Addition of a Harken Traveler to Tayana 37 (Night Heron, Hull #84)
Harvey J. Karten

Our Tayana 37 came with a simple flat steel strap with two pin stops 
on the teak traveler arch. It was nearly impossible to adjust when 
sailing, without serious risk of injury to hands.The traveler car 
was a simple steel device without ball bearings, and a few shreds of 
broken plastic left of the original sliders. It was impossible to 
adjust the pin stops from the cockpit, once we had added a dodger. 
The traveler could not be used dynamically to depower the main in 
gusts. I ended up locking the traveler in the midline, effectively 
not using the traveler at all. 

I initially replaced the pin stops with a pair of end blocks with 
sheaves and cam cleats. They were found in a used marine parts 
store. Made by Shaeffer, they were of solid quality, fit on the old 
track, and by attaching a block on each side of the old traveler 
car, I could obtain 3:1 ratio and adjust the position of the 
traveler from the cockpit. However, the traveler car itself didn't 
move very smoothly, and the whole system didn't work as well as 
modern systems, with all ball bearing cars and blocks. The nature of 
the track didn't permit me to simply replace the old car with a new 
one. The whole apparatus had to be removed and replaced with a a new 
unit. 

The replacement of the old traveler system was fairly 
straightforward, but will take at least 1-2 weekends. 
I decided to go with the Harken for two main reasons:
1) They have a very well designed low profile track. It is slotted 
on the bottom so that you can slide it onto bolt heads installed in 
the old Teak traveler arch on the Tayana 37. The low profile track 
#1846M18 is 1.8 meters. I had it bent to approximate the curve of my 
traveler arch, but remains flexible enough until it is securely 
bolted down that you don't have to match the exact curve. The taller 
track is much less flexible and could be a big problem if it doesn't 
match exactly. 
2) All the end control blocks/sheaves are ball bearing. 
In addition, the Harken gear is generally of excellent quality. 
I bought the Big Boat Car #515
You should buy the simple version of the end control blocks. I 
bought model #563, one for port end and the other for starboard. 
This uses a dual stack sheave. Do not buy the control block with cam 
units #564 and #565. That requires that the leads come in over the 
top of the traveler. This will tear the vinyl windows, since the cam 
cleats are mounted on swing arms. 
 In retrospect, I would have saved money by buying the single height 
sheave, as I had to remove one of the sheaves in order to install 
the "Dodger kit". I can't recall the model number on the single 
sheave version of the #563. 
You also need the double sheave kit that mounts on the traveler car 
to provide a 4:1.

I also realized that the control blocks and cams at each end of the 
track would not integrate smoothly with the dodger. Decided to go 
with a combination of cheek blocks and turning blocks to bring the 
control lines under the teak arch and then into the cockpit. Very 
glad I did this. 

This required the use of the Harken "Dodger Kit" which brings the 
leads from the control blocks onto the forward face of the traveler 
arch, and then down to a pair of standup blocks mounted vertically 
below the Teak arch. This redirects the leads into the cockpit. 

I then mounted a cam cleat below the arch on each side, raised 
slightly on a small piece of teak trim. I used a sturdy pair of 
Schaeffer cam cleats that I happened to have on the boat. The 
position of the cam cleats allows me to release and tighten the 
traveler control lines even from the back of the cockpit. This 
results in yet additional long lines in the cockpit, but it really 
gives good control for single handing. 

The installation requires patience. (So, what else is new?). 

REMOVING THE OLD TRAVELER:
1) Removing the old unit: remove the traveler car. This is easily 
done by removing the end stop fitting on the old traveler track. 
The traveler track on our boat was a simple flat piece of stainless 
plate.
 
In order to remove the track, you have to do the most difficult task 
of the whole procedure. In addition to the simple nuts and bolts 
that run through the track and arch and a few wood screws that hold 
down the track, there are four long bolts that extend down through 
the teak arch and through the 3 inch tall pillars mounted on the 
deck. These long bolts extend into the cabin. In order to reach 
them, you have to remove the overhead teak battens. 

