Travelers on C34

[mark_53]

I was reading a thread on another board about the use of travelers.  Just wondering how others use their travelers.  I rarely use mine.  I find if I want to let the main out, I just use the mainsheet.  The traveler seems to do the same thing.  I could see how you use it to bring the boom a little closer to center-line but not very much.

[Jim Hardesty]

All the sail controls work to give the best sail shape.  In higher winds you put more twist into the sail.  You let the sheet out and trim the boom back with the traveler.  I highly recommend Don Guilletts book and chart
http://www.sailtrimproducts.com/products.html
When I was googling it saw that it was offered by the C30IA
Back to the book and chart.  I feel that it's the most complete and simplest information of sail trim.  I keep it on Shamrock and reread it in the spring.
Always more to learn about sailing.
Jim

[Stu Jackson]

The travelers on our boats are among the best I've seen anywhere.  Sure, some folks "set 'em and forget 'em," but others of us use them as they were intended to be used.

I've found that it is MUCH easier to play the traveler than it is to keep adjusting the mainsheet, and a LOT less work.  Think about it...

Plus, when you change the mainsheet you are not adjusting the angle of attack, you re changing the shape of the mainsail.  Two completely different functions.

[kwaltersmi]

If we're cruising I use the traveler a lot for adjustments, mainly to keep me occupied.  If we're lazy day sailing, I rarely touch it.  I use it most by bringing the boom up to windward when pinching hard on a close reach.

[mark_53]

Thank you all for your thoughtful answers.  Here is my takeaway.  Since I have a rigid vang, my sail shape stays the same when moving the boom to leeward from close to centerline.  In this situation, the vang keeps the boom down and flattens the mainsail.  The mainsheet lets the boom out, same as the traveler would do.  Using the traveler to move the boom leeward would be a matter of personal choice as to which is easier in this scenario.
When on a close reach, the mainsheet cannot bring the boom to centerline or beyond to windward.  To do this I would need to use the traveler.  Do I have this about right?

[Stu Jackson]

Pretty close, Mark.  What you described is called "vang sheeting" IIRC although I could be wrong here, where you depend on the vang to keep the boom down and in the same vertical position using the mainsheet to move it horizontally, rather than the traveler.

Just know that conceptually it "should be" the same, and only over a short distance, but with my single old style mainsheet, I find it far easier to adjust the angle of attack with the traveler than with having to let out and then recover with the mainsheet.  With a double ended or more purchased mainsheet it might be a different story.

One of the very best sail trim guides ever written:

https://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?51998/Sail+Trim+Users+Guide

[bayates]

We tend to use the traveler way more than the main sheets. Much easier to tune.

[Jim Hardesty]

from Stu

One of the very best sail trim guides ever written:

https://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?51998/Sail+Trim+Users+Guide

FWIW  I find the after reading the book the trimming charts (not included with the book) very useful to use in the cockpit while I'm trimming the sails.  I get them out to tune my trimming skills, not every sail, but every once in a while just to check myself out.

Happy trimming,
Jim