If you could have your traveler anywhere on your boat, where would you put it? On the coach top, out of the way of hands and feet? On the pedestal for easy, convenient singlehand sailing? In front of the companionway, where it's easy for the crew to handle? Or how about on a cockpit arch, close to the boom and pedestal but out of the way. Let your opinions wander here then vote in this week's Quick Quiz at the bottom of the home page.
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Jim
Electric Traveler
I would like to have an electric remote at the helm. Can't someone make an electric worm gear drive for a cabin top traveler? It is the pits getting out from behind the wheel to adjust the cabin top traveler.
I would like to have an electric remote at the helm. Can't someone make an electric worm gear drive for a cabin top traveler? It is the pits getting out from behind the wheel to adjust the cabin top traveler.
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Brad Newell
traveler location
I've been sailing for 40 years and have had half a dozen boats. The best location is a function of what you use the boat for. In general, the best location is on the coach top "out of the way of hands and feet". With the general use of autopilots by most folks, that forward location is handy and you don't have to worry about guests losing fingers to suddenly freed travelers. On large boats, that thing is almost a lethal weapon.
I've been sailing for 40 years and have had half a dozen boats. The best location is a function of what you use the boat for. In general, the best location is on the coach top "out of the way of hands and feet". With the general use of autopilots by most folks, that forward location is handy and you don't have to worry about guests losing fingers to suddenly freed travelers. On large boats, that thing is almost a lethal weapon.
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Stephen J Baltes
Up, Up and Away!!
This was one of the many reasons I choose the Hunter 320. So far I've utilized my arch-mounted traveler much more than I did with my last boat (Cat 28) which had it's traveler in front of the companionway. I think it has better leverage being at the end of the boom, which results in lower effort. And being convenient to the helm means I use it more.
This was one of the many reasons I choose the Hunter 320. So far I've utilized my arch-mounted traveler much more than I did with my last boat (Cat 28) which had it's traveler in front of the companionway. I think it has better leverage being at the end of the boom, which results in lower effort. And being convenient to the helm means I use it more.
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David Foster
An arch for boom end and clear cockpit
The right place for the mainsheet is the boom end. The best sail shape comes from using the mainsheet for shape and the travelor for angle of attack. But we need a good bimini to keep out od the sun. The arch is clearly the best solution. I just wish I could get one on my '77 h27. (Until then. the travelor is at the aft end of the cockpit.) David Lady Lillie
The right place for the mainsheet is the boom end. The best sail shape comes from using the mainsheet for shape and the travelor for angle of attack. But we need a good bimini to keep out od the sun. The arch is clearly the best solution. I just wish I could get one on my '77 h27. (Until then. the travelor is at the aft end of the cockpit.) David Lady Lillie
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ralph wicklund
traveler location
coach top for covenience and safety. snappable downhaul at boom end if you need performance sail shape
coach top for covenience and safety. snappable downhaul at boom end if you need performance sail shape
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Paul M. Sabol
Traveler location
I've installed a traveler in front of the pedestal across the seats. This location, at least for me was ideal, I always step up on the seat when passing the pedestal, so stepping over the traveler track posed no problem. I was surprized how much difference the traveler made in the boat's speed, this was one of the best mod's I have installed and I've done many.
I've installed a traveler in front of the pedestal across the seats. This location, at least for me was ideal, I always step up on the seat when passing the pedestal, so stepping over the traveler track posed no problem. I was surprized how much difference the traveler made in the boat's speed, this was one of the best mod's I have installed and I've done many.
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Mike Lombardy
Call me a traditionalist, but I prefer the traveler aft of the cockpit, on the stern. I have owned 3 boats with this arrangement, granted all would be considered as "old", and I believe it's the best location. It is out of the way on all points of sail, does not disturb anyone and can be easily managed by one person. Clearly one needs a longer boom, something not in fashion on newer boats. On my O'Day 28 the traveler is on the leading edge of the cockpit. One disadvantanage of this location is that entering the cabin can be a challange, particularly if the boat is close-hauled. Also for a singlehandler, it's not a easy place to get to.