In order to do this, you first pull all the bungs on that particular 
teak batten. The batten, however, will not come free at that point. 
It is partly held in place by the overhead hand rail inside the 
cabin, and by some of the teak trim surrounding the companionway 
hatch slide. 
Using a finishing "Draw Saw", which is only a few dollars, you have 
to carefully cut through the teak overhead batten to free the distal 
ends of the batten. Do it very carefully so that you don't damage 
the headliner. This was fairly tricky, but worked out OK. The thin 
blade of the Draw Saw and its lack of offset teeth minimizes the 
width of the kerf, so the resulting gap consequent to the cutting is 
almost undetectable. ("Almost" is in the eyes of the beholder.)
You now will see several nuts that were previously covered by the 
teak batten. You only want to loosen the four bolts that are holding 
down the traveler bar! 

Having done this, the traveler bar will come free. 

REMOVING THE TEAK ARCH:
You may also want to remove the long bolts that hold the diamond 
shaped base on each end of the traveler arch. They were originally 
installed for use of running backstays. Since I don't use running 
backstays, I removed them. This turns out also to be necessary, as 
otherwise you will not be able to complete the installation of the 
new track, the new car, and end controls. 
I therefore also removed the bolts holding the diamond shaped 
plates. There will still be four bolts that you should not remove at 
this time. They are the ones that hold the supporting pillars under 
the teak arch of the traveler. 

The teak arch will now be free from the boat. Carefully pry it up, 
as the sealant will hold in place until you work it loose. 

You can now use this occasion to strip all the old varnish from the 
teak arch. 

REFINISHING THE TEAK ARCH:
The original traveler bar on our boat was a simple steel strip that 
was elevated slightly above the main teak arch on a thin strip of 
teak that was tacked and glued in place. It was pretty crude and 
easy to remove. I initially thought that it was part of the single 
piece of wood that forms the teak arch. As I started to shave it 
down, I found that there were brass brads at regular intervals, and 
the thin strip of teak (ca. 1/8" high, and about 1" wide) could be 
peeled off without damaging the underlying teak arch. Made life much 
simpler, as I was preparing to spend a half day shaving off the 
elevated teak riser. If you have a tall traveler track, this may not 
be necessary. 

DRILLING ADDITIONAL HOLES FOR THE NEW TRAVELER:
The spacing of original screw holes are not adequate for the new 
bolts. The manufacturer suggested that we use bolts on 4" centers. 
They are hex heads that slip inside the new track and hold it in 
place. I then drilled a series of holes through the teak arch on 
approximately 4" centers. The reason for "approximately 4" was that 
I was able to use some of the original bolt holes to minimize 
weakening the teak arch. 

The front and rear faces of the teak arch have triangular pieces of 
wood to match the original diamond shaped U-bolts for the running 
backstays. You may find it convenient to shave them off, as they may 
interfere with installing the "Dodger kit". That will also allow you 
to use the full length of the 1.8 meters of new track. 

MAKING NEW "LONG" BOLTS FOR THE TRAVELER:
The original bolts that held the teak arch to the coach were about 
7-8 inches in length. It can be a pain finding such bolts with 10 mm 
hex heads. I therefore bought a 36" length of "All-thread" stainless 
steel, and cut four bolts of ca. 8" each. (I first carefully 
measured the lengths required to both fit through the teak arch and 
pillars and coach roof, but not protrude too far so that I would 
have problems reinstalling the overhead teak battens. 

In order to make a sturdy bolt with a hex head, I then used Red Loc-
tite to secure the nut on the all-thread. This will slide into the 
traveler track. You will have to widen the original bolt holes in 
the pillars and coach roof to accommodate the new bolts as they are 
wider diameter than the original ones. 

DETERMINING THE POSITION OF THE DODGER KIT AND THE TURNING BLOCKS:
Now you want to figure out how and where to mount the dodger kit, 
standup turning blocks and cam cleat. Be patient im working this 
out. 
The dodger kit should lead the control lines straight down to the 
turning blocks. The turning blocks should be mounted on a piece of 
teak pad that has been sanded to conform to the shape of curvature 
of the coach roof. It should also be long enough to extend from the 
front face of the teak pillars back aft of the traveler pillars to 
allow mounting a cam cleat. Test the position for your greatest 
comfort. Do the same thing on the opposite side of the coach roof as 
well. 

INSTALL THE TEAK PAD WITH TURNING BLOCKS AND CAMS 
This has to be done before you finally install the teak arch, since 
it is difficult to do this in the narrow space between the arch and 
the coach once the arch is in place. 

