# Furling Line Hardware -- A New Option



## JohnRPollard

I thought I'd post about a small upgrade we just made on our boat.

Like many of you, we have a roller-furling headsail. The furling unit is manipulated by a line that is lead aft to the cockpit, via a series of blocks and fairleads attached to the pulpits and stanchions.

I never liked the fairleads on our boat. They attach to the stanchion base, and lead the furling line inboard along the edge of the side-deck. The Schaefer hardware we had, called the "clamp-on stanchion block", looked like this:










Installed on our boat, it looked like this:










The biggest problem with this old hardware system was that the blocks stuck out on the inboard side of the stanchion, right at ankle-bone level. I cannot tell you how many times I smacked and sliced my ankles on those blocks -- believe me it hurts like the devil!

To their credit, about seven or eight years ago Schaefer came out with a much-improved stanchion fairlead, called the "clear-step":










The advantage of the "clear-step" is that the block slides down _over_ the stanchion, and leads the line _outboard_, which cleans up the side-decks and reduces the chance of scraping your ankles on the hardware.

Unfortunately, we could not upgrade to the "clear-step" because it has to drop down over the stanchion. In our case, our boarding-gate stanchions have support "knees" welded to them, preventing installation of the "clear-step" system on 2 out of 4 stanchions.

Another option available from Schaefer is a simple clamp-on bulls-eye fairlead, which can be oriented inboard or outboard. I wasn't keen on this solution due to the increased friction, but it might be a good option for smaller boats:










But at the Annapolis Boat Show in October, I noticed a new solution from Harken. It's called the "Outboard Stanchion Lead Block Assembly" (OSLBA). It combines the best of the two Schaefer solutions, i.e. outboard blocks that can be clamped-on. Have a look:










I ordered four and installed them this past weekend. They are great! They are lower profile than the "clear-step" system (i.e., on the inboard side, they don't stick out hardly past the stanchion), and the twin-block assembly improves the fairlead.

Here are some photos, which I must apologize for their poor quality (the close-up macro on my camera isn't the best). The first two photos show the old and new blocks side-by-side, the last photo shows the completed installation. In the last photo, you can see the problem I mentioned with the boarding gate stanchion and its welded knee:




























*NO MORE SLICED ANKLES!!!*


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## Faster

Very tidy, John.. that's a good idea from Harken....

No sliced ankles on our boat, our furling line (and the spinn downhaul) run THROUGH our SS handrails... another good idea from Camper Nicholson!!


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## CaptKermie

The Harken "Outboard Stanchion Lead Block Assembly" looks like the cat's meow.


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## sailingdog

The one problem I've found with some of Harken's stanchion mount blocks is that the screws fasten into a press-fit threaded insert, and if you're not careful, the inserts can be pulled free...making the mounting system not hold very securely.


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## Valiente

Prices, please, and estimates as to when Garhauer will have something similar that weighs 30 grams more and costs 50% less...

Good idea, though...thanks!


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## JohnRPollard

Valiente said:


> Prices, please, and estimates as to when Garhauer will have something similar that weighs 30 grams more and costs 50% less...
> 
> Good idea, though...thanks!


Val,

The Schaefer "Clear-Step" pictured above retails from Defender at US$40/each.

The new Harken OSLBA units I installed retail from Defender at US$28/each. Price-wise, it is a no-brainer.

Garhauer has something similar that lists for about US$32/each. However, I examined their offering at the boat show and it was very heavy and klunky by comparison -- not a very elegant solution. You can see it here:

Garhauer SB-3 Stanchion Block

Edit: Oops, that link won't work since it's a search result. Just follow that link to Garhauer and search the product name.


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## jorgenl

sailingdog said:


> The one problem I've found with some of Harken's stanchion mount blocks is that the screws fasten into a press-fit threaded insert, and if you're not careful, the inserts can be pulled free...making the mounting system not hold very securely.


I agree with the Dog, it happened to me. The insert partially pulled free and the plastic housing cracked.

Be very careful not to over tighten the screws... It didn't take much torque for the above to happen.


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## BarryL

Hello,

That Harken piece is nice. However, if there is no significant change in direction, a simple fairlead won't add any friction. I have a real block where the furling line comes off the drum and then just fairleads along the stanchions. 