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Greg Marx
Immediately in front of the tiller
After sailing my '86 H23 for a while, then sailing on J24's, S2 7.9's and a B25, I think the traveller should be immediately in front of the tiller. It is easier to handle the main sheet and the helm at the same time in this arrangement and the main sheet does not interfere with any crew or passengers feet etc. Also the traveller divides the cockpit into two areas keeping passengers from interfering with the helm.
After sailing my '86 H23 for a while, then sailing on J24's, S2 7.9's and a B25, I think the traveller should be immediately in front of the tiller. It is easier to handle the main sheet and the helm at the same time in this arrangement and the main sheet does not interfere with any crew or passengers feet etc. Also the traveller divides the cockpit into two areas keeping passengers from interfering with the helm.
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Paul
aft of the cockpit where you can reach it
I like the traveler where I can reach it and not up on the cabin. It's much easier to single hand the boat that way. Paul 1974 Catalina 27 Vancouver BC
I like the traveler where I can reach it and not up on the cabin. It's much easier to single hand the boat that way. Paul 1974 Catalina 27 Vancouver BC
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Michael
Works for me on the arch, but...
I am a new 340 owner and new to sailing. While training on J24's, it was was convienient to have the traveler in the cockpit, using the tiller while on a reach, everything was right where you needed it. However on the bigger boat whith the wheel, I enjoy the traveler on the arch out of the way, but I would prefer if Hunter would mount the cam cleat somewhere else. Everyone bumps there head on it as it is mounted right about head level on the arch right where it is comfortable for people to sit when the boat is reaching. Actually I was thinking about how I could fairlead the cam cleats to a point over the helm so I personally could adjust it whithout leaving my station at the helm. Just a thought.
I am a new 340 owner and new to sailing. While training on J24's, it was was convienient to have the traveler in the cockpit, using the tiller while on a reach, everything was right where you needed it. However on the bigger boat whith the wheel, I enjoy the traveler on the arch out of the way, but I would prefer if Hunter would mount the cam cleat somewhere else. Everyone bumps there head on it as it is mounted right about head level on the arch right where it is comfortable for people to sit when the boat is reaching. Actually I was thinking about how I could fairlead the cam cleats to a point over the helm so I personally could adjust it whithout leaving my station at the helm. Just a thought.
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Jan Koehler
cockpit aft in front of the helm
Cockpit aft in front of the helm. Best spot. End boom system to fully support the main sail. I have been on some boats where the traveler is located on deck top mid boom behind dodger. This is scary cause if you need to get to it quickly there is a lot of scrambling around and usually takes at least 2 people. The idea here is: 1) safety first 2) easy access 3) convenient location 4) maintain your sheets (soak em in creme rinse to insure softness and pliability)
Cockpit aft in front of the helm. Best spot. End boom system to fully support the main sail. I have been on some boats where the traveler is located on deck top mid boom behind dodger. This is scary cause if you need to get to it quickly there is a lot of scrambling around and usually takes at least 2 people. The idea here is: 1) safety first 2) easy access 3) convenient location 4) maintain your sheets (soak em in creme rinse to insure softness and pliability)
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Phil Olbert
Bridgedeck Traveler
While I have sailed on boats with travelers located at various points, I have always felt the bridgedeck location(forward end of the cockpit just in front of the companionway) works the best. This location is definately the most balanced location, minimizing boom stress, while providing better leverage than the cabin top location. It is also redily accessable to both crew and helm (tiller). The disadvantage is a slightly reduced access to the companionway under certain traveler settings. However in port when the most frequent in and out use of the companionway occures, the traveler can be set to one side thereby getting it completely out of the way.
