I’m interested in buying a 26ft boat, but I’m not impressed with the position of the mainsheet traveller, which is slap-bang in the middle of the cockpit.

Would it be possible for me to move it forward of the companionway, where it won’t be so much in the way?

Chris Williams

Wilf Chaplin, a director and designer at OneSails (South), replies:

You may find you can move the mainsheet traveller forward a certain amount, but the issue is that as you move the mainsheet forward, you’ve got more force in the same leverage.

You might find that a better answer is to move it aft – it depends on the cockpit layout.

I’d be quite cautious about moving it forward willy-nilly without giving some serious thought about what it’s going to do to the trimming and to the boom.

Ben Sutcliffe-Davies adds:

At the end of the day, you’ve got to be really thoughtful when you start modifying a boat’s design and structure, especially moving something that’s actually driving the boat along.

You’ve got to think what you’re anchoring it to. I’ve seen a lot of people drill through a deck, through balsa core and chuck a couple of bolts in. Then the whole deck lifts up.

More importantly, they haven’t appreciated in the first place, there’s balsa core in there, and whether or not it works or is serviceable to start with; give it a couple of years and water will get in and everything goes spongy. Then you’ll be spending a lot of money to fix it.

A serious modification could see you entering Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) territory.

Sometimes you have to realise that a boat is a compromise. Enjoy the boat as it is, go and sail it and don’t fool around with it too much.

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