Traveler for 37 SunODD

[stack]

Never liked how much effort it takes to adjust to lee.
Any ideas as to what I can do to make a traveling mans life more effortless.
It's not a big deal, but now that my wife and I have most of the other things that bothered us worked out, we often think of doing something to the traveler.... Thanks in advance to all you smart sailors.

[flightdeck]

Hi Stack,
In the general forum, there is a post re 33i and traveller, that may be of some use to you.
Cheers

[davideso37]

Stack,
We have the SO 37 with the cabin mounted traveller. As supplied the number of pulleys in the system were not enough for effortless handling. We tried everything including extra pulleys added to each side. That helped but as the traveller slammed from side to side with each gybe the added pulleys were caught between the stops and the traveller car and destroyed. We added winches to both sides of the cabin top and that was Ok with the original number of purchases but it tied up winches needed for other duties and was not as responsive as manhandled leads.
I have given up the pursuit for a better solution and have reverted to the original purchases and use the winches when needed. We now mostly center the traveller and adjust the mainsheet and rely on the vang to keep the tension in the mainsail. We added a taller mast and longer boom this year and generally race well overpowered so having a bit of twist in the mainsail,when we depower, is not a bad thing for us.
Regards
David

[stack]

Thanks Cheers and thank you David....My Son and his wife let the traveler depower or move before coming about, then they only have to ease into position that they choose, instead of winching to lee.

[MartyB]

If you do not mind losing some of your cockpit, you may want to look at how the SF37 mounts a traveler just forward of the wheel, this would give you a bit more power with the same ratio of sheaves. Another option I think someone has done, is go to a german system, I think this may work, I have to admit, I have not used this system, so I am not real familiar with it to know if it would work as well as the SF system would.

marty

[steveevans]

We had problem both cruising and racing with main sheet traveler. We installed
A a Harken traveler in the cockpit so helmsman can ease when necessary. Like a car with no brake if you can't touch main sheet you have no controll. Racing is so
Much more fun if helmsman or trimmer can instantly ease or trim to fit conditions.
Easy to install traveler in cockpit and makes Jeanneau so much more fun to sail.

[Phantom]

The traveler upgrade that Harken setup for our 39i-P includes a:
R32HB.1.8m TRK-32MM BB Hi BEAM
E3250.HL TRAV END CTRL SET-32MM BB HL DBL W/DEAD END
T3242B.HL CAR-32MM BB HL CB TRAV W/TOG & 4:1 CTRLS
(2) 2652 BLK-40MM CARBO W/SPRING,EYESTRAP.
Since we are currently installing the traveler, I cannot comment on improved sail performance but it is a significant improvement over the OE traveler.

[so40gtb]

I'm not familiar with the details of the SO37 traveler configuration. If you have the Amiot traveler with the internal cam cleats, as did my SO34.2, then said cleats are your problem. Take them out of the traveler, mount replacements on the cabintop, a meter away from the traveler, and 80% of the binding will go away.

I'm finishing up a write-up on this mod and hope to have it submitted to Hints & Tips by the end of the coming week.

--Karl

[chumu]

I have posted this before, but here's the solution I came up with. My boat is a SO37 - 2000..... I replaced the short ( and worn out ) Amiot traveler with a longer Harken one. New car/blocks, but same Spinlock clutch. An added bonus, with the clutch open the line leads to the winch and my crew ( wife ) has no problems sliding the line off the winch to drop the traveler. I had the stainless ends welded up at my local stainless shop. I made wooden mockups and he duplicated them in stainless. It's a bit of a hassle dropping all the headliners in the cabin, and drilling the holes, but it's a nice solution.

www.flickr.com/photos/spartrek/4943627192/

Chumu
Sun Odyssey 37
Ann and Dennis Angle

[lateron]

Different boat but same thread re traveller. I have a 2004 SO32 tiller steering and am thinking of either removing the base for the cockpit table and installing just a multi ratio block and mainsheet tackle in the cockpit, after strenghthening the area:
or fitting a short traveller across the cockpit floor at this point with the sheet going to the rear of the boom. Any tips or photos from anybody who has done this mod. Need to have instant control when singlehanding. A dummy run looks like the mainsheet should stay clear of the sprayhood.
Thanks Ron

[davideso37]