While I have sailed on boats with travelers located at various points, I have always felt the bridgedeck location(forward end of the cockpit just in front of the companionway) works the best. This location is definately the most balanced location, minimizing boom stress, while providing better leverage than the cabin top location. It is also redily accessable to both crew and helm (tiller). The disadvantage is a slightly reduced access to the companionway under certain traveler settings. However in port when the most frequent in and out use of the companionway occures, the traveler can be set to one side thereby getting it completely out of the way.
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Dakota Jim Russell
Arch works for me
Good mechanical advantage, out of the cockpit, close at hand . . . it works for me on the 340.
Good mechanical advantage, out of the cockpit, close at hand . . . it works for me on the 340.
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Ed Schenck
Best for what?
Best for sailing? Then, for me, it has to be on the end of the boom and easily managed from the helm. This would mean that the mainsheet is "in the way" unless you have an arch. The traveler is across the cockpit or the bridgedeck and no nice, comfy enclosure of dodger and bimini can be enjoyed. But I want simple and immediate control of the main on my H37C in 20-25 knots on Lake Erie.
Best for sailing? Then, for me, it has to be on the end of the boom and easily managed from the helm. This would mean that the mainsheet is "in the way" unless you have an arch. The traveler is across the cockpit or the bridgedeck and no nice, comfy enclosure of dodger and bimini can be enjoyed. But I want simple and immediate control of the main on my H37C in 20-25 knots on Lake Erie.
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Kenneth Pfaff
Up on the Arch
On my Hunter 290 it is up on the arch and is very easy for the Helmsmen to access. On my old Hunter 23.5, it was forward just aft of the companionway and when you needed to spill of wind it was difficult to do so because of all the preassure on it.
On my Hunter 290 it is up on the arch and is very easy for the Helmsmen to access. On my old Hunter 23.5, it was forward just aft of the companionway and when you needed to spill of wind it was difficult to do so because of all the preassure on it.
The CORRECT place for it, in fact
I know many crusing sailors are not aware that there are actually THREE separate sets of tackle pulling down along the foot of the mainsail. The traveller is only ONE of them, and the FACT is that for optimum sailing ability it must be located with regard to how the other two work. The first one that many people tend to overlook is the downhaul, pulling the sliding gooseneck down at the aft edge of the mast. Once you peak the halyard, take up on this like a 'fine adjustment'. On boats over about 30 ft you had better be able to lead this to a winch-- it has that much power and that much importance. The downhaul takes care of the tack of the main and front end of the boom for that all-important flat mainsail shape on the wind. The next one a lot of people forget to think about is the outhaul, drawing the mainsail clew aft on the boom. It is NOT, as many believe, a 'set it and forget it' thing although it's easiest to draw it snugly before you peak the halyard and then let it out a little as you need to, as you will for a slab reef. On some racing boats this is led to a winch as well. The outhaul takes care of keeping the foot of the main straight (thus flat). The third one is the mainsheet, which pulls down on the aft end of the boom in complement with the downhaul at the forward end. These two work together-- the only reason why you even have a traveller is to continue to pull STRAIGHT DOWN on this end, following the arc of the boom's swing as you go off the wind. The downhaul doesn't need one because it's at the fulcrum of the boom's arc and doesn't swing round. Otherwise they are the same. Travellers located incorrectly will impose the wrong angle of pull and so require far too much effort on the tackle. If it is too far aft, the mainsheet begins to act as another outhaul, but not just pulling on a dacron sail to keep it straight-- it is now pulling partly in tension on a T-6066 aluminium boom-- as though any 4:1 purchase of 1/2" line could effect that!! So there's wasted work there, and poor sail shape as a result of the wrong angle of pull. A traveller too far forward (like 'mid-boom sheeting') will pull too much in the middle-- too close to the downhaul which is already doing its half of the job, and again involve wasted effort with the lack of leverage from not pulling at the end of the boom where it's easier. Again even a hefty aluminium boom has been known to break from inappropriate pull on the centre of it (in bad weather with mid-boom sheeting you have no other choice but to pull from there). I have said this before: do not underestimate the value of a flat mainsail. Modern sailors are going to full battens and Kevlar materials, NOT as gimmicks but sincere efforts to keep mainsail shape FLAT. At Cherubini we used to dread shakedowns with our late sailmaker John Eggers (who also did early Hunters) because he would crank everything in so tightly you swore half the cabintop would go to pieces. 