[Rhodes22-list] Traveller clam cleat replacement

[Bill Effros]

Mark,

More from Roger:

Larry,

In gusty conditions, my usual sailing position is up on the windward gunnel at 
the traveler steering with the tiller extension.  Quite often, I will pull the 
traveler car up the track to weather & then let out enough mainsheet to center 
the boom.  This geometry permits the boom to rise a bit to put some twist in 
the upper part of the mainsail to spill wind.  I would imagine your IMF 
mainsail with no battens would be very sensitive to this trick.  With no 
battens, your mainsail should twist & spill wind like mad.  With only a 2:1 
block & tackle on the traveler car, I've never had mine jam when I wanted to 
dump it.  In fact, just the opposite.  With only 2:1 rigging & the traveler car 
pulled up to the weather end of the track, dumping the traveler seems to let 
the boom out faster than letting out the 4:1 mainsheet.  After the gust has 
passed, the 2:1 rigging lets you get the traveler car back into position faster 
than the mainsheet too, assuming you're strong enough.  My wife & sons complain 
the 2:1 rigging isn't enough mechanical advantage for them to use when it's 
really windy.  I wish the traveler control lines were led around a block at the 
end of the traveler track so you could pull on the control line from in front 
of the traveler instead of from the side.  Even sitting up on the windward 
gunnel, you have to reach around the end of the track to use the clam cleat & 
it's a little ackward.  This winter, I have a project planned wherein I'm going 
to take Harken 256 (port) & 257 (starboard) traveler control cars & machine out 
the bottom so they fit over the round Rhodes 22 traveler bar instead of the 
proprietary Harken traveler track.  I'll thru bolt these modified Harken cars 
in place of the present clam cleats at each end of the traveler bar.  I'm 
expecting this modification will get me several advantages:

    1.  The control line will now be one continuous loop instead two separate
        lines.  The mainsail trimmer will not have to leave the windward gunnel
        in order to manipulate the leeward traveler control line.

    2.  The Harken 256 & 257 control cars have built-in ball bearing blocks & a
        356 Cam-Matic cam cleat on a pivoting arm.  This combination of features
        should permit the traveler control line to be operated from an
        ergonomically better position in front of the traveler, hopefully
        without an unacceptable increase in friction.

    3.  I'm hoping the helmsman will be able to move slightly forward
        for a better view of the genoa telltales & to be more nearly
        perpendicular to the end of the tiller for good steering.  It may even
        be possible to play the traveler while seated in the cockpit!

    4.  I'm hoping the improved ergonomics will give my wife & sons the extra
        mechanical advantage they need to operate the traveler in heavy air. 
             
Sounds like maybe the moving parts on your traveller car could use a little 
TLC.  My traveler car rolls pretty freely, even under load.  If it didn't; 
then, I would thru bolt a section of Harken 154 small boat traveler track to 
the existing traveler rod & use one of the ball bearing Harken traveler cars 
along with the 256 & 257 traveler control cars.  This configuration is probably 
the ultimate Rhodes 22 traveler.  But, as I said, my traveler car rolls pretty 
easily, even under load, & I don't think it's necessary to go to the Harken 
ball bearing traveler cars.

By the way, sailing in gusty conditions is a proactive as opposed to a reactive 
activity.  By that I mean you need to be scanning the surface of the water out 
to windward looking for the dark patches that signal a gust.  On Dynamic 
Equilibrium, anyone who spots the gust will call it out & count it down as it 
comes in.  The helmsman prepares by heading off the wind a bit if possible & 
the sail trimmers ease out on the sheets & traveller.  When the gust hits, the 
boat is already preconfigured to accelerate rather than heel.  After we've 
sucked every last knot of boat speed from the gust, we point back up & spend 
our hard won kinetic energy to climb to windward.  Gusts are not something to 
be feared; but, rather handy little packets of energy that need to be harvested 
& used.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
On 9/23/98 7:33PM, in message <3609855D.FC7CB4AE at sparcomcorp.com>, Larry Sparks 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Mark Kaynor 
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org 
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 8:09 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Traveller clam cleat replacement


Has anyone replaced the clam cleats on the traveller with cam cleats? If so, how, what parts, etc? Thanks.

Mark Kaynor
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