Harken Clew Hook

The last few times that I have gone sailing on my laser after a couple of tack my clew hook has fallen out. One time when this happened I lost the hook. Then I ordered another one from APS. After installing it the hook still falls off the clew of the sail. My Dad has the same set-up with the clew hook but his has not fallen out while sailing. Does anyone have any suggestions of ideas for a different type of hook that works?

Thank you in advance,
Tyler
 
I've used a harken clew hook for a couple years and have never had a problem, wind up to 20-30 knots, outhaul loose or tight it works suprisingly well. I don't know what I can tell you, just make sure the clew tiedown is good and tight.

Good Luck
 
This happened to me once. I was so gung ho to sail in the great wind of the day, I didn't run the clue tie down threw the hook. I was taking a break after the race, just sitting there with the sail flapping away. Suddenly my sail looked like a spinniker and away I went. So make sure you run the tie down threw the hook. That's what I did till I bought the velcro strap.

Cheers
Mark
 
archcat said:
This happened to me once. I was so gung ho to sail in the great wind of the day, I didn't run the clue tie down threw the hook. I was taking a break after the race, just sitting there with the sail flapping away. Suddenly my sail looked like a spinniker and away I went. So make sure you run the tie down threw the hook. That's what I did till I bought the velcro strap.

Cheers
Mark

I have the Harken dinghy clew hook and it worked just fine for me until one day with high winds the sail just popped off the hook after I'd been sailing for 20-30 minutes. The hook has to be facing to port and set in just right. It somehow must have worked its way cockeyed. Anyway, I was right at the start line when it happened and I had to drift to shore to get enough leverage to get the sail back on. :( I have nice spring-loaded shackle now, but someone told me that now the clew is a little further off the boom, so I won't be able to point as well. So that's why I'm not winning races! :rolleyes:

Merrily
 
I have used the clew hook both with and without the Velcro strap; without the strap I used the standard clew tie-down. The space within the curved part of the hook that goes through the grommet fits very snugly, enough that when I derig I have to really wiggle the hook loose. I have never had the hook come out on its own. You might compare the curvature of the hook/size of the space that goes through the grommet with the one your dad uses and see if there's a difference. The metal is bendable to some degree and you could try squeezing the space between the sides of the hook together just ever so slightly to create a little friction to hold the hook in the grommet. I do have a micro-block slipped into the ring on the hook and that works great for extra purchase-power when I pull on the outhaul, but it doesn't seem to affect the holding power of the hook in the grommet. I had to close the opening on the hook tight with some pliers to keep the block from slipping through the slot where the end of the hook closes the loop on the hook.
 
The "Performance Outhaul System" by Dorsal Gear appers to be pretty much the same thing with a block and a strap added. I found that I had to keep the harken unit tied down tight after that I had no problem at all. I spent $ 10 for the hook and $ 5 for a block and less that a buck for some amsteel line and this adds to a lot less than the $50 charged by Dorsal...but it does look good
 
computeroman2 said:
I've read on one of the supplier websites [ronstan or harken, can't remember which] that the velcro strap isn't class legal...

Is a shackle class legal?

Merrily
 
Laser of the Corn said:
I'm no Laser class rules expert, however, I believe the Dorsal strap and the Rooster strap are class legal.
The UK Laser Centre (official builders and suppliers of Laser boats in the UK) supplied me with one as part of the G-XD outhaul kit, so I hope it is!
 
Thanks for the help. I tightened my clew tie-down thinking that that was the problem. I also tried overtightening the out-haul. I think I'll go with a shackle if it is class legal.
 
I've found that it works best when the open part of the hook is facing back, and not down. I always keep mine facing back, and haven't had many problems with it.
 
I stopped using my hook after it released twice out on the water. Having to capsize to fix it is a pain in the ass. Now I just tie the block to the clew since I use only my one sail.
 

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