Considering a 'traveller'

[amidships]

Guys,

considering putting a traveller onto my 1970's Folkboat. The mainsheet currently goes to an oak post in the cockpit floor but would like to move this onto a traveller on the aft deck.

Anyone got any suggestions/hints/tips? This area is not I suspect, very 'structural' so will need beefing-up to take the loads. Also, the tiller extends over this deck area so a cut-out will be needed perhaps?

Thanks
Amidships

[Brent B]

An adjustable bridle can be used as a traveler with a lot less investment than installing a track. Check out the ones used on modern racing Lightnings. These are more elaborate than you need, but they will give you the idea of how it is done, and you can simplify to suit.

The load is carried out at the rails, so no deck reinforcement is necessary. The bridle goes over the tiller, so no problem there either.

Brent
Lightning 11444, Thistle 3507

[Dan McCosh]

A typical traveler has a cross-section that distrbutes the loads, and doesn't need much reinforcement. Might ask what you expect to gain, however. The main reason usually is to depower the main in a breeze. The Folkboat was designed with a bendy rig to accomplish the same thing without a traveler.

[ahp]

A traveler allows you to control twist of the mainsail, by moving the traveler car outboard and then pulling the sheet tight. Another way to control and regulate twist is a vang, a three or four part tackle running from about the mid point of the boom to the foot of the mast. This is class leagal and I have seen it on photos of Folkboats racing. It might also be easier to rig than a traveler track and car, or whatever.

[John Turpin]

If the goal is to remove that tangly obstruction in the middle of the cockpit (as opposed to better sail shape control), Brent's bridle idea is a good one.

[Noah]

I think you will have a hard time adding a traveler to the back deck of your boat. The Folkboat boom is pretty short and really wants to be sheeted in the middle of the cockpit.

Most Folkboats that are raced use a trav, and it crosses the cockpit about where the post would be. In some ways it's cleaner than the post, as your sheets tend to get wrapped around the post.

I think that a trav makes a pretty big difference in how the Folkboat sails, and it's worth adding.

BTW, in the end I made a new boom that was 1.2ft longer and used a Melges 24 main. It has the same hoist, but a ton of roach. It really made my old boat go in light wind.

Good luck,

Noah

[Paul Fitzgerald]

My wife has a marieholm international folkboat, with a traveller across the middle of the cockpit, which is as much of a nuisance as a sheet on a post. We sheeted it from the end of the boom to blocks behind the cockpit, but the sheet snagged on the helmswomans head, so we went back to the original. Some of the english contessas have a tube bridle behind the cockpit (which is further back than the normal folkboat cockpit) and it seems to work.
If you put a traveller behind the cockpit it would also be a good idea to lengthen the boom so the sheet is vertical when you are on the wind.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Noah, how did the bigger main affect the balance of your boat? Did you get more helm? We have the standard rig and its possible to trim the boat on the wind so you dont touch the tiller at all.

[Noah]

The bigger main did add some weather helm to the boat, but it really wasn't that bad. I used the smaller original main when the wind was cooking because I didn't want to stress the rig too much.

In light air, and down wind, the big roached out Melges main was great. It really transformed the boat in under 10 knots of wind.

I did build a new rudder for the boat, which had much more of a foil to it than the original flat rudder. It generated more lift, and may have helped reduce the helm.

The great thing about the Melges mainsail is that they have the same hoist, and there are tons of used racing sails out there that can be had for very cheap.

Because of the huge roach, I had to add a "kicker" to the top of the mast to help hold the backstay out. This is basically a piece of fiberglass stock that sticks out the back of the mast and helps keep the backstay off the main. The fiberglass is flexible, so as you pull on the backstay it bends down.