Ron,

I did not get any comments when I asked if travellers were over rated. I added a pad eye to our SO37 cockpit floor ahead of the pedestal when we lengthened the boom and we sheet the boom from this single point. It has not been a problem with racing as the vang is strong enough to prevent sail twist. The mainsheet in the cockpit has however been a big issue and is quite dangerous when gybing. If you are single handed most of the time it should not be a problem but when we have a cockpit full of social racers I have to be very vigilant that the mainsheet is guided from side to side in the gybes. Also you will have to attach the mainsheet behind the tiller so that will keep it out of the way.
I see many good boats that do not have travellers including Foundation 36s, Hanses and some top line maxis that have single boom sheeting point in the cockpit so I wonder why we spend so much on gear that just gets in the way.
Regards
David

[lateron]

Thanks David. I think I'm going to try the single point sheeting in the cockpit. The 32 has a very long cockpit fot its size and in fact the point I will install the pad eye is forward of the tiller ......just! So should be ok . I take the point about gybing, my last boat was a Hunter Ranger 265 with a single point in the cockpit so we got used to that. I normally sail 2 up and often one person is left to do everything and I think the ability to immediately ease the main is worth the sheet in the cockpit. However if I don't like it at least I'll have got rid of the hole for the cockpit table and have another place to clip a harness to.
May do the mod this winter and let you know if it works. I was thinking 6:1 ratio for the sheeting , what does anybody reckon? That's what I've seen on the Jeanneau 36 sailing school boats in my marina.

Cheers Ron

[ianqv]

Jul 17, 2011 3:21:32 GMT so40gtb said:

I'm not familiar with the details of the SO37 traveler configuration. If you have the Amiot traveler with the internal cam cleats, as did my SO34.2, then said cleats are your problem. Take them out of the traveler, mount replacements on the cabintop, a meter away from the traveler, and 80% of the binding will go away.

I'm finishing up a write-up on this mod and hope to have it submitted to Hints & Tips by the end of the coming week.

--Karl

Hi Karl,

Did you finish your write?
Soz if I missed it, but couldn't find it.

Regards

Ian

[tedp]

Not having read about mainsheet travellers for some time, I was drawn to this thread by a reply earlier this month. The subject of travellers has come up several times before in other threads. Perhaps the effect of a traveller on a big deep keel boat (which tracks better due to its underwater configuration) is small. I have sailed in a Hunter 36 which has only a 1 ft excuse for a traveller mounted on the wheel pedestal and we never needed it.

In an over-canvassed shoal draught boat like the SO32 mainsail trim is far more critical, as many SO32 owners will know. The disadvantage of the standard 2-point cruising mainsheet system has been discussed many times. It may well be that a single point fixed mainsheet arrangement is better. After all, from what I hear it works on the SO29.2. I sailed with a mainsheet traveller in another boat for many years and on the SO32 I miss it sorely. I myself would however aim for a cabin top traveller system similar to the one described by Flightdeck, or the one on Chumu's SO37, for safety reasons.

Something has been written in this thread about the dangers of having a mainsheet in the cockpit of a big boat, and this goes especially for a mainsheet traveller. I only have to point to the risk of mauled fingers that were in the way. Even on a small boat I always warned my kids to keep their hands away from the track when going about. Having the track low down on the cockpit floor means it only has a short way to travel and therefore less trim range, but it is safer than having one on seat level. A good example is described here: www.jeanneau-owners2.com/hintsandtips/id183.htm.

As to traveller control, you need enough purchase to be able to haul it to luff (not to lee) without a winch, but if there is too much load on it, luff momentarily so the load comes off and haul away on the traveller line. A winch is only rarely needed unless racing. The traveller should be checked by the control lines, not by banging against a stop. There usually is enough 'spring' in the lines to prevent excessive peak loads.

On a tiller steered boat I think a rooftop mounted traveller should be no problem. The helmsman can jump forward if needed to release the traveller line in a gust. If the release is positioned at the edge of the cabin roof this won't be a problem. On the SO32 I sit about halfway the cockpit anyway due to the long tiller. A wheel steered boat is different because of the bulk of the wheel to move around.

If you need to bring anything towards the helmsman I would think of the traveller lines rather than the mainsheet. In a traveller fitted boat, the first thing I do in a gust is move the traveller to lee - I hardly ever touch the mainsheet. This immediately relieves pressure on the rudder and enables you to keep the course. If that isn't enough, I dump the main as a last resort, but then you're losing control anyway.

Over to you!

[so40gtb]

After months of procrastination, for no good reason, my SO34.2 Amiot traveler modification write-up can now be found at Hints & Tips.

--Karl

[steveevans]

Traveler on cabintop didn't work well for
racing or cruising. The helmsman couldn't
ease the main when getting overpowered.
Our solution is mounting Harken traveler
In cockpit infront of table. A few quick connectors
and mainsheet and block can be stored out of the
Way for long periods of dock or anchor. Our boat is a
bit tender so main controll is very important.
Captn steve [e-mail]