Light winds pull the traveller towards the wind, and heavy winds, ease it away or to the lee. This was the quick explanation at my basic sailing school. I know that there is more to it so a further elaboration would be helpful. Thanks
Traveller Explained
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Beer drinking sailor's explanation:
I've found that pulling the traveler to windward in fairly light winds generally yields a better sail shape, and of course provides more thrust with a given amount of mainsheet tension. On my boat, somewhere around 15 knots of true wind is when I position the traveler amid-ship, or thereabouts. Often, though, in San Francisco the winds are pretty brisk, and for anything above 20 knots I ease the traveler to leeward, which allows me to flatten the sail by adding more relative tension to the mainsheet. Of course, it depends upon your point of sail to some degree, but on a close reach or a beam reach, your rule of thumb seems to me to be pretty accurate. The sail-trim gurus could go on for hours about this, but for those of us who are casual, beer drinking sailors, the simpler explanations are often more useful than lengthy aerodynamic dissertations. Moreover, excessive heeling can cause one to spill one's beer, necessitating some compromises in maintaining perfect sail shape and trim.
I've found that pulling the traveler to windward in fairly light winds generally yields a better sail shape, and of course provides more thrust with a given amount of mainsheet tension. On my boat, somewhere around 15 knots of true wind is when I position the traveler amid-ship, or thereabouts. Often, though, in San Francisco the winds are pretty brisk, and for anything above 20 knots I ease the traveler to leeward, which allows me to flatten the sail by adding more relative tension to the mainsheet. Of course, it depends upon your point of sail to some degree, but on a close reach or a beam reach, your rule of thumb seems to me to be pretty accurate. The sail-trim gurus could go on for hours about this, but for those of us who are casual, beer drinking sailors, the simpler explanations are often more useful than lengthy aerodynamic dissertations. Moreover, excessive heeling can cause one to spill one's beer, necessitating some compromises in maintaining perfect sail shape and trim.
Traveler Explained
Paul: The sailing school explained what it does but I think it is more helpful to know WHY a sail trim control does what it does. There are only 4 things that all the sail trim controls for the main and jib adjust and they are draft depth (belly), draft position, twist and anngle of attack. The ONLY element the traveler adjust is the angel of attack, which simply is the angle the sail to the wind. No matter what you do to the traveler, it does not change the shape of the mainsail. I have to keep things simple just like RJ does or I'll get confused, so with that in mind, the higher on the traveler you move the car the more powerful the sail becomes and the more you lower the car the less powerful the sail becomes. When the boat is heeling excessively, just drop the traveler to get the boat back on its feet. To increase your speed, just pull the car up the track.
Paul: The sailing school explained what it does but I think it is more helpful to know WHY a sail trim control does what it does. There are only 4 things that all the sail trim controls for the main and jib adjust and they are draft depth (belly), draft position, twist and anngle of attack. The ONLY element the traveler adjust is the angel of attack, which simply is the angle the sail to the wind. No matter what you do to the traveler, it does not change the shape of the mainsail. I have to keep things simple just like RJ does or I'll get confused, so with that in mind, the higher on the traveler you move the car the more powerful the sail becomes and the more you lower the car the less powerful the sail becomes. When the boat is heeling excessively, just drop the traveler to get the boat back on its feet. To increase your speed, just pull the car up the track.
Traveler Explained
Bill: Actually, you use both the the traveler and the mainsheet to control the angle of attack. To gain control the of the boat you want to first start with the traveler. The traveler does not change the set of the sail. When you start messing with the mainsheet your now starting to deal with twist and draft position. Eventually, you'll have to but the first step should be adjusting the traveler instead of what most sailors do and that is release the mainsheet.
Bill: Actually, you use both the the traveler and the mainsheet to control the angle of attack. To gain control the of the boat you want to first start with the traveler. The traveler does not change the set of the sail. When you start messing with the mainsheet your now starting to deal with twist and draft position. Eventually, you'll have to but the first step should be adjusting the traveler instead of what most sailors do and that is release the mainsheet.
A slightly different perspective...
I knew this might yield an interesting discussion, and that I'd learn a thing or two. Philosohically, I agree with Don... although in practice, one's technique might be influenced by the relative ease of adjusting your traveler vs. your mainsheet. On my boat, the traveler is not as easy to adjust as is mainsheet tension, so I generally adjust the power of the main with the sheet, and position the traveler to provide the desired angle for the mainsheet to operate from as it pulls on the boom: more horizontally (traveler to windward) to ease leech tension and increase sail twist, or more vertically (traveler to leeward) to increae tension on the leech if the winds increase; and while I tweak the mainsheet fairly often, I only adjust the traveler as necessary. I think Don's advice to use the traveler as the primary control of the angle of attack of the main is good advice, providing the traveler is as easy to adjust as the mainsheet. I'll give it a try sometime, although for my boat I don't think it will be as user friendly, but that's only because my traveler is forward of the dodger.
I knew this might yield an interesting discussion, and that I'd learn a thing or two. Philosohically, I agree with Don... although in practice, one's technique might be influenced by the relative ease of adjusting your traveler vs. your mainsheet. On my boat, the traveler is not as easy to adjust as is mainsheet tension, so I generally adjust the power of the main with the sheet, and position the traveler to provide the desired angle for the mainsheet to operate from as it pulls on the boom: more horizontally (traveler to windward) to ease leech tension and increase sail twist, or more vertically (traveler to leeward) to increae tension on the leech if the winds increase; and while I tweak the mainsheet fairly often, I only adjust the traveler as necessary. I think Don's advice to use the traveler as the primary control of the angle of attack of the main is good advice, providing the traveler is as easy to adjust as the mainsheet. I'll give it a try sometime, although for my boat I don't think it will be as user friendly, but that's only because my traveler is forward of the dodger.