You can easily detect how much friction the fairleads or blocks add by just furling the sail by standing near the bow and pulling the line where it comes off the drum.

Barry


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## knothead

BarryL said:


> Hello,
> 
> That Harken piece is nice. However, if there is no significant change in direction, a simple fairlead won't add any friction. I have a real block where the furling line comes off the drum and then just fairleads along the stanchions.
> 
> You can easily detect how much friction the fairleads or blocks add by just furling the sail by standing near the bow and pulling the line where it comes off the drum.
> 
> Barry


Fairleads will definitely cause more friction that a good leadblock unless you have a straight line. I have confirmed this more times than I can remember.

You are correct that you can detect how much friction the fairleads or blocks add by furling the sail standing on the foredeck by you have to try it in all conditions.

The Harken blocks look pretty good to me. Side decks are narrow enough to begin with.


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## Omatako

sailingdog said:


> The one problem I've found with some of Harken's stanchion mount blocks is that the screws fasten into a press-fit threaded insert, and if you're not careful, the inserts can be pulled free...making the mounting system not hold very securely.


The advantage of these blocks is that they're mounted outboard of the stanchion so the preesure of the line pushes against the stanchion and doesn't pull on the screws.

These are sweet blocks, I might have a look at them for our boat.


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## sailingdog

You can still pull the insert free by tightening the screws...it is a lousy design and Harken knows it. 


Omatako said:


> The advantage of these blocks is that they're mounted outboard of the stanchion so the preesure of the line pushes against the stanchion and doesn't pull on the screws.
> 
> These are sweet blocks, I might have a look at them for our boat.


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## arf145

I installed the Garhauer stantion blocks for for our furling lines this past summer and I love them. Clunky? Not to my eye. I think the stainless construction of the Garhauer blocks blend in nicely with the stanchions. No plastic on them--I don't see them breaking any time soon.


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## artbyjody

The most important aspect of furler systems is how well you can pull the sail under load. Your stanchion blocks - how they are configured are the most important aspect of the design. 

It has nothing to do with "you welt your legs" aspect. If you are welting then you are not sailing properly! 

Lotsa of comments on using winches etc, all wrong using winches on furling lines period!!!!...Never!!

simple solution...

run the fairleads outside the stanchions for best mechanical advantage...It is where they should be actually. You get a better angle for starters...

Secondly you keep the deck clear.

The last stanchion block should be 45 degrees to point of incident. IE: 45 degrees to where you pull. It will stick out a hair but provide you the man handling leverage to pull in the genny / jib without using the winch. NEVER EVER use a winch to pull out the furler line... trust me - many $$$$ 

It either works or it does not and when it does not, it is human error not a result of the furler..Usually wrapped halyards at top of mast of mast or no slack in the tacking leads..


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## JohnRPollard

artbyjody said:


> ...It has nothing to do with "you welt your legs" aspect. If you are welting then you are not sailing properly!


I guess I did not make that point clearly.

Our furling system worked perfectly fine.

The problem was the propensity to clip our ankle bones on the old inboard clamp-on blocks while traversing the side-deck -- usually while docked or anchored.


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## sailingdog

Jody-

JRP was "welting" his ankles... the older Schaefer blocks were at the perfect height to do that and stuck out just far enough to do so regularly.


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## christyleigh

JohnRPollard said:


> The problem was the propensity to clip our ankle bones on the old inboard clamp-on blocks while traversing the side-deck


Wimp - Heck a little bruising and bleeding makes the classic "tearing up $100 bills while taking a shower" description of Sailing all the better .......  Just what I needed another excuse to spend a couple hundred more on the boat ......


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## GaryHLucas

Ah, I miss the days when I was a GOOD Harken customer. I bought over 100 18 foot long mainsheet traveler tracks and 150 mainsheet cars in one pop, then bought a slightly smaller quantity a short time later. They didn't go on boats, they went on greenhouses! I could get my own boat hardware added on to the orders for some really good discounts!


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## Omatako

sailingdog said:


> You can still pull the insert free by over-tightening the screws...it is a lousy design and Harken knows it.


How did over-tightening something become the manufacturer's fault. Given that philosophy, a big enough tool will find fault with any design.


