Well, I had to take the track off with the car and windward sheeter. This was not a as big of a task as I thought. It took about 15 minutes to remove it. I rebuilt the car with new bearings.

Reinstalling the traveler was not bad either. It took about 30 minutes and I ensure that everything was well sealed. In the spring, I will remove it once again to drill out the holes and fill with epoxy. This will ensure it is sealed for life with no chance of rotting the balsa core.

I also replaced the hardware with new since this is one of the most stressed areas on the boat. I still have the teak cross piece so I extended the six screws by 1/2" to ensure there was enough bite there.

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice! It works just like a new one now!

:: 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