Traveler car/track as tether?

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,245
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
My granny bars are about 34" high. About 24 inches away from my mast from the side. Let me take a photo or two.

dj
 
Nov 6, 2020
377
Mariner 36 California
I can't really tell on your Mariner 36 how you would install the granny bars, but you'll figure out the design that works on the outside. That boat has a cored deck. So when you drill through for the attachments, make a slightly oversized hole. Then make a L shaped cutter you can put in a drill or your tool of choice that can cut out the core between the top and bottom fiberglass. Then using some kind of backing like tape on the inside. Fill the entire space with structural epoxy. Once set, drill the hole through that epoxy "plug" for your fasteners. Use either fender washers or make a backing plate on the inside for the nuts.

That way you create a sealed structure so there can be no water ingress into the coring and you are making a structural connection point across that cored structure. Does this make sense?

dj
Yup perfectly. I have done this to most of the deck hardware that I have removed already. Luckily they removed the core and made a solid fiberglass layup under the cleats, winches and blocks so i dont need to touch those. For the granny bars I was considering cutting away the interior of the coach roof underneath the installation points and laminating pieces of solid 3/4 G-10 behind the fasteners with epoxy and drilling through that. I was thinking I would then add large washers or a backing plate behind those and bolt right through the entire thing. The vinyl headliner has zippers installed so I can get access to most of that area without destroying the headliner.
 

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,245
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Seems my Internet connection isn't good enough to drop in images. I'll try later...

dj
 

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,245
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Yup perfectly. I have done this to most of the deck hardware that I have removed already. Luckily they removed the core and made a solid fiberglass layup under the cleats, winches and blocks so i dont need to touch those. For the granny bars I was considering cutting away the interior of the coach roof underneath the installation points and laminating pieces of solid 3/4 G-10 behind the fasteners with epoxy and drilling through that. I was thinking I would then add large washers or a backing plate behind those and bolt right through the entire thing. The vinyl headliner has zippers installed so I can get access to most of that area without destroying the headliner.
Would you be laminating to the top fiberglass layer? Not sure which is easier..both would work.

dj
 
Nov 6, 2020
377
Mariner 36 California
Seems my Internet connection isn't good enough to drop in images. I'll try later...

dj
Ha! no worries. Thank you for the info. I'm not ready to add them yet anyways. Actually, I have seen tons of pics of them but had no idea what height would be best. Are you happy with the height/width and distance of yours or would you change any of those parameters?
 
Nov 6, 2020
377
Mariner 36 California
Would you be laminating to the top fiberglass layer? Not sure which is easier..both would work.

dj
Yeah, it may be overkill to cut away the interior roof and add solid G-10 like I described. Not to mention a LOT of work. If I have enough mounting points, drill and fill with a big aluminum or stainless backing plate might be plenty strong and a lot easier. Not ready to do the project so lots of time to think about it.
 

MFD

.
Jun 23, 2016
189
Hunter 41DS Pacific NW USA
I would also recommend getting out on other people's boats.
There is value in seeing how they are run/rigged, even if different boats and run better or worse.
Racing is a good way to do this, although often it is the poorly run and rigged boats that always need crew.

Finally - I strongly recommend attending a full session Safety at Sea course.
You won't get any official certifications out of that, but you will gain practical knowledge from experienced people. Or at least as much as can be condensed into a small session shoreside format.
No - do not do the online class, you are wasting everybody's time.
Yes - do the in-person classes, with the additional sessions where you need to jump into the water and climb into a life raft yourself, and help others.
 
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