by As many of you know, Spindrift 2.0 has been in the works for a year now. At least she is now back in the water! But I do still have some topside jobs to finish off, including a traveller installation.
My intention was to write logical, informative, blog posts about the Spindrift 2.0 journey as I went along. In the end, I am writing disjointed, whatever-comes-to-mind, posts. Sounds about right!
Selecting a New Traveller
So, Spindrift is 8.2 m in length and primarily used for cruising. She is on the cusp between a Size 1 and Size 2 Lewmar Ocean Traveller kit. I decided to go with the Size 2 Lewmar Ocean Traveller Kit as it provides a 4:1 purchase system (YASS!) which is going to be amazing…. whenever I manage to get it installed…
It has turned into quite the project. Spindrift’s original traveller was inset in the cockpit. Pretty typical of a boat that vintage (1980s baby). Basically the top of the traveller track sat flush with the cockpit seats and there is a 2″ groove that the old track would sit in. My new traveller is longer and much more sleek, so the first job was to fill this groove with a filler piece. In comes Graham with his purple heart wood! (If you ever want to see someone gush love for an inanimate object, just ask Graham about purple heart wood. Make sure you have a coffee ready lol).
Creating a Filler Piece
Graham managed to template the old traveller track to create the new filler piece for me. He drilled the holes and got it all set up. My next hurdle was drilling the new track to have the bolts go through. Yikes. That just seemed wrong. So instead I skipped that part and decided to grind down the head of 1/4″ stainless steel bolts so they would fit in the track groove and voila! This will make the traveller installation much easier and sleeker!
Lining up all the bolts… like herding cats
The next step was for me to get Graham’s fancy pants piece of wood lined up with the 12 bolts that we fed into the groove of the track. Yeah. Fun times. There was butyl tape, clamps, dumb luck and swearing involved. But, in the end, hubby and I won! The two pieces were now one!
Installation on the boat
Finally, it is time to get the new track and base installed on Spindrift. This will involve lining up the 12 bolts (again!), with the holes drilled in the deck as well as drilling two new holes. With a good amount of hot chocolate, swearing, screwdrivers and dumb luck, I’m sure all will go well, but I will keep you posted! At this point I have not managed to install it yet due to weather and darkness. Yay Fall.
Until my next traveller post! Happy sailing friends!
Penny
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