When I first acquired the Pearson sailboat that I am restoring it’s broken traveler seemed like one of the larger problems on the boat. Maybe it seemed like an important problem because it prevented the proper use of the mainsail on what I imagined to be a boat that was in decent condition. After all, the boat had just sailed down to Beaufort NC from the Chesapeake Bay, on the outside (in the Atlantic). The sense of how important the traveler problem was and how expensive it would be to fix gives me a decent indication of how little I understood the condition of this boat and what it would take to restore it. Unfortunately I was blind to the largest and most expensive problems that this boat had.
Fortunately restoring the traveler was easy, affordable and satisfying. I was able to source a new Kenyon I-Beam track from Rig-Rite. A local aluminum fabricator at Jarrett Bay was able to re-weld the broken base and the remaining cleanup, install and sealing was nothing new for me. A little epoxy in the enlarged holes, some drilling and sealing with Butyl, and of course sanding and cleaning and the traveler was back on the boat and ready for lines.
At the same time I replaced the cabin top handles which took more work and was close in cost to repairing the traveler. I also pulled and inspected the chainplates before reinstalling and resealing them thoroughly (with epoxy and butyl, my favorite sealing combination).