Traveller pulling up hatch cover

[Mikebat]

I have a E32-200 I bought this January, and this weekend I noticed that my traveller seems to be pulling up the screwed-down cover over the top of the companionway hatch. See photo:

The visible crack in the gelcoat at the corner is present on both sides. I wonder what I should do about this. I also think the cabin top is being pulled upwards by the main. There is a floor-to-ceiling post in the cabin, also bolted to the side of the galley sink counter. The baseplate has pulled up a bit from the sole and so has the cabinet itself, about a 1/2" but the screws haven't pulled out completely. The screws into the post's overhead baseplate seem to have been pulled out as well, two of them are screwed back in crooked. Is this post a load-bearing member, and should I try to beef it up so it can take more of the upward load from the main?

There is a turnbuckle connected to the mast and the overhead, can this be tightened to help correct this situation?

 

[Tom Metzger]

I have an 1987 E-34 which is the same construction. The stainless post is supposed to hold the coach top up, not down. It is only fastened securely to the galley bulkhead. The cable/turnbuckle from the coachtop to the mast is designed to hold the deck down while sailing. With no load on the rig it should be hand tight.

I installed a Harken traveler on my boat without the screws going into the sea hood. The difference is that I used the 'big boat' traveler which is strong enough to span the sea hood.

I'll assume this condition did not existed before you bought the boat and is new since you have been sailing it

Are the bolts tight on the ends of the traveler? If not, I would leave them loose, If they are tight, I would loosen them. Then tighten the turnbuckle with a couple of people standing on the traveler and deck to try to pull the coach top down. All of the halyards, vang, and main sheet should be slacked as they are also pulling the deck up.

While doing this I would monitor all movement closely and make sure that everything is moving together.

Good luck.

Tom Metzger
E-34 Xanthus

 

[Geoff Johnson]

Yes, it looks like the PO used a low profile track when upgrading the traveler so it is flexing. In my opinion the seahood is not strong enough to support a traveler. My replacement, which you can see here, was designed to transmit most of the vertical load to the two towers:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=839&highlight=traveler

 

[Mikebat]

I'll assume this condition did not existed before you bought the boat and is new since you have been sailing it

Well, I only noticed it since I've been sailing it. There was no wind during the sea trial, and I did not notice any flexing of the sea hood when I raised the main. The boat was sailed exclusively in SF Bay before I bought it, the PO told me some tales of sailing it double-reefed in SF Bay, so I don't think it's a stranger to high forces on the traveller. I just noticed it this weekend for the first time.

Are the bolts tight on the ends of the traveler? If not, I would leave them loose, If they are tight, I would loosen them.

They seem tight.

Then tighten the turnbuckle with a couple of people standing on the traveler and deck to try to pull the coach top down. All of the halyards, vang, and main sheet should be slacked as they are also pulling the deck up.

While doing this I would monitor all movement closely and make sure that everything is moving together.

I'll see what I can do. The beefier traveller you mentioned might be the way to go.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[escapade]

flexing your sea hood (you da man)

Mike
I had the same problem develope on my '88 E34. The stock Harken traveler is mounted to the sea hood and is not the best design. I removed the hood, added several layers of fiberglass mat/epoxy to reinforce the corners & replaced the screws adjacent to the traveler with through bolts & fender washers to spread the load over a larger area. Just pay attention to how much you can add without interfering with the adjacent deck shape. This is all added underneath so you won't see the repair at all. BTW, I was able to add about 5/16" of FRP to mine.
Also, you need to tighten your deck hold-down turnbuckle! The center post should not be pulling up like that! You may even need to loosen the shrouds as well as the halyards, mainsheet, vang & whatever else you have pulling up on the top of your deck. Also check the tightness of the stainless rods that connect the rigging to the TAFG (hull). They should be snug +1 1/2 turns to preload them before the rig is tightened.
So far this seems to be working but I haven't been out in a big blow yet. Definitely removed the flexing in under 20 kn. though.
Hope this helps you out.
Have fun & sail fast.
Bud E34 "Escapade"

 

[Geoff Johnson]

It seems that some boats came with travelers mounted only to the sea hood, which in turn is merely screwed to the cabin top, whereas others, like mine, had longer travelers fastened also to towers on either side of the sea hood, closer to the edge of the cabin top. Using the Harken formula buried somewhere on this site in spreadsheet format, I calculated that the vertical force on the traveler could be a couple of thousand pounds on my 32 foot boat and that does not account for shock loading. IMHO anyone thinking of upgrading the traveler should install towers with substantial backing plates together with a beam designed to span the distance between the two towers. My traveler is attached to the sea hood only indirectly through an intermediate 1/4" aluminum bar which is bolted to the seahood and to the two towers, the idea being to tie everything together to better cope with side loads that might come from an uncontrolled gybe. I discovered how strong my Harken beam was when I had to adjust the radius after initial bending by Harken and it took ten large wood clamps to bend it 1/4 inch.

 

[escapade]

Traveling on

Mike/Geoff
My E34 has the towers Geoff mentions as well as being screwed to the sea hood. Problem is mine is not a "Hi beam" style track but the standard low beam like Mike's as shown in photo. Does not have near the rigidity as Geoff's would. As Geoff mentioned, the loads are tremendous especially when the main is flogging around. I'm hoping the reinforcement works but I believe the best fix is to go to the Hi beam style track. Will keep you posted on my success/failure.
Have fun & sail fast
Bud E34 "Escapade"

 

[Geoff Johnson]

One bit of advice if you go with the Harken high beam. I selected the variable hole model (which has sliding bolts) because the model that permits bolts through the top did not seem to line up with the existing holes in the sea hood. My solution was to use an intermediate aluminum bar so that something would take advantage of the sea hood bolt holes (which are really just holes in the fiberglass with nuts glued to the underside). Afterward, it occurred to me that Harken's metric track probably would have matched the hole pattern and would have been a more elegant solution.

 

[Mikebat]

I considered the reinforcement solution, and the upgrade-the-traveller solution, and decided to upgrade the traveller. I ordered a Harken high-beam rail, the support struts, and the cars and controls. None of my existing controls will fit on a high-beam, so having replaced all of it, I can hope to recoup a few bucks selling the old traveller on eBay. I've been replacing the running rigging anyway, in fact, I had already replaced the traveller controls and main sheet. This is as good a time as any to do the rest of it. Wire halyards are the next to go bye-bye.

Thanks for all your ideas on this.