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## wchevron

JohnRPollard said:


> I guess I did not make that point clearly.
> 
> Our furling system worked perfectly fine.
> 
> The problem was the propensity to clip our ankle bones on the old inboard clamp-on blocks while traversing the side-deck -- usually while docked or anchored.


john, couldn't you have flipped the blocks so they were sticking outboard?


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## Cerveza

Can anyone answer me what is the benefit of running the furlig line like this?

I had a similar setup on my boat when I purchased it, but I changed it after a while and moved the line up to the left "cockpit winch" instead. I felt it has worked better for me. Now I have a proper rope clutch for it and so on (there was only a clam cleat for it to begin with)..

The pictures arent perfect for illustrating, but you should be able to see the furlig line to the left on the top picture, and over the cabin (trough the rope clutch and around the left "cockpit winch") on the lower picture.


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## JohnRPollard

wchevron said:


> john, couldn't you have flipped the blocks so they were sticking outboard?


WChevron,

Nope. The line would then ride against the mounting hardware rather than on the block. Think about it, you'll see what I mean.

That is the advantage of the Schaefer "Clear Step" and these new Harken OSLBAs. They are designed so the furling line when led outboard is both held captive and runs against the block fairlead.


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## JohnRPollard

Cerveza said:


> Can anyone answer me what is the benefit of running the furlig line like this?


The benefit is that you don't have a tripping line running across your foredeck!


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## wchevron

JohnRPollard said:


> WChevron,
> 
> Nope. The line would then ride against the mounting hardware rather than on the block. Think about it, you'll see what I mean.
> 
> That is the advantage of the Schaefer "Clear Step" and these new Harken OSLBAs. They are designed so the furling line when led outboard is both held captive and runs against the block fairlead.


john, i see what you mean. i just ordered a couple of the garhauer ones. i currently have the clamp on bulls eye type. although a little different than the schafer style. over the years, the plastic has worn a groove in it from the sheet rubbing on it.


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## sailingdog

Andre-

I was using one of the 4702 stanchion blocks, similar to this one:










Given that I had a sprained wrist at the time and a wrist brace on.. and three of the four screws tightened up just fine, and the last one pulled free without even me straining... I seriously doubt it was my "overtightening" it. I didn't feel the block would work under the loads required of it with just three of four screws holding it in place, since they are the only things holding it to the stanchion. I stand by my previous statement-the stanchion mount on these blocks are a piss-poor design and Harken knows it.


Omatako said:


> How did over-tightening something become the manufacturer's fault. Given that philosophy, a big enough tool will find fault with any design.


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## JohnRPollard

Thanks for the cautionary note, SD. 

But I want to add that I had no such problems when installing our OSLBAs. 

They snugged up nicely with the allen key. I did not use the "long arm" of the key, as I felt the short arm was adequate to the job.

As a matter of fact, I plan to replace the remaining pulpit blocks with the model SD embedded above.


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## Omatako

sailingdog said:


> Andre-
> I seriously doubt it was my "overtightening" it.


Sorry SD, I must be getting "oldtimers" disease. I was sure I read somewhere in your earlier post something like "You can still pull the insert free by over-tightening the screws".

Must have got it wrong again. Damn!!


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## Sapperwhite

Looks nice and clean, thanks for the heads up John.


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## sidmon

sailingdog said:


> Andre-
> 
> I was using one of the 4702 stanchion blocks, similar to this one:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Given that I had a sprained wrist at the time and a wrist brace on.. and three of the four screws tightened up just fine, and the last one pulled free without even me straining... I seriously doubt it was my "overtightening" it. I didn't feel the block would work under the loads required of it with just three of four screws holding it in place, since they are the only things holding it to the stanchion. I stand by my previous statement-the stanchion mount on these blocks are a piss-poor design and Harken knows it.


Just had EXACTLY the same thing happen to me with this design last week...

The little metal insert on the last bolt I tightened pulled out with little effort.


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## floatsome

We installed that nifty Harken kit (#7404) start of last season to replace a more cumbersome failing old set of fairleads and blocks, and did not encounter the insert pullout failure during installation (I hadn't been aware of it), so either it was fixed or not all have it. The furling line is now outboard of the stanchions and has been performing flawlessly.


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## Bilgewater

John and others, thank you for posting all this great information which was quite useful to me for my upgrade. Prior to my upgrade, the line was neatly run through bulls-eyes on the inboard side of the bullwarks...but it had it's issues so I decided on an upgrade. Here is my installation using a combination of the Schaefer stanchion blocks and a Harken furler lead-in AirBlock.