'Flat, flat, FLAT!' he would insist-- the main would be a like sheet of plywood (you could knock on it). In the 60s and 70s on the best race boats you would see a SECOND traveller for what you and I would call the preventer, arcing across the deck in a parallel arc to the sheet traveller (the fad of 'mid-boom sheeting' in the 70s was a cruisers' pipe dream that they might combine the jobs of these two travellers into one-- and some sailors actually believed it was better). Now they have huge hydraulic systems tied into the subframe or keel. Mainsail flatness really is that important to them. Sometimes I suspect that the 'belly' theories have only come round because of existing poor sail shape already-- but if bellies were better than flatness, mainsails would probably never wear out. All the wear on old sails comes from keeping them under such tension. Relocating the traveller for 'convenience', such as to accommodate bimini tops, etc., must be viewed as a known compromise in sailing performance. Don't be fooled into thinking the boat performs better with the traveller somewhere other than where it should be-- know that the fact is it does NOT, and perhaps some have not realised it or maybe don't care. That may be well and good for them. But there is only one correct place for the traveller and, before you decide to put it elsewhere, bear in mind you are moving a crucial piece of rigging and possibly for some unrelated reason. Would you move the mast to make the head bigger? --move the keel to get better headroom? --move the rudder post to accommodate an aft-cabin berth (or dinghy??). Neither should you consider moving something that essentially makes your boat go, saves on fuel, time, and stress on the hull, and ultimately shows you to be a knowledgeable sailor with a good-looking and well-performing boat. J Cherubini II Cherubini Art
I know many crusing sailors are not aware that there are actually THREE separate sets of tackle pulling down along the foot of the mainsail. The traveller is only ONE of them, and the FACT is that for optimum sailing ability it must be located with regard to how the other two work. The first one that many people tend to overlook is the downhaul, pulling the sliding gooseneck down at the aft edge of the mast. Once you peak the halyard, take up on this like a 'fine adjustment'. On boats over about 30 ft you had better be able to lead this to a winch-- it has that much power and that much importance. The downhaul takes care of the tack of the main and front end of the boom for that all-important flat mainsail shape on the wind. The next one a lot of people forget to think about is the outhaul, drawing the mainsail clew aft on the boom. It is NOT, as many believe, a 'set it and forget it' thing although it's easiest to draw it snugly before you peak the halyard and then let it out a little as you need to, as you will for a slab reef. On some racing boats this is led to a winch as well. The outhaul takes care of keeping the foot of the main straight (thus flat). The third one is the mainsheet, which pulls down on the aft end of the boom in complement with the downhaul at the forward end. These two work together-- the only reason why you even have a traveller is to continue to pull STRAIGHT DOWN on this end, following the arc of the boom's swing as you go off the wind. The downhaul doesn't need one because it's at the fulcrum of the boom's arc and doesn't swing round. Otherwise they are the same. Travellers located incorrectly will impose the wrong angle of pull and so require far too much effort on the tackle. If it is too far aft, the mainsheet begins to act as another outhaul, but not just pulling on a dacron sail to keep it straight-- it is now pulling partly in tension on a T-6066 aluminium boom-- as though any 4:1 purchase of 1/2" line could effect that!! So there's wasted work there, and poor sail shape as a result of the wrong angle of pull. A traveller too far forward (like 'mid-boom sheeting') will pull too much in the middle-- too close to the downhaul which is already doing its half of the job, and again involve wasted effort with the lack of leverage from not pulling at the end of the boom where it's easier. Again even a hefty aluminium boom has been known to break from inappropriate pull on the centre of it (in bad weather with mid-boom sheeting you have no other choice but to pull from there). I have said this before: do not underestimate the value of a flat mainsail. Modern sailors are going to full battens and Kevlar materials, NOT as gimmicks but sincere efforts to keep mainsail shape FLAT. At Cherubini we used to dread shakedowns with our late sailmaker John Eggers (who also did early Hunters) because he would crank everything in so tightly you swore half the cabintop would go to pieces. 