Is the car a Harken? We've had our 110 since 2005 and we had exactly the same issues you describe with the car. The problem is with the hard plastic (Delrin? Can't remember.) ball bearings, which need to be (a) regularly rinsed clean with fresh water and (2) replaced at least every season or two. On our car they're held in the race by a retainer, so taking the car off the track and checking them is painless. There's a large screw that holds the track end cap in place, and all you have to do it take it out to allow the car to come off the track. I clean them by just turning the hose on them.
The bearings are a sort of greenish color, and when they're new the surface is uniform. After a few months' use you'll begin to see tiny dark spots appear - like the mark left by a dull pencil point - and over time these will get bigger - the size of a tick. The car will run on the track OK until a lot of the larger dark marks accumulate, then it will begin to stick, just as you're describing. I've seen this progression unfold at least twice now. The Harken folks were very helpful a few years ago when I talked to them at Strictly Sail, and they said that although frequent washing helps, eventually you have to replace the balls. It's easy to do, but of course they cost an arm and a leg. I was going to replace mine last winter when I saw an ad for McLube Bearing Conditioner. It's a new product that looks like a clear oil and comes in a tube with a nozzle the size of a needle. The instructions said to clean the bearings, let them dry, then put a single drop on each ball. I figured this was going to be completely bogus, but in fact it works like a d*mn charm. I got a whole extra season out my worn bearings, with no sticking, and have almost a full tube of McLube for future use. It cost something like $10 for a 1-ounce tube but it worked amazingly well. From: cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Hoyt, Mike Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 1:39 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Cabin top mainsheet/traveller question Walt On the 115 we have the factory setup with the 2:1 from boom to the traveller car and then thru clutches to winches on coaming on each side. It is very similar to J-120 setup. When the sheet is loaded up the traveller car does not like to move freely. I often have to push it down with my foot which is not great when you are easing because of a puff of wind and does not endear me much to helmsman. We have discussed several options to change this setup but have gotten used to it. Another major problem is when shifting from downwind to upwind mode at leeward mark. It is very slow to pull in the sheet with this setup and often a port and a stbd grinder are needed initially. There has been talk of changing to a system like the C&C99 except with a coarse and a fine tune. Suspect nothing will change and we will just learn to use what we have the best we can. Mike main trim on Koobalibra C&C115 59115 Halifax ________________________________ From: cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Walt Dickie Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 3:31 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Subject: Re: Stus-List Cabin top mainsheet/traveller question I trim main on a C&C 110 equipped with a cabintop traveler because the owner expected to cruise but instead wound up racing. It sucks. In fact, it sucks so bad that this winter he's finally going to open the checkbook and install a traveler where it belongs, at the aft end of the cockpit where it is on the 115. With the traveler on the cabintop, especially on a boat with a long boom like the 110, I don't have enough leverage to control the leach without cranking the sheet as taut as a bowstring. Then, with the load so high (even in fairly moderate wind) and, again, lacking leverage, it's next to impossible for me to use the traveler to adjust the angle of attack. In last week's last Beer Can the winds were in the high teens (true) at the start and the low 20s by the end of the race. In conditions like that I am absolutely unable to play the traveler because although I can let it down there is no power on earth that can haul it back up. (BTW: I'm 6'3", ~200 lbs, and in good shape.) With wind speeds in the mid-teens I need to put a foot up on the bulkhead, grab the sheet with both hands, and use my leg strength just to get the traveler to budge on a beat. My own boat is also a C&C 110, but it's equipped with a cockpit traveler. On it, my wife never even seems to be trying hard to control the leach or the angle of attack with just a 6:1 block and no winch to rely on, even in 20+ winds. We were doublehanding a couple of weeks ago with winds in the upper teens and she was happily playing the traveler to keep the boat on its feet all afternoon. Next season we're going to add a 4:1 cascade to mainsheet for fine adjustments, but that's all we can see needing. Our traveler car is a Harken with windward sheeting so the main trimmer can sit forward as long as they stay out of the way of the genoa trimmers. On the 115, with the primaries forward rather than aft where they are on the 110, everything works nicely. We're looking at buying a pair of secondaries for Xmas so we can come closer to the 115's cockpit layout next year. Walt Dickie C&C 110, Bark! DuSable Harbor Chicago, IL From: cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Hoyt, Mike Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 8:02 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Subject: Stus-List Cabin top mainsheet/traveller question All I have always wondered how well having a winch for sheet and all traveller controls on Cabin top works for trimming main sail. I am particularly interested in hearing from those who race with this setup. Growing up on a C&C36 with this system it did not seem to matter as we were day sailing with a dodger always up and doing rough trim only. However from a racing perspective the view planes would be far different when sitting that far forward and the system may be awkward or not. On the positive side it would seem to get weight out of the cockpit. What is the word from the main sail trimmers in this group? On the CC115 the traveller is immediately in front of binnacle and winch on either side for sheet as well as WW sheeting car for traveller. Has its owne issues but is nice because trimmer can work closely with driver. Probably too much weight aft though Mike main trimmer, C&C 115 Koobalibra
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