The Schaefer stanchion block....Nice solid construction.










To secure it to the Stanchion, line up the hole in the sheave with the hex bolt and *do not* over tighten. It doesn't take much to solidly secure it in place.










I'm going to try them up high (7" above the caprail) for now because I want them clearly out of the way of the amid-ship cleats, chocks and headsail travelers but I will likely lower them a bit later.



















Harken lead-in furler AirBlock for the pulpit.










I'll remove the old bulls-eyes and fill the holes when I get better weather.


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## JohnRPollard

Nicely done, SYLMG/Bilgewater.


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## sailingdog

Just curious, but why run the line so high. If you ran it lower, it would put less stress on the stanchions.


seayalatermoonglow said:


> John and others, thank you for posting all this great information which was quite useful to me for my upgrade. Prior to my upgrade, the line was neatly run through bulls-eyes on the inboard side of the bullwarks...but it had it's issues so I decided on an upgrade. Here is my installation using a combination of the Schaefer stanchion blocks and a Harken furler lead-in AirBlock.
> 
> The Schaefer stanchion block....Nice solid construction.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> To secure it to the Stanchion, line up the hole in the sheave with the hex bolt and *do not* over tighten. It doesn't take much to solidly secure it in place.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm going to try them up high (7" above the caprail) for now because I want them clearly out of the way of the amid-ship cleats, chocks and headsail travelers but I will likely lower them a bit later.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Harken lead-in furler AirBlock for the pulpit.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll remove the old bulls-eyes and fill the holes when I get better weather.


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## SJ34

sailingdog said:


> Just curious, but why run the line so high. If you ran it lower, it would put less stress on the stanchions.


To give you something to criticize.

Look at the rise of the bow. Line might rub the fairlead if it was mounted any lower.


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## Bilgewater

sailingdog said:


> Just curious, but why run the line so high. If you ran it lower, it would put less stress on the stanchions.


SD, I have actually lowered it a couple of inches since that photo and the lead-in block is now mounted tightly against the pulpit base, so its much better and still clears the chocks nicely. I'm aware of the extra stress but I want it completely clear of my chocks and I want the line to run parallel to the lower lifeline for aesthetic purposes and as you can see the distance from the pulpit base on the caprail to lower lifeline gives me very up/down movement to have it parallel to the lifeline.


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## sailingdog

Good enuf. Was just curious. 


seayalatermoonglow said:


> SD, I have actually lowered it a couple of inches since that photo and the lead-in block is now mounted tightly against the pulpit base, so its much better and still clears the chocks nicely. I'm aware of the extra stress but I want it completely clear of my chocks and I want the line to run parallel to the lower lifeline for aesthetic purposes and as you can see the distance from the pulpit base on the caprail to lower lifeline gives me very up/down movement to have it parallel to the lifeline.


Apparently not..he's lowered them...  And to quote the immortal Snoopy- *BLEAH!!!*


SJ34 said:


> To give you something to criticize.
> 
> Look at the rise of the bow. Line might rub the fairlead if it was mounted any lower.


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## andantesail

Nice. BTW what's that red sail you're flying and how to you have it rigged at the mast head?
Karl 
Andante


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## mikieg

I understand that there two types of furling systems, one is just for headsail storage, the other is for reducing sail area while sailing. Which one is the storage type, and which one is the one that can be sailed on with a partially exposed sail?

I have a santana 525. I am looking into a furling system for it. Any suggestions?


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## Faster

mikieg said:


> I understand that there two types of furling systems, one is just for headsail storage, the other is for reducing sail area while sailing. Which one is the storage type, and which one is the one that can be sailed on with a partially exposed sail?
> 
> I have a santana 525. I am looking into a furling system for it. Any suggestions?


Pretty well all the mainstream furlers are designed to reef as well (Harken, Furlex, Schaeffer, Profurl etc).

Some of the small boat designs like the smallest Cruising Designs and any zipper-luff jibs that are on furlers that are an integral part of the forestay generally are for furling/storage only.

The 'reefable' systems are, I would say, the majority these days.


