Mainsheet....

Ted,
The harkens are 75mm carbo blocks. #2665 is the triple/becket 3639lb SWL ,#2660 is the single 1213lb SWL, #2662 is the double 2426lb SWL.
I still am hesitant to load up these all plastic blocks but the Triple has a break strength of 10,000lbs! The lewmars look stronger but I think its probably a function of bearing loads not the cheeks. The 57mm would probably work just as well and be a little lighter and cheaper.
I had the single garhauers on there but now I just use them at the mast base. They are aluminum and pretty light too. I think Garhauer has changed the design and these arent available anymore(3 years old) Still their lite blocks are a good value and they are a bit stronger in the new design.

Changing to a 3/8 sheet made a diference too, as the line ran easier and i had no problems getting the boom out in light air

I did sail on Sunday and the 7:1 mainsheet was wonderful. I had 5-18 knots of breeze and I never used the winch to trim the main. The new main is like having a new boat, absolutely incredible, but I will start another thread to discuss that.

Thanks. I got a new main this fall and it made a huge difference. On the blocks I will probably end op going with something beefier than the lewmar 60's maybe go to the 80's.

In looking at the existing mainsheet blocks on my boat they are Lewmar Ocean 2 series. The sad thing is that according to lewmar the SWL of the fiddle attached to the traveler is only 1130 lbs with a breaking strength of 2260. Granted they have lasted since 1989, but from the research I have been doing they sound grossly undersized. My rigging shop buddy was telling me that he vaguely recalls them doing some math that a similar sized boat with a full main in 40kts could generate 10k lbs at that location. Not that I would be carrying a full main in 40kts but it is a starting point...The block attached to the traveler carries 100% of the load in this setup. I am hesitant to use the harken carbos do to their UV resistance or lack there of. Anyone have anything good to say about Harken carbo stuff over the years? Garhauer blocks seem strong for the money too but I am not so sure about their smoothness under loads verses some of the pricier lewmar or harken gear. Rigging buddy joked that they were oem on Catalinas... Not to start bad mouthing other boat builders...

I have never had a Garhauer block fail

I have sold them to clients that had no idea what they were doing and grossly overloaded them.

I pretty much outfitted my E-39 with them, being a dealer it was a lot easier on the bank. Also when you buy Harken and Lewmar you are paying for a lot of advertising, there is a rare Garhauer ad here and there, but by and large you aren't paying for Guido and Mark to sponser much.

30,000+ miles of ocean under them and I never had anything that Guido and the gang made for me fail. Everything worked like a charm, some things like the adjustable genoa cars worked better than any others that I have worked with, and way better than I would ever have expected. Guido also made these for me custom to fit the SS track on the E-39, which was not standard track.

My first choice is Garhauer, only if there is something that I can't get from them do I go to Harken... Beyond that I start hiring machine operators....

The disadvantage of Garhauer is that sometimes you don't get exactly what you want on the first try, Guido and the gang ALWAYS get you what you need and want, but sometimes it takes some back and forth play. And customer service! I can't believe the level that they provide! They always make it right, and make sure that you get what really works for you.

The gang there has custom made me more parts that were less than 1/2 the price of Harken, and were made of Stainless Steel or Aluminum instead of plastic... Errrr engineered composits.

That said Harken has great customer service too, they have made more that one thing right for my customers when the customer was at fault, and apologised for the inconviencence to the customer even.

Please insert another $.02
Guy