I am not an experienced woodworker, nor do I have more than layman’s knowledge of sailboat design and function. I do have access to a well equipped shop, but used only a band saw and belt sander to cut and shape the teak. However, I made several mock-ups with pine to test the fit of the riser. This is my first effort at a major upgrade on my Cape Dory, i.e. no one told me not to do it the way I did. I appreciate the design and function of my CD26, so if I have violated significant design and functional aspects, please let me know. I started this project in October 2013 and completed installation on January 22, 2014. Keep in mind that Garhauer does quality work that took 4 or 5 weeks from order to delivery. Also note that my boat sails Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, 90 drive minutes from our house. This project took awhile.
The MT-3 was custom built to my specifications – 37 inches long with hole spacing on 4 inch centers to match the nine holes in the deck. Garhauer fabricates travelers from a soild piece of extruded aluminum so it gives very little, keep that in mind when determining length, hole placement, and curvature. Upon first fitting, I realized I had to make the riser. I bonded 3/4" and ½” teak using West System epoxy to make a 1 ½” wide riser that tapered from 1 1/16” to 3/8”thick. The riser is made in three pieces, port, starboard, and middle. To align all nine holes in the one piece riser, traveler, and hull was nearly impossible so I split the riser into two four hole and a single hole piece in the middle and treated with Deks Olje teak sealer before installing. Amazingly, the bolt holes for the traveler and riser aligned and the fit to the hull holes was almost perfect with a slight curvature. It all fit together!