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## GaryHLucas

Reefable systems require that the furler be able to handle significant torque loads. This requires a ridgid tube or extrusion. If there is just a luff wire or PVC extrusion then reefing is not possible, or a bad idea, because the extrusion will get permanently twisted. Furling also works best on relatively flat sails, and usually when furling say 30% of the sail. Beyond that most furling sails develop a bag shape that doesn't provide much in the way of drive.

Gary H. Lucas


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## mikieg

Guys, i appreciate your input. My boat currently has a pvc type of housing on the forestay. It looks as though the head sail just slides onto the moulded track. I guess the sail has a rope type luff maybe. The pvc moukding had a couple breaks in it. So i am thinking that it may be shot. Now might be a good time to goto a furling system. You guys have any ball park ideas of cost for one?


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## JohnRPollard

andantesail said:


> Nice. BTW what's that red sail you're flying and how to you have it rigged at the mast head?
> Karl
> Andante


Hi Karl,

That red sail is just our asymmetrical cruising spinnaker. It's in a sock and gets hoisted via the spin halyard. See my avatar photo.


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## birdlives

I may be missing something, but why don't you just swivel your Schaeffer blocks 180 degrees so the sheave is oriented away from the boat?


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## christyleigh

birdlives said:


> I may be missing something, but why don't you just swivel your Schaeffer blocks 180 degrees so the sheave is oriented away from the boat?


Yup.... you are missing something. If you do that the line rides against the stanchion - not the sheave. If the block was captive you could run it Outside the sheave - but it's not.


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## jetdrvr393

Thanks for this great thread. I just bought the Harken kit that includes 3 OSLBA's as well as the lead block and the ratchet block. I have a question on how to set it up, the cleat I need to use is aft of the stern rail that I need to mount the ratchet block to. The kit says you need a 90 degree turn off of that block but I really can't get one. It would be a real pain to mount the cleat that came with the kit. I am putting this on an S2 7.3, has anyone used this kit on a small boat like this and how did you do it?

Thanks


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## JohnRPollard

jetdrvr393 said:


> Thanks for this great thread. I just bought the Harken kit that includes 3 OSLBA's as well as the lead block and the ratchet block. I have a question on how to set it up, the cleat I need to use is aft of the stern rail that I need to mount the ratchet block to. The kit says you need a 90 degree turn off of that block but I really can't get one. It would be a real pain to mount the cleat that came with the kit. I am putting this on an S2 7.3, has anyone used this kit on a small boat like this and how did you do it?
> 
> Thanks


That's great that you got the whole kit! Nice upgrade. I am just using the OSLBAs. Our terminal ratchet block at the cockpit has a jam cleat built into it. We do have another small, fixed cleat forward of that as backup.

It really won't work very well if your cleat is aft of the ratchet block. Like they say, for the ratchet block to work advantageously, the line need to wrap around it.

Could you possibly find another spot forward of the stern rail to mount the small cleat? Or possibly show us some photos of your cockpit? We have some regular folks here that are very clever with rigging and deck hardware -- if you can give them a visual they can probably suggest a solution.


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## jetdrvr393

I'm not sure if I could find a spot or not, I will take some pics tomorrow and post them, I was wondering if I really need the ratchet block on a boat my size though, could I get by without it?


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## JohnRPollard

jetdrvr393 said:


> I'm not sure if I could find a spot or not, I will take some pics tomorrow and post them, I was wondering if I really need the ratchet block on a boat my size though, could I get by without it?


You shouldn't simply run the line from the cockpit/cleat directly to the first OSLBA. The OSLBAs are only designed as stand-off blocks to allow the furling line to pass outside of the stanchions with low friction. They require that the line be led in fair, and can't take much load. Same goes for any furling line stanchion blocks - not just Harken's OSLBA

So you really need to have some kind of turning block as the terminus near the cockpit. The block will (1) line up the furling line so it leads fair into the OSLBAs, and (2) take the load when you are pulling on the furling line to furl the sail. The block does not have to be a ratchet block per se, but the ratchet feature on the block will help you ease the line out under better control. You can get the same effect as the ratchet by wrapping the line on a winch.


