# traveler:cabin top or cockpit?



## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

I am looking at two similar 1989 Tartan 34-2s. One has the traveler on top and the other has it in the cockpit right in front of the pulpit. What differences would I expect in sailing?
Thanks!


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## sanctuarysam (Sep 16, 2006)

*near and dear to my heart*

this is a subject that helped decide which boats stayed or fell off my short list (S2 some C&Cs).
there are some great boats that have travelers mounted right in the path of the companionway..now,if this isn't a problem for you..or if one mounted mid cockpit (like my old J/24..great for racing..not cruiser friendly)
my bottom line..if everybody who sails on your boat is a seasoned sailor..and doesn't mind having to deal with the space limitations of having a traveler in the cockpit..i say this is the best choice..in my situation..having a coach mounted traveler, although less convenient, and i think less effective, affords more space and comfort for less experienced sailors.
i chose comfort..YMMV


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

For pure usability and convenience, I think the traveller should be forward of the helmsman in his or her normal position (tiller steering) This way whichever tack you are one, mainsheet and traveller control lines are within easy reach of your free hand.

Travellers that are mounted aft of the cockpit are more awkward to make use of.

Mid cockpit travellers do introduce possible shin crunchers, however, but bridgedeck mounted ones generally do not. Here, however you run the risk of interfering with the companionway, and limiting options for dodgers.

My biggest beef with coach roof mounted travellers is the reduced mechanincal advantage, and added stress to the boom from a mid-boom mounted traveller. These usually end up using a winch for trimming and the winch is often under the dodger - slow and inconvenient.

So in the balance, I like a traveller that I can easily use, so forward in the cockpit, preferably on the aft edge of a bridge deck, and live with the possible inconvenience of having to slide it to one side or the other when in port. 

Ours, on the bridge deck, is easily adjusted and the mainsheet has sufficient purchase to be easily adjusted. When at anchor or in port, I release a snap shackle that we installed at the mainsheet/traveller attachment and clip it the sheet to the toerail, totally clearing the cockpit area.


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

Eastbay,

My personal opinion, as I have owned and run both:

1) Racing - in the cockpit. It allows the helmsman to make many corrections himself without letting go of the tiller. 

2) All others - over the cabin. Witht the exception of racers, most people spend the vast majority of their time either at anchor or at the marina... why would you want to keep stepping over that thing??

These are just my opinions and experience. Others have valid points too.


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Your going to get better sail control with the traveler mounted in the cockpit and the sheet attatched further aft on the boom. The traveler itself will also be wider.

Most of today's cruising boats put the traveler on the cabin trunk to open up the cockpit, bridgedeck, and companionway. 

The one compromise on our boat that I am not very fond of.

Stuck behind the wheel at the pedestal, the captain has little or no control of the main. If I want to trim the main I either have to a) ask somebody else to trim it b) put her on auto pilot, step around the wheel, and trim myself, or c) ask somebody else to take the helm while I trim it.

We normally opt for option (b). I use the auto pilot while I step around the wheel to reach the cabin trunk where the sheet terminates and where the traveler is located. Its not the best set up, but it generally works for cruising boats.


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## CBinRI (May 17, 2004)

sanctuarysam said:


> this is a subject that helped decide which boats stayed or fell off my short list (S2 some C&Cs).
> there are some great boats that have travelers mounted right in the path of the companionway..now,if this isn't a problem for you..or if one mounted mid cockpit (like my old J/24..great for racing..not cruiser friendly)
> my bottom line..if everybody who sails on your boat is a seasoned sailor..and doesn't mind having to deal with the space limitations of having a traveler in the cockpit..i say this is the best choice..in my situation..having a coach mounted traveler, although less convenient, and i think less effective, affords more space and comfort for less experienced sailors.
> i chose comfort..YMMV


My last boat's traveler was not in the cockpit and I expected it to be much more of an issue when I bought a boat that did than it really was. It really has not been a problem at all and it is much easier to control and adjust.


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

By the way, does anyone have a Tartan 34-2 I can come look at? the ones I am interested in are out of town. Around 1989 vintage in the San Francisco Bay Area.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Just curious while we're discussing this topic, which designs are the safest? In other words which design would be less likely to snap the boom. I'm thinking the mid boom mounted is safest. It would seem (to me ?) that if the sheet/traveler was at the aft end of the boom, in a severe jib it could stress the boom and snap...all gone.

