I second the ratchet block, which is what I use. I have never felt the need for cleats, although I do wear sailing gloves most of the time which helps to protect my hands.
I like those red sheave blocks, too! just couldn't justify buying a new one when my current version is hardly used. 15% off at APS right now, too.
hopefully someone else will chime in to explain it a little better for you, and your phone call to Harken might help as well. best of luck.
The ratchet causes friction against the rope in one direction...like wrapping the rope around something. There is no speed control...just increased resistance to go in one drection. With the ratchet turned off with the switch on the block, it acts like a normal pulley. Turned on, the pulley/wheel only turns in one direction with the sheeve of the pulley offering resistance with the grippers built into the sheeve
There's a reason for that. Whatever cleating angle you choose, it's good for either upwind or downwind, but not both. The way to do this right would be to have the cleat on a separately swiveling arm, but that's probably getting a little complicated for a Sunfish (and probably illegal as well).You don't see that too often.
Andy, I've seen that before, and I still don't believe that that works! The video doesn't really show the sheeting and cleating angles upwind non-hiking/hiking and downwind. I'm pretty sure the cleat does the wrong thing at the wrong time... (The original location of the forward boom block was painfully wrong in all possible ways anyway.)Here's a video I did on tuning it to work just right.
Nonsense. It works PERFECTLY in all points of sail and all sheeting angles. Upwind, downwind, in breaths of wind or howling. You do realize LaLi that the entire block and cam cleat rotates 360 degrees, right? Why do you suppose that someone who has been sailing for over 50 years would own 3 of these... one on each of his 3 Sunfish, hmm? Because they work, that's why. Good grief.There's a reason for that. Whatever cleating angle you choose, it's good for either upwind or downwind, but not both. The video doesn't really show the sheeting and cleating angles upwind non-hiking/hiking and downwind. I'm pretty sure the cleat does the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Come on Andy, don't take it personally! What I said is that I am very skeptical of an "integrated" cleat working in a Sunfish/Laser -type boat, and the video doesn't convince me. The problem isn't the horizontal rotation (of course it does that if there's a swivel), but that the cleat moves vertically with the changing block angle, so that there is a potentially-uncomfortable distance between the cleating and uncleating positions. And even that switches between upwind/downwind and hiking/non-hiking. Can you really use the cleat just as well fully hiked upwind as on a full-hike reach, or a heavy-air run?
To drjay: never mind the above, sailors just like to argue about these sort of thingsMy advice is still to forget about any cleats and switch your non-ratchet block to any good ratcheting one (although I'd prefer an automatic version), and go sailing.
this is my preferred setup (shown on a Minifish, but the same part #'s apply for a Sunfish - the cam cleat can be mounted on the cockpit lip of a Sunfish).
the location of the cam cleat (down on the cockpit lip) makes it sort of difficult to "lock" in place while sailing in a heavier wind, but on those light air days when you're drifting and want to let go of the mainsheet, it does come in handy.
cheers,
tag (my2fish)