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## jetdrvr393

JohnRPollard said:


> You shouldn't simply run the line from the cockpit/cleat directly to the first OSLBA. The OSLBAs are only designed as stand-off blocks to allow the furling line to pass outside of the stanchions with low friction. They require that the line be led in fair, and can't take much load. Same goes for any furling line stanchion blocks - not just Harken's OSLBA
> 
> So you really need to have some kind of turning block as the terminus near the cockpit. The block will (1) line up the furling line so it leads fair into the OSLBAs, and (2) take the load when you are pulling on the furling line to furl the sail. The block does not have to be a ratchet block per se, but the ratchet feature on the block will help you ease the line out under better control. You can get the same effect as the ratchet by wrapping the line on a winch.


The Harken kit comes with 2 turning blocks and 3 OSLBA's, the larger turning block is the ratchet one. The item number from Harken is 7402, I will try to post a picture of it. The line will go from the last stantion OSLBA to the ratchet block to the cleat, I'm just having trouble locating the cleat so the line come 90 or more off of the ratchet block.


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## jetdrvr393

Here is a picture of the kit, this is my first picture post so if it works I'll try to get one of the boat and see if you guys have any suggestions for me.


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## jetdrvr393

Here is a picture of my setup, the furling line will be the yellow line, you can see the forward most part of the stern rail with the ratchet block sort of on it and the cleat behind it. I may be able to mount the harken cleat ahead of the ratchet block and turn the line 180 but the deck is narrow there and hard to access from below so that would be my last choice.








Forgive all the dirt! I haven't got to my spring cleaning yet!


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## JohnRPollard

jet,

Those photos are great and very helpful! Don't worry about the spring cleaning. 

In my view, you have a very standard configuration. The ratchet block is definitely for the termination at the cockpit, and the regular block is for forward at the bow pulpit just before the line enters the furler drum.

The ratchet block needs to be spun around and mounted so that it is facing forward and inward somewhat toward the cockpit (not completely opposite how you have it now in the photo, more like spun 90-110 degrees counterclockwise). Then you can very easily mount the small cleat on either the flat surface of the cockpit coaming or the surface of the coaming that cants down to the narrow side-deck, somewhere forward of the pulpit (typically 1.5-2' forward of the block).

I think you can get this set-up very nicely. You should have pretty good access to the underside of the deck via the locker (or an aft cabin?) for mounting that small cleat.


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## jetdrvr393

JohnRPollard said:


> jet,
> 
> Those photos are great and very helpful! Don't worry about the spring cleaning.
> 
> In my view, you have a very standard configuration. The ratchet block is definitely for the termination at the cockpit, and the regular block is for forward at the bow pulpit just before the line enters the furler drum.
> 
> The ratchet block needs to be spun around and mounted so that it is facing forward and inward somewhat toward the cockpit (not completely opposite how you have it now in the photo, more like spun 90-110 degrees counterclockwise). Then you can very easily mount the small cleat on either the flat surface of the cockpit coaming or the surface of the coaming that cants down to the narrow side-deck, somewhere forward of the pulpit (typically 1.5-2' forward of the block).
> 
> I think you can get this set-up very nicely. You should have pretty good access to the underside of the deck via the locker (or an aft cabin?) for mounting that small cleat.


Thanks!
That makes sense, I will look at that route, I was also thinking of setting the cleat on the teak block aft of the jib winch cam cleat. That cleat could stand to be moved a bit anyways.


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## jetdrvr393

Here is the finished product. How does it look?


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## JohnRPollard

Looks fine, jet. You shouldn't need the winch normally, but it's in a good spot if you ever do. If the location of that cleat ends up interfering in unexpected ways, over the side of the coaming would be my next choice.

[The only suggestion I might have would be to whip the end of the furling line. If you don't have materials for whipping, at minimum tightly wrap some tape around it near the end and then cut through the tape and remove that frayed end.]

I'd also now like to see you tackle those weeds down in the pavers.


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## jetdrvr393

Thanks for everything. I appreciate the tip about whipping but I just used that yellow line so it would show up easily in the pics. The real furling line is whipped and ready to go.

The weed in the pavers are up as soon as the boat goes in the water this week


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## EJO

Hey John just looked at this thread and noticed that your and Jet's lines run outboard on the stanchions. Any particular reason for that??
I like to keep that line inboard as not to interfere with my jib sheet.
Also when my genoa is unfurled I don't really have to cleat it off as the wind and jib sheets don't put tension on it. I only cleat this line off when I "reef" the jib and or when fully rolled up.









A couple of more weeks until sailing.