FINAL INSTALLATION OF TEAK ARCH AND NEW TRAVELER:
After 6-8 coats of Epifanes Rapidcoat and Rapidclear, I was ready 
for the final assembly. You will need at least two people for this 
part of the job. 

Cover any areas of the deck and companionway that you don't want to 
decorate with black gooey sealant. Use masking tape on the traveler 
arch as well to avoid spreading sealant on your newly varnished teak 
arch. 

Wear disposable gloves, old jeans, and have lots of solvent and 
paper towels nearby.
Put the refinished teak arch in place and slip in the long bolts and 
also all the shorter bolts that will help secure the traveler track 
to the arch. Remember to place sealant between the arch and the teak 
pillars. 

Sorry, but you can't attach the traveler track to the arch before 
you put it on the boat. The bolts attaching the arch to the coach 
roof are not parallel to each other. Therefore you have to put the 
arch in place and then insert the long bolts. There is an alternate 
solution to the problem, but you are better off doing it the hard 
way, reminding yourself that you only have to do it once, if you do 
it correclty. 

Slide the track onto the hex heads of the bolts with one person 
sliding the track, one aligning the track to the hex heads and the 
third person on the opposite end of the track  holding it down. If 
you can't get a third person to help, use those nice adjustable wood 
clamps with squeeze handles that progressively tighten pressure. Use 
hefty backing washers on all bolts as you slip on the nuts. Don't 
forget to use lots of sealant. This is a really messy part of the 
job. Cursing loudly helps. Set the bolts snug, but not yet tight. 
Make sure that you snare all the bolts. The problem is that the 
bolts should be just the correct length, and not overly long. 
Otherwise they will stick down too far and block the sliding of the 
companionway hatch! Have a good selection of wrenches available when 
you do this. 

Once you have managed to get a washer and nut onto every bolt, you 
are almost home free. Now make sure the track is centered as you 
tighten each bolt. 
Clean up excess sealant before you go any further. 

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!:
Now the fun part. 
Read the instructions before you slide on the traveler car. 
Otherwise you may lose all the ball bearings. Slide on the new car.
Mount the end control blocks with dodger kit. Locate the suitable 
position for the bolt used to secure the control blocks. 
Carefully drill the track in the correct location. Measure three 
times, as you only want to drill once! Do not drill into the teak 
arch! Thread the 3/8" control lines in place. If everything looks 
OK, slide on the end trim pieces. 
Attach your mainsheet block to the traveler car. You may need an 
additional standup block for this, depending on the brand of block 
you use. I have a Garhauer triple and it needs the standup to 
prevent the block from toppling over and fouling the mainsheet. 

I may have forgotten one or two small tasks, but that should cover 
most of the job. 
Fall exhausted into the cockpit. Take off the rubber disposable 
gloves. Scrub the excess sealant from you arms, face, tools, etc. 
Reach for a beer. Don't go sailing until the next day. You will do 
better with a good night's sleep. 

RETROSPECTIVE:
Was it all worth it? Absolutely. You now can really set the trim on 
your mainsail. 
When a gust hits, reach for the traveler control lines, not the 
mainsheet. 
You will be able to maintain speed, angle to the wind, etc. 
And weather helm will almost  disappear when your traveler is used 
correctly. 
My only regret is that I didn't configure it as a 5:1, rather than 
4:1. But that would result in still longer lengths of line in the 
cockpit. With a full unreefed main in 20-25 knots of wind, (Yes, I 
know I should have reefed at about 18 knots of wind, but I do like 
to push the boat) and a full genny, I can easily depower with a 
quick snap of the traveler control line. I do have to put some back 
muscles into it to pull the traveler back to windward. But under 
more sensible style of sailing (with a reefed main at 20 knots, or a 
typical 12 knots with full sail) it is easy to haul the traveler to 
windward. 
A traveler is a vital piece of equipment if you want the boat to be 
balanced, and avoid overloading your helmsman, be it human or an 
autopilot. 

regards, 
Harvey

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Harvey J. Karten, M.D.
Dept. of Neurosciences
UCS
La Jolla, CA 92093
EMail: hjkarten@ucsd.edu