Move H29.5 traveler end-boom to mid-boom

[chitradurga]

To get space for a larger bimini, I'm considering moving the end-boom traveler on our 1995 H29.5 to mid-boom. If you've done that and are generally happy with the results, I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on the following:

1. From which company did you source parts, especially the track risers. I have yet to find a source for the risers that Hunter used in its mid-boom traveler option for the 29.5. Schaefer and Harken ask >$700 for hinged track risers, which is out of my budget range. Garhauer travelers, on the other hand, are affordable and look like they should work.
2. Did you stay with a 3:1 system or bump up to a higher ratio?
3. If you did stay with 3:1, did you reuse the original Schaefer double sheaves and car from the end-boom traveler?

 

[Sailm8]

I have no idea who the supplier was. I am the second owner and I think this was an OEM from Hunter. Hope these help.

 

[chitradurga]

Many thanks for the very helpful photos. They'll help me and others who may be considering the same modification.

Those short risers could clearly be fabricated by a local shop. Garhauer's catalog and website also notes that they can do custom riser heights for only $40 extra, which is tempting because their risers look pretty good.

In a recent exchange of emails, Eddie Breeden from Marlow-Hunter provided me with a much needed reality check when he pointed out that boats equipped with the mid-boom traveler option shipped with thicker-walled booms than the end boom traveler boats. While I didn't want to hear that, it makes me think well of Hunter because the two traveler locations mean very different loads on the boom.

Given what I've learned to date, the project can easily be done, but, as is inevitably true with boats, it's going to cost at least twice as much as you originally thought. The necessary custom riser, traveler track system, several new blocks, a new/used boom, plus labor, gives one pause for thought; maybe that 2-piece bimini wasn't such a bad option after all.