'Flat, flat, FLAT!' he would insist-- the main would be a like sheet of plywood (you could knock on it). In the 60s and 70s on the best race boats you would see a SECOND traveller for what you and I would call the preventer, arcing across the deck in a parallel arc to the sheet traveller (the fad of 'mid-boom sheeting' in the 70s was a cruisers' pipe dream that they might combine the jobs of these two travellers into one-- and some sailors actually believed it was better). Now they have huge hydraulic systems tied into the subframe or keel. Mainsail flatness really is that important to them. Sometimes I suspect that the 'belly' theories have only come round because of existing poor sail shape already-- but if bellies were better than flatness, mainsails would probably never wear out. All the wear on old sails comes from keeping them under such tension. Relocating the traveller for 'convenience', such as to accommodate bimini tops, etc., must be viewed as a known compromise in sailing performance. Don't be fooled into thinking the boat performs better with the traveller somewhere other than where it should be-- know that the fact is it does NOT, and perhaps some have not realised it or maybe don't care. That may be well and good for them. But there is only one correct place for the traveller and, before you decide to put it elsewhere, bear in mind you are moving a crucial piece of rigging and possibly for some unrelated reason. Would you move the mast to make the head bigger? --move the keel to get better headroom? --move the rudder post to accommodate an aft-cabin berth (or dinghy??). Neither should you consider moving something that essentially makes your boat go, saves on fuel, time, and stress on the hull, and ultimately shows you to be a knowledgeable sailor with a good-looking and well-performing boat. J Cherubini II Cherubini Art
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Ron Capron
Cruising or Racing?
Having had several sailboats, rigged in different ways, I have come to the following conclusion. For cruising singlehandedly, or with guests onboard, I prefer the mid boom traveler. It cleans up the cockpit and is more easily controlled by one person while tacking or coming about. I presently have a Catalina 30 with the traveler mounted across the cockpit behind me and it is no where as convenient for single handed sailing, and it takes up valuable room in the cockpit when having visitors aboard. I believe however that there is better sail shape control with this particular setup, particularlly if you are racing and have a trained crew aboard. Since I am getting older now and prefer a liesurely cruise I have become a fan of the mid-boom traveler.
Having had several sailboats, rigged in different ways, I have come to the following conclusion. For cruising singlehandedly, or with guests onboard, I prefer the mid boom traveler. It cleans up the cockpit and is more easily controlled by one person while tacking or coming about. I presently have a Catalina 30 with the traveler mounted across the cockpit behind me and it is no where as convenient for single handed sailing, and it takes up valuable room in the cockpit when having visitors aboard. I believe however that there is better sail shape control with this particular setup, particularlly if you are racing and have a trained crew aboard. Since I am getting older now and prefer a liesurely cruise I have become a fan of the mid-boom traveler.
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Pete Seymour
Traveler
I like where it is located now, just forward of the hatch cover. However, The original arrangement for the mainsheet stinks. Too much line that that runs through several blocks to a wench, which results in too much friction and very slow triming. On my Catalina 30, as on others, the mainsheet feeds out from the traveler and does not require a wench to trim the sail. It has 7/1 mechanical advantage or if you wish, purchase.
I like where it is located now, just forward of the hatch cover. However, The original arrangement for the mainsheet stinks. Too much line that that runs through several blocks to a wench, which results in too much friction and very slow triming. On my Catalina 30, as on others, the mainsheet feeds out from the traveler and does not require a wench to trim the sail. It has 7/1 mechanical advantage or if you wish, purchase.
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adam
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