Traveler Explained
RJ (San Fran): What kind of a boat do you own? The reason I ask is that my Catalina 30 had a curved track traveler and it was a bear to deal with. It is also forward of the dodger. I'm sure the designers at Catalina thought it looked trick as the curve matched the curve of the deck. The problem with it was, say your close hauled and everything is in tight and you want to move the traveler but unfortuanately, the car is now going downhill and with everything tight you have no where to go. You have to ease the mainsheet and then move the traveler and then adjust the mainsheet again and all that just to adjust the angle of attack. The purchase was also awful. I tried to remedy that by having Garhauer add blocks to the system but the first time I used the upgraded system, I didn't like it. After that, I replaced the curved track with a Garhauer straight track traveler, which I should have done in the first place but I was trying to save a buck. The straight track is an absolute joy to work with. While I was doing that I also ran all my lines back to the helm. The reason for that was my wife wasn't really into sailing and everytime the boat heeled over, she would complain and tell me to get it back on its feet. I'd ask her to take the wheel so I could go forward and make the adjustment and she'd tell me "only after you get the boat back level". Like, how am I suppose to level the boat without leaving the wheel? With all the controls lead back to the helm, that ended the discussions and I just made the adjustment without going anywhere. Turned out to be a nice safety factor as I could react quickly to any situations. I even had Garhauer make me a winch handle that was about 3' long so I could adjust the jib without bothering her. Necessity is the mother of invention!!!
RJ (San Fran): What kind of a boat do you own? The reason I ask is that my Catalina 30 had a curved track traveler and it was a bear to deal with. It is also forward of the dodger. I'm sure the designers at Catalina thought it looked trick as the curve matched the curve of the deck. The problem with it was, say your close hauled and everything is in tight and you want to move the traveler but unfortuanately, the car is now going downhill and with everything tight you have no where to go. You have to ease the mainsheet and then move the traveler and then adjust the mainsheet again and all that just to adjust the angle of attack. The purchase was also awful. I tried to remedy that by having Garhauer add blocks to the system but the first time I used the upgraded system, I didn't like it. After that, I replaced the curved track with a Garhauer straight track traveler, which I should have done in the first place but I was trying to save a buck. The straight track is an absolute joy to work with. While I was doing that I also ran all my lines back to the helm. The reason for that was my wife wasn't really into sailing and everytime the boat heeled over, she would complain and tell me to get it back on its feet. I'd ask her to take the wheel so I could go forward and make the adjustment and she'd tell me "only after you get the boat back level". Like, how am I suppose to level the boat without leaving the wheel? With all the controls lead back to the helm, that ended the discussions and I just made the adjustment without going anywhere. Turned out to be a nice safety factor as I could react quickly to any situations. I even had Garhauer make me a winch handle that was about 3' long so I could adjust the jib without bothering her. Necessity is the mother of invention!!!
Good idea, Don...
I've got an '87 H31, and I'm embarrassed to say that I can't think of the brand name of the traveler, offhand... but I have considered replacing it, mostly because it's getting pretty worn out. It is a straight track, but it is generally a 2-handed operation to adjust. I've considered routing the lines through the dodger into the cockpit, and putting a couple of cam cleats under the dodger, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, mainly because I'm a lazy b-stard I guess. I'll check out the Garhauer. Thanks for the tip. Seeya round - Rick
I've got an '87 H31, and I'm embarrassed to say that I can't think of the brand name of the traveler, offhand... but I have considered replacing it, mostly because it's getting pretty worn out. It is a straight track, but it is generally a 2-handed operation to adjust. I've considered routing the lines through the dodger into the cockpit, and putting a couple of cam cleats under the dodger, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, mainly because I'm a lazy b-stard I guess. I'll check out the Garhauer. Thanks for the tip. Seeya round - Rick
Traveler Explained
RJ: Contact me at yankee3223@juno.com with your Email address and I'll send you a couple of pictures that will show you how to easily get UNDER the dodger with the Garhauer straight track traveler. Originally, I went through the zipper but when I installed their system the track was longer than the curved track traveler so I cut a hole in the curtain and used thru hull fittings but I didn't like that setup. At a boat show at which I was working with Garhauer in Long Beach, I casually explained my problem to them and they came up with a neat modification to the end blocks, which allowed me to easily and with no loss in efficiency to get under the dodger. Another alternative and probably much cheaper, since you already have the straight track, is have Garhauer rebuild the blocks.
RJ: Contact me at yankee3223@juno.com with your Email address and I'll send you a couple of pictures that will show you how to easily get UNDER the dodger with the Garhauer straight track traveler. Originally, I went through the zipper but when I installed their system the track was longer than the curved track traveler so I cut a hole in the curtain and used thru hull fittings but I didn't like that setup. At a boat show at which I was working with Garhauer in Long Beach, I casually explained my problem to them and they came up with a neat modification to the end blocks, which allowed me to easily and with no loss in efficiency to get under the dodger. Another alternative and probably much cheaper, since you already have the straight track, is have Garhauer rebuild the blocks.
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