I want the boom to come up to the centerline or just a little higher to help me point better once I am in the groove. I rigged a line going to the rear stanchion during the race that helped, but not by much. It pulled the boom higher but also just kept the leech tight. No twist control.
Ok, so your REAL problem isn't needing a traveler, it's getting the boom to windward, without one, and without pulling it down!
this will sound dumb, but will work. Use a triangle setup, attach a large (removable) vang (4:1 tackle with snap shackles on each end) from the boom to the starboard cleat, and same on port. Tacking becomes an orchestration then... cause now you gotta release the leeward side, tack, adjust mainsheet, then PULL the boom up with the new tackle.
Many larger cruising boats do this with tackle on the cabintop in lieu of a traveler... its a complicated rig to tack, but it works.
Something like this...
this will sound dumb, but will work. Use a triangle setup, attach a large (removable) vang (4:1 tackle with snap shackles on each end) from the boom to the starboard cleat, and same on port. Tacking becomes an orchestration then... cause now you gotta release the leeward side, tack, adjust mainsheet, then PULL the boom up with the new tackle.
Many larger cruising boats do this with tackle on the cabintop in lieu of a traveler... its a complicated rig to tack, but it works.
Something like this...