[Rhodes22-list] Alternate Location for Traveler Bar

[Robert Skinner]

Jim Richardson wrote:
> I have a question about the Traveler Bar.  Has anyone
> heard of relocating this bar to the cockpit just before
> the cabin entrance? ...  What are the advantages if any
> and wouldn't this degrade the Rhodes ability to absorb
> the stress from an accidental jibe?...

Jim -

The racing crowd is more likely to have the main 
sheet cleat, etc. centrally located than the cruising 
sailors.  It is more convenient for fast tacks, etc.

But the boom must be stiffer to cope with the stresses, 
at least when using a loose-footed sail (where the clew 
is attached to the end of the boom, and the foot of the 
sail is free).  Since the pull of the loose-footed sail 
is transmitted to the end of the boom, the boom is 
subjected to compressive forces for the most part -- 
if the main sheet is also attached to the end of the 
boom.  

If the main sheet attachment is moved to a central 
point on the boom, then that spar is now asked to cope 
with both compressive and bending forces, as if it were 
a beam between two posts and had a point load in the 
middle.  In the event of an accidental jibe, the forces 
are dynamic as well as static, and can easily peak high 
enough to fold a weak boom in half.

I think you are right to be concerned, I'd restore the 
original main sheet routing ASAP if it were my boat.

Additionally, IMHO, it declutters the cockpit.

/Bob Skinner