on every boat i have had or sailed, the harken gear has, at some point, failled. everything from blocks to cleats. i am very dissapointed with this krap.
<br> on my current boat my windward sheeting traveller has had the machine screws that hold the cleat pull out. these are under no vertical load.
<br> my main haylard block exploaded the other day. at one point in time this block held all of the haylard load but i installed a sky hook a while back and now it is under next to no load.
<br> every harken cleat i have ever used has failed. the line would slip or the whole thing would come apart.
<br> i know i will be told th pay closer attention to the swl and the bs numbers but i do. i do not think i have ever exceded these numbers. i know the type of sailing i do, and it is not the kind that puts 2000lbs on a block.
<br> i guess my question is: why the hell do boat manufactures use this stuff and why do owners continue to use it?<br><br>