A mechanical traveller is a moving part of a machine, typically a ring that slides between different positions on a supporting rod when the machine goes through its operating cycle. The term may also be used refer to the supporting rod.

In sailing, it is a mechanical device used to modify the location at which lines used to control sails (such as sheets) are attached to the vessel. The attachment is often by means of a block through which the line runs; the block can move along the traveller. This allows independent control of the direction and tension of the line. This kind of traveler is often a track, but it might be a line attached to two points on the deck, along which another block runs. The term traveller can also be applied to the specialized lines used to control the location of the block.

Mechanics

Traveller (Segeln) | Wózek (żeglarstwo)