“I had a sliding ‘car’ made up for my yacht from a piece of Vesconite,” says Rob Bower of the piece of equipment that moves along the traveller rail and serves as an anchor point for the sheave that adjusts the main sheet to achieve good speeds and acceleration in different wind conditions.
“The part was originally made from cast aluminium with roller bearings, but all failed and I was not able to get a spare traveller.”
“So, I machined one from a piece of Vesconite of about 150 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm – no ball bearings, just a surrounding-type slider.”
“It took a bit of machining but resulted in an excellent sliding system that works really well despite exposure to the harsh conditions when at sea.”
“The tensile force on the traveller car could reach a ton – perhaps more.”
