Mainsail Traveller out of Cockpit

[rockman]

Hi,

Just sitting here thinking about another mod for the Mac26M.

Has anybody moved the traveller off the standard cockpit mount, onto a overhead mounting position? I have seen a mounting onto the roof of the cabin. I was thinking of fitting a new stainless mast holder and setting it up so that it would follow the arch of the front Bimini frame, onto this would go the mainsail traveller.

Now i realise the at the adjustment for the traveller would be harder to work - because it would not be in the cockpit - but above the head of the captain. But for cruising and general usage it would free up a little more valuable cockpit space.

Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated,


Cheers

Rockman

[Frank C]

Will the mast holder/arch be over the cockpit or over the transom? Over the transom probably won't work without a longer boom, since the mainsheet needs to be nearly vertical to have leverage vs. the sail. But a longer boom would interfere with the bimini for sure.

If the arch is over the cockpit, it's either too short to walk beneath, or it's so high that you'll need to recut the main to shorten the leech. In this latter case the boom will need to rise at a pretty good angle to leave space between the boom and arch for the mainsheet tackle, say about a foot clear. One last consideration ... the arch needs to withstand jibing shocks, probably needs to be at least 2" aluminum pipe, well braced.

I discussed this with a sailmaker once. His opinion was that designing the mainsail was no problem, that the main would not lose too much power (aft section), and that a rising boom was no problem, within limits (many boats are so-designed).

In fact, the arch and rising boom enable safer sailing and a very substantial, headspace Bimini. Other nice features of a cockpit arch ... it can carry all your antennae, the traveler track, plus a radar and transom seats. But, I'd guesstimate the arch at about 2 Bbucks, plus another Buck for traveler and sail mods. It adds up quickly.

[rockman]

Hi,

THanks for the suggestions. I was thinking of sitting the arch just in front of the bimini - this would solve the problem of keeping the boom above traveller. But we still need to raise the boom a little to get the traveller in.

I will measure up when i am out next-maybe it will be to hard.

Cheers

Simon

[baldbaby2000]

There's a lot of force on that mainsheet block so whatever you do make sure it's strong enough.

BB

[Terry]

There isn't really a whole lot of room for an arch under the boom and over the cockpit but I have also pondered the idea of an improved M traveller. For starters it should never have been installed on a cheap T-beam, but instead an I-beam with bearings for easier movement. The standard traveller is also a bit short and I have often wondered if one could relocate it a few more inches away from the companiomway step so that it could be longer across the cockpit. Of course this would interfere with seating against the bulkhead somewhat but that spot isn't so great on the M anyway. Perhaps a removeable arch that slides onto the genoa tracks like the bimini might be an option, over and above the original traveller. One could put it on for day sailing when not using the bimini or genoa. Just a thought.

[baldbaby2000]

I agree that a car with bearings would be nice. I added purchase to mine and lube it both of which help a lot.

BB

[mtc]

That's a lot of work to move the traveler. Would there be that much performance gain?

I increased the purchase on my traveler car just by moving around the stock hardware and mounting a dual block.

Works like a charm. Would be nice to have more room, though.