mainsheet blocks

U

umbra

New Member
So I bought a fixer upper. A lesson in boat owning and repair for my 14 yr old son. Its got all the usual problems ( its heavy, missing parts, and leaks). After 2 weeks time all of that is taken care of. So I'm looking at installing a mainsheet block, eye strap and spring. It had these items in a previous life ( the filled holes are visible). I see that a stock boats comes with a harken 019, but the racing version a harken 2625. Big difference in price, but is there that much difference in performance? They both do the same thing, the same way. The loads on this block are not excessive( so robust design is not a major consideration). I would appreciate the finer points of this debate. Thanks
 
The little over an ounce in weight reduction (the other spec's are the same) isn't worth the 20+ dollars increase in price.
http://www.harken.com/blocks/blockspecs.php

Also IIRC the 2625 is an automatic ratchet block. I like to control if the ratchet is on or off. In light air I love leaving the ratchet on so others can hear it, and then when I want to make sneaky move shut off the ratchet so they don't hear me...LOL
 
thanks. kinda my spin as well. just wanted to see if there were any other plus or minus to the question.
 
There are better choices than the Harken 019, which is a dated product. It has a 10:1 holding power while there are others (Ronstan and Harken make several) with up to 20:1. I use a Harken 75mm Carbo which is 15:1 and it makes a significant difference in a blow. You can get good discounts on the internet and the newer designs may be no more expensive than the 019. IntensitySails has good prices on the Ronstans (http://www.intensitysails.com/info.html)
 
Thanks for your comments. I looked at every supplier and the prices on 2625 Harken blocks are the same price at all the online stores. West Marine is at least 20% more than anyone else. The price on the ronstan orbit 55 is better and gives better holding power than the 2625. I knew there had to be some reason for a different block being with the pro model. The sail, rudder, and daggerboard are self explainatory. The 2625 is autoratcheting and the orbit 55 is selectable. So to a certain degree you are not comparing apples to apples. BUT the boat is for my 14 yr old son. I may sneak a few sails in just to make sure she's tuned right. But I was a power lifter and MMA fighter for 7 years, I think my arm strength is pretty good. My son, not so much. So more holding power for him makes sense.
 
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