Thoughts...


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## Gene T (May 23, 2006)

eastbaylostboys said:


> I am looking at two similar 1989 Tartan 34-2s. One has the traveler on top and the other has it in the cockpit right in front of the pulpit. What differences would I expect in sailing?
> Thanks!


If the traveler is in front of the wheel it will be easy to adjust by the helmsman, a big plus in single handling. The loads will be less for the sheet and traveler adjust. It will cause some problems, maybe safety concerns for any crew that might get caught by the sheet in a flying jibe.

I agree with cruisingdad, and I absolutely hate having a traveler in the middle of the cockpit or in front of the companionway, it is unusable by the helmsman and in the way for the crew. I have mixed feeling about having one right in front of the wheel. I have seen cabin top mounted setups with the main sheet running back to the helmsman but don't know how well it worked.

Then there is Hunters idea of mounting the traveler on an arch above the cockpit, but the sheet still adjusts under the dodger. After sailing one I was left thinking it didn't work as well as it should have.

Safety wise there are much lower loads on the rig/boom with boom end sheeting, but crew safety is better with mid-boom sheeting, i.e. cabin top traveler mounting.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

"Just curious while we're discussing this topic, which designs are the safest?"

Mid boom sheeting provides little to no support for the part of the boom aft of the sheet attachment(s), and the reduced mechanical advantage places higher loads on the sheet itself.

As an analogy, consider a plank supported on two sawhorses, with the sawhorses close to each end, vs the same plank with one sawhorse at the end, the other in the middle. How strong is the unsupported end of the plank if you were to walk out onto it?

In a severe gybe I would think that the inertia of the sweeping boom, when caught up short by a mid boom sheeting arrangement, could carry on to snap the boom at the mainsheet point, especially with a big breeze behind it.

A spinnaker pole, if allowed to go hard against the forestay with a breeze in the sail, will be similarly unsupported beyond the forestay and can easily snap at that point.

I vote for the boom-end sheet attachment as the safer, stronger one.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'd agree with Faster that end-boom sheeting is safer. Also, since the main sheet has more leverage, because it is at the end of the lever arm, rather than in the middle, it is often easier to control an end-boom main sheet, and requires less strength, given the same size block and tackle.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Faster...

If you walk along that plank, which one would better hold the weight, the one where the sawhorses are closer together or saw horses on the end. I bring this up because I have seen a photos (one of my sail mags) of a boom that in fact did snap in half because of a jib that had the end boom sheeting?

PS...If the end did break off (as you mentioned above) you would still have a usable boom, provided you reef, as opposed to no boom because it snapped in the middle? Ummmmmm


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

IMHO, if you encounter forces that are going to snap a boom that is end-boom-sheeted, it is pretty likely they would have snapped a boom that was mid-boom-sheeted as well, and it is more likely that they would damage the sheet in the case of a mid-boom-sheeting setup. 

If the boom did snap, what is the difference...in an end-boom sheeting setup, you will have to re-attach the mainsheet...which is usually just two screws or pop-rivets and moving the padeye. Big deal. 

Of course, there is one mid-boom sheeting setup that is probably safer than the end-boom setup is one where the load is spread across three widely separated single blocks, rather than a double or triple block in just one location. However, this setup has other problems. While it fairly evenly spreads the load across the boom, the mainsheet takes up a relatively large amount of space and makes the installation of a dodger and bimini almost impossible.


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## Jotun (May 4, 2006)

So, can you relocate the traveler from the cockpit to the cabin top?


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## Gary M (May 9, 2006)

I just helped a friend bring home a new to him boat, a Ticon 30. Very well done crusing boat. 
It has the traveler on the cabin top and though it was set up pretty well I disliked it. In a puff it is very difficult to ease the traveller to the point that you just do not do it. Easing the sheet was not much better. 

If you sail in a location where you get a fair bit of wind that could be a factor. On the other hand most dedicated cruisers seem to get by with the cabin mounted design. I am a racer so have a strong peference for performance.

You can move a traveller to the cabin top on most boats but you would have to know what you are doing to make sure it is strong enough. Width of companion way hatch etc. will have a big impact.

A mid boom set up requires significantly more strengh than an end boom so the support for the track must be adequate.
Check out the Harken site and you will see that when selecting blocks etc. the mid boom hardware must be larger.

Gary


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Jotun-

You can do a lot of things...whether it is wise to do it is a different story.


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