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E38 Traveler Replacement - Harken

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Progress report July 10, 2011

I can't believe this has gone on for 3 months.

Today the sliding hatch gets it's new acrylic. The old acrylic was smoked (0.175" thick) almost opaque and the new is clear 1/4" (0.23" actually). Using Sikaflex 295UV and the various primers (209D and 206G+P) and cleaners (226) as recommended by Sika.

The seahood is back at the boat, but not installed. I put 7 layers of fiberglass and epoxy on the underside to cover where the wood boxes used to be, leaving only toe or finger holds on top. I drilled drain holes and epoxied the edges yesterday. Will paint the bottoms next.

The stuck seahood mounting screw has been removed and I drilled through into the cabin where I will add a small stainless backing plate. The threaded aluminum plate embedded in the layup is a continuous bar. I filled the gaping hole with epoxy yesterday and will re-drill the final hole today. Fingers crossed on the leak possibility.

I filled the 12 original mounting holes (6 per side) from the old channel, and two holes on the seahood that I won't use for the new traveler, with epoxy. Will drill new holes for the 3/8" end screw and two more 5/16" screws near the track ends. The risers are 1.125" thick with a plywood center - lots of material there. Need to check alignment of the seahood holes today, before drilling them out to 5/16" (they are 1/4" now). I will pick-up 8 of them.

Still need to cut the track to length and drill the end holes after checking the fit with the seahood in place.

I'll post some pictures later, of some of the progress. The end is in sight.

P.S. I think the seahood drain holes were added later. I found evidence that they were drilled after the seahood was mounted. I also see some signs that the water got pretty high inside there at one time. That could cause leaks into the cabin, I would think.
 
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footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Final results

I got back from a business trip on Aug 26th and spent parts of the next three days finishing the installation of the traveler, the turning blocks for the control lines, and the cam cleats adjacent to the companionway. Labor Day weekend we left Saturday and got in a good sail on the way to Poulsbo in 13-18 knots and gave the traveler it's first tryout. It worked just fine, albeit with the main hoisted to the first reef. We were on a close reach, a reach and finally went downwind. So far the traveler passes the test. Sometime this fall I'll get out in some wind with a full main and finish taking a look at how it handles the forces.

The bend ended up being off a little and a friend and I fabricated a couple of Delrin blocks 1/2 inch tall to make the best compromise on the fit. It looks good - symmetrical. Even though the Harken high profile track is designed to span 45 inches unsupported, I picked up 3 holes in the seahood near the center of the boat. I filled the rest of them.

The dodger was installed before I knew what the new traveler would need for control lines, so the lines are turned with small blocks and they run through existing gaps. No mods to the canvas are needed. The line diameter is 3/8 inch. The cam cleats are Harken 265s. I will need to add a couple small rub strips to the seahood and the edge of the Spinlock clutches to protect the starboard line from wear. The end caps for the track still need to be trimmed and installed.

The other two jobs I did along with this were the seahood repair, on the forward end (blue tape), where I glassed in the underside where the wooden boxes were. There is still a shallow toehold or a place for small parts or tools. The companionway hatch smoked acrylic was replaced with new clear acrylic and the aft stop pad was replaced.

This took a lot longer than I expected, but that should be no surprise to anyone who has ever worked on a boat. :mouseears

2011-09-09_10-55-06_781-land.jpg 2011-09-09_10-55-57_548-land.jpg
 
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