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## JohnRPollard

EJO said:


> Hey John just looked at this thread and noticed that your and Jet's lines run outboard on the stanchions. Any particular reason for that??
> I like to keep that line inboard as not to interfere with my jib sheet.
> Also when my genoa is unfurled I don't really have to cleat it off as the wind and jib sheets don't put tension on it. I only cleat this line off when I "reef" the jib and or when fully rolled up....


Hi EJO,

Not sure if you had time to read my opening post to this thread, but the main idea of these OSLBA and other similar "outboard" blocks is to clean-up and reduce tripping hazards where folks are walking along the side-decks. In my case, the inboard blocks like you have were at just the right height that we constantly clipped our ankles on them. By placing the lead blocks and furling line outboard, our side decks are cleared up and easier to maneuver on. The line runs smoother, too.

Also, we do not experience any interference with the jib sheets. Outboard lead blocks are not new -- they seem to be the most common type nowadays. I haven't heard many if any complaints about jib-sheet interference. But, I could see where on certain configurations it might be a consideration.

As for cleating, you're right, there's really no need to cleat the furling line when the jib is unfurled, as the line is "lazy" at that point. However, the cleat is often the best place to neatly store the bitter end until it's needed again.


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## EJO

Hi John thanks for the explanation and my apologies for not reading all posts. I'm a pictures guy (LOL) and just saw those and did see the abbreviation OSLBA and thought it was some kind of twitter language (LOL) which I'm not too familiar with. 
I can see your point(s) and luckily my side boards are wide enough that I don't have the ankle problem. 
Happy sailing and love your "real" boat.


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## Liquorice

Just to be different I've just installed these.
Line guides and padeyes | Colligo Marine
I think they're the cat's ass!
sam


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## JohnRPollard

Liquorice said:


> Just to be different I've just installed these.
> Line guides and padeyes | Colligo Marine
> I think they're the cat's ass!
> sam


Those are interesting, I hadn't seen them previously.

They seem to be an outboard version of the standard stanchion mounted bullseye fairlead. One thing we've talked about, is the friction that these introduce when the line passes through them and bends around at an angle. Bullseyes seem to work best at keeping a straight line captive.

Give us some feedback as you get a chance to test them out. Thanks, and nice install, by the way.


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## Greg4cocokai

My 2 cents. I installed the garhauer blocks on our big boat 5 yrs and 24,000nms ago and they've been great. Garhauer also made custom lead block brackets to fit our 1-3/8" bow rails. Cheap!!!


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## pbpg

Great pictures and explanation! I wasn't aware of these at all.. thanks!


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## wamcneil

Those harken blocks are slick!


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## H and E

Looks like these would work and are not plastic.

http://garhauermarine.com/images/product/SB-3.jpg
Stanchion Blocks

SB-3 - Stainless Steel Blocks length: width: 
weight: shackle: 
One screw adjustment clamps on 1" stanchion.


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## jrd22

John- I've been wanting to install the Harken blocks since first reading this thread but didn't get around to pulling the trigger until now. Money well spent, they reduced the friction quite a bit and the genoa is much easier to furl now. I already had a swivel block mounted at the bow and a ratcheting block at the cockpit but I had the line running through welded eyes at the base of the stanchions and there must have been a lot of friction. I'll probably still need the winch in high winds to furl it but it seems to be a lot easier so far up to 20 knots.


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## JohnRPollard

jrd22 said:


> John- I've been wanting to install the Harken blocks since first reading this thread but didn't get around to pulling the trigger until now. Money well spent, they reduced the friction quite a bit and the genoa is much easier to furl now. I already had a swivel block mounted at the bow and a ratcheting block at the cockpit but I had the line running through welded eyes at the base of the stanchions and there must have been a lot of friction. I'll probably still need the winch in high winds to furl it but it seems to be a lot easier so far up to 20 knots.


Glad to hear that, jrd! I still have the older swivel and ratchet blocks at either end, too. I hope to upgrade them soon to the full Harken system, as I recently noticed a ball bearing missing from the forward swivel block.


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## Reefpoints

Eye opening!


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## Alex W

You can also run these fairleads outside of the stanchions:
Spinlock WL fairlead

They are a lot less expensive and make sense for the stanchions where the line doesn't need to make an aggressive angle change.


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