The traveler should be through-bolted. The bolts should pass through the wood and have nuts & washers on the inside of the boat. This whole system takes quite a bit of load...

Unfortunately, removing & reinstalling the traveler is a bit of a job and may require two people. Plus, the screws through the seats go through balsa-cored deck and should be sealed well when re-installed.

It is much easier to replace the bearings if you have a plastic bearing loader from Harken. These come with the travelers when they are new. Otherwise, folks use shaving cream to hold the bearings in place while you stuff them in, and wash it out after full assembly.

Good luck,

--brendan

:: I have a windward sheet traveler and it appears that it
:: is starting to lose the ball bearings. Lots of sloppy
:: play and I can see the top cleats are losing the bearing
:: also.
::
:: I want to repair or replace it. My question is .. Are
:: the screws / bolts supporting this driller through the
:: deck or is it just in the wood? Just trying to find out
:: before I remove the track to remove the car.
::
:: thanks,

:: Don