Traveller line slipping in cleat

bjmoose

bjmoose

Member
I searched the forum for traveller cleat slipping and didn't get anything usefule, so I guess this is a new topic.

Last night it wasn't that windy, but puffy all over the place.

Every time I looked, my traveller line had eased through the cleat two or four inches from where I'd set it.

This did NOT make me happy. :mad:

Does this happen to everyone? How do I prevent it or minimize it?

The line's a thin hi-tech double braid of some type, (I have no idea exactly what but it is NOT Dacron) and it appears to be appropriately sized to the cleat.

Is it ever appropriate to set the traveller on anything OTHER than "as tight as possible?" If so I could rig it up at the dock tied off with a trucker's hitch that gave more tension than I could ever get by tugging through the cleat out on the water.
 
make sure the "triangle" that is formed is as small as possible, and right after the line exits the cleat, pull it tight as hell, then throw a knot in it
 
the cleat may just be worn out depending on the age of the boat. This does happen to them.

I would suggest using either a thicker rope or replacing the cleat.

With regards to tension, if you tie a half hitch around the bowline as you pass it through on the way to the cleat and make the loop tight before you cleat it, you can get it tight really easily. That doesn't make any sense when i read it back but I have no idea how to describe it any other way.

You're aiming to get a short triangle shape in the traveler rather than a large deep triangle as then you get more purchase when you pull it on.

As to the adjusting element, in light stuff i ease it an inch or so to make the mainsheet block slide over the tiller without getting stuck.

T
 
If you're using a high-tech single braid like spectra, dyneema, or vectran, it's got a coating on it. Take some fine grit sand paper (100+), and sand the line where it's cleated. Make the shiny coating look dull, and maybe even chaff the line itself a wee bit. Make sure the line is appropriate size (3/16).
 
I got out my BIG channel-locks and went to put the squeeze on my "aluminum" cleat and...

...realized it is actually an old plastic cleat that's so faded and oxidized that I took it to be aluminum.

Guess who's up for replacement? ;-)
 
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