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In this blog we take a quick look at what is new and/or interesting in the sailing block world in 2021.

Photo © Marjolein Rueter via Harken

Harken have long been a popular choice for winches due to their quality, with their winches aboard everything from the smallest sportsboats to the largest mega yachts.

When it comes to electric winches, Harken have an excellent range for both cruisers and racers with varying features to choose from, including 1, 2, and 3 speeds, horizontal, vertical and compact motor configurations, ‘shaped grip’ or ‘sandblasted grip’ and a rewind feature.  

© Andersen Winches

You’ve chosen to upgrade from a manual winch to an electric winch. Now, you need to decide on motor placement. This is a critical design decision which largely depends on your boats available space below deck. Ask yourself: ‘What is going to fit, and what is going to be the least work?’.

Harken have a dedicated range of furlers for dinghies and keel boats up to 30ft (3mm, 5mm and 6mm diameter forestays). These are what we, at upffront.com would term “Structural furlers”, in that they are an integral part of the main forestay. These systems are designed for furling only and cannot be used as a jib reefing system.

Harken have an extensive range of winches which are split into x2 primary ranges: Radial and Performa. In this blog we help you understand the key differences between these ranges and guide you to the right choice for you and your boat’s needs.

At upffront.com we love looking at the data and comparing products to gain insight. In this blog we look at the rapidly evolving world of high-load dinghy blocks and compare x4 leading products on the market from Allen Brothers, Harken, Ronstan and Morf Block.

Image Credits: Harken

Blocks, winches, travellers and a whole range of other systems, Harken has been a market leader in the sailing industry for over 40 years and is a household name among sailors. They consistently deliver great quality products and are known for their extensive distribution network and customer service. However, despite their extensive product range, Harken didn’t actually release their own continuous line furling system until 2016.

In the future, this category will be stocked with all things steering – such as wheels, rudder blades and complete steering systems (coming soon!) – but to begin, we’re kicking off with some terrific tiller extensions.

Choosing a winch can be daunting. The main decision criteria may be size or power Ratio, but Style, Speeds, Material and Grip are also of a consideration. That’s without going into powered options (electric / hydraulic), and then an extensive range of winch handle styles and sizes! Winches are an expensive bit of equipment and an educated choice will save you from unnecessary spend.

Type in ‘how to service a winch’ on Google, and the results you will get are endless. There are two types of steps to take: those that are universal to all winches, and those that are applicable to specific models. In this post, we discuss minimum requirements for servicing.