Sticky traveler on my Hobie 14

Yesterday I went out for a solo sail in the Hobie 14 in moderate wind. When tacking or jibing, I noticed that the traveler was getting more and more sticky. Oddly enough, When I went out, I had threaded the traveler incorrectly, as in backwards. So I had to heave to and straighten it out in the middle of the bay. Before this outing, I never noticed a problem with the traveler as it seemed to work fine. Boat was made in 1976 and has a 4:1 mainsheet. I recently purchased this boat from the original owner. It had sat around for a long time and I cleaned it up but didn't lube anything.

This boat is kept on a salt water bay beach. It does not enjoy the luxury of freshwater rinses after each sail. My idea is to wash the traveler and car with soap and water as it could be grit and grime. Then apply some sort of lubrication. Choices I'm aware of include PTFE, and silicone. I also have some Boeshield T9 on hand (I use for kayak skeg wires). I would be interested in any recommendations.

All in all, I'd have to say that this has been a wonderful boat so far. A lot of fun.

This is the traveler car I have:

I would start by cleaning. Make sure there is no sand in the track. Test the movement of the car when the boat is rigged on land. You can try lubricating, but that will probably wash away pretty quickly.

If it still sticks, you may need to pull the car out of the track and inspect the bearings. Also if you’re trying to adjust the traveler with a lot of load (tension) on the mainsheet, it may be hard to move. Try easing the sheet a little bit before moving the traveler.

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I went down to the boat and washed the track and car. Did find a little bit of fine sand, not very much. I did notice a bit of front to back twist play with the car. Quite sloppy. It did seem to slide best when it was loaded vertically. After lubing it with silicon spray, it worked pretty nicely. Except that when I shoved it back and forth without any load on it, it did seem to be a little bit cranky. I wonder if it is just endemic of the design to be like this. I've seen refined travelers on fancier boats which bear no resemblance. Also much worse ones on some sailing dinghies where adjusting underway was nigh impossible. We'll see how it behaves the next time I get to go out.

It has been fine 2 times out since cleaning the tracks and applying silicone spray.

Stuck again!! I don't want to spend $500 to upgrade to the new car and track. But I'd like to do something. Just how sloppy is the old style car supposed to be?

Options to fix are:
1) Plastic slide version w/ no bearings - $100 - didn't even know about these, anyone here?

2) New Old Style car - $160 if available at all
3) Used Old style car - $110
4) Daily rinse plus silicone spray

Check the roller bearings in the car for bent pins or flat spots.

Is the car consistently getting stuck in the same spot? If so, that would indicate an issue with the track. Check for bends, dents, or protruding rivet heads.

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Bingo! Went down to the boat today and could see the trouble in bright sunlight. One axle was missing and I saw the roller and axle floating around loose trapped under the car. Explains the intermittent behavior. I need to find a new car or car bottom so I can replace. Any leads where they could be found? A lot of places say "sold out".

Meanwhile I called Murray's. They have been unable to source this part and have been trying to get someone to actually manufacture it for those of us who need them. They project to sell about 100 in a year. They suggested my part might still work minus one axle for now so I drilled out the rivets and removed the loose axle. Others were bent so I carefully straightened them. These sure looked flimsy!

This guy may have a good used one: https://ebay.us/m/hwHrtc
All his stuff probably isn't listed, so I'd recommend that you send him a message. Tell him I sent ya'.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16