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Autoratchets; Who is using what? #235237
07/26/11 02:30 PM
07/26/11 02:30 PM
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 302
Daytona Beach Florida
O
orphan Offline OP
enthusiast
orphan  Offline OP
enthusiast
O

Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 302
Daytona Beach Florida
Time to change a few for the spin sheets. Looking at Ronstan and Harken. Currently I have Harken but was curious if the new Ronstans are better or worse.

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Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: orphan] #235240
07/26/11 02:44 PM
07/26/11 02:44 PM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,906
Clermont, FL, USA
David Ingram Offline
Carpal Tunnel
David Ingram  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,906
Clermont, FL, USA
I have both but I've only used the Harken. The few times I've gone with Ronstan I've been disappointed. Yeah, I'm a Harken bigot.

Sorry Jeff, I know it's a pretty useless reply but you never call any more, was it something I said?


David Ingram
F18 USA 242
http://www.solarwind.solar

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda
"Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall
"You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: David Ingram] #235250
07/26/11 05:32 PM
07/26/11 05:32 PM
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 129
Austin, TX
BoK Offline
member
BoK  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 129
Austin, TX
I use the Ronstan Orbits on my C2 and they work great. I used the Harkens on my N20 and they were fine too.


Bo Kersey
Corsair 31-1D 276
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: orphan] #235253
07/26/11 07:05 PM
07/26/11 07:05 PM
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 713
WA, ID, MT
davefarmer Offline
old hand
davefarmer  Offline
old hand

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 713
WA, ID, MT
I've had good service from several sets of Harkens, had one set of Orbits for a short while that worked fine, but they seemed less robust in construction. Definitely lighter though, and I didn't use them long enough to really test durability(sold the boat).

Dave

Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: davefarmer] #235258
07/26/11 08:04 PM
07/26/11 08:04 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,118
Northfield Mn
Karl_Brogger Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Karl_Brogger  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,118
Northfield Mn
I'm huge fan of the Ronstan orbit blocks, for both the spinnaker and main sheets. The Ronstan main blocks I had were absolutely awesome even with a cheap line. I have a Harken 10:1 right now and don't know if I hate it because of the extra line or the tragic cleat adjustment.


I'm boatless.
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: David Ingram] #235263
07/26/11 09:34 PM
07/26/11 09:34 PM
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,224
Roanoke Island ,N.C.
Team_Cat_Fever Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Team_Cat_Fever  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,224
Roanoke Island ,N.C.
Originally Posted by David Ingram
I have both but I've only used the Harken. The few times I've gone with Ronstan I've been disappointed. Yeah, I'm a Harken bigot.

Sorry Jeff, I know it's a pretty useless reply but you never call any more, was it something I said?


Same here.I've never seen any reason to sway from Harken. From what I've heard the orbits have a more aggressive "hex" that hold well but will eat sheets. I wore the ratchet pawls out on many of the old Ronstan smart ratchets.


"I said, now, I said ,pay attention boy!"

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea
Isak Dinesen
If a man is to be obsessed by something.... I suppose a boat is as good as anything... perhaps a bit better than most.
E. B. White
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: Team_Cat_Fever] #235269
07/27/11 12:10 AM
07/27/11 12:10 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,430
california
F-18 5150 Offline
veteran
F-18 5150  Offline
veteran

Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,430
california
I have one of each on either side of the spin sheet. Harken seems to slide easier and Ronstan's grab harder. I like the combination for my spin.


Richard Vilvens
Brand Ambassador
PSA Capricorn USA
R.Vilvens@yahoo.com
Fairfield, Ca
F-18 5150

http://www.capricornsailing.com/
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: F-18 5150] #235271
07/27/11 04:24 AM
07/27/11 04:24 AM
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,669
Melbourne, Australia
Tornado_ALIVE Offline
Pooh-Bah
Tornado_ALIVE  Offline
Pooh-Bah

Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,669
Melbourne, Australia
I have used Ronstan, Harken and Holt.

Holt - failed very early. Waste of money.
Rostan - had a few failures, the later ones are more reliable however you canot adjust the sensitivty
Harken - A little heavier than the others, never had one fail and you can adjust the sensativity of when it engages


Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: Tornado_ALIVE] #235272
07/27/11 05:57 AM
07/27/11 05:57 AM
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 4,451
West coast of Norway
Rolf_Nilsen Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Rolf_Nilsen  Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: May 2003
Posts: 4,451
West coast of Norway
Had two Harken autoratchets fail. Both were replaced by Harken.

Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: Rolf_Nilsen] #235273
07/27/11 06:42 AM
07/27/11 06:42 AM
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 96
Budapest, Hungary, Europe
CatSailingHu Offline
journeyman
CatSailingHu  Offline
journeyman

Joined: May 2006
Posts: 96
Budapest, Hungary, Europe
Harken +1


Sanyi
Nacra Infusion
www.catsailing.hu
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: CatSailingHu] #235285
07/27/11 10:05 AM
07/27/11 10:05 AM

M
MN3
Unregistered
MN3
Unregistered
M



i had a 8:1 main blocks from harken. after a year i realized the ratchamatic feature wouldn't engage. Called them up.. they suggested a remedy that didn't help (soak in almost boiling water to free up any salts). they told me to ship them back, they would replace (without a receipt, and they didn't care how long i had them)...

BIG UPS for their customer service.

Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: orphan] #235286
07/27/11 11:55 AM
07/27/11 11:55 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,307
Asuncion, Paraguay
Luiz Offline
veteran
Luiz  Offline
veteran

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,307
Asuncion, Paraguay
We are rigging the SC15 jib sheets with a Ronstan and a Harken, one in each side. I prefer the Ronstan due to better grip (line suffers more, though), efficient cleat, less weight and lower price. It is early to say anything about durability.
If buying new ones I would use price as the first criteria. You should choose Ronstan if the crew´s hands are not strong (teen, woman, etc.)


Luiz
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: Luiz] #235288
07/27/11 01:12 PM
07/27/11 01:12 PM
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,203
uk
TEAMVMG Offline
veteran
TEAMVMG  Offline
veteran

Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,203
uk
Ronstan has one important and vital roll to play on many catamarans...


....the drain plugs!

Always Harken

Last edited by TEAMVMG; 07/27/11 01:13 PM.

Paul

teamvmg.weebly.com
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: TEAMVMG] #235294
07/27/11 02:44 PM
07/27/11 02:44 PM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,304
Gulf Coast relocated from Cali...
TeamChums Offline
veteran
TeamChums  Offline
veteran

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,304
Gulf Coast relocated from Cali...
Harken except for Distance Racing, I use Ronstan 62100 blocks for my outer spin sheet blocks. They grip better (although your sheet will look like beavers chewed it up after a week) and are freekin bullet proof. They are the all aluminum frame ones. Other than that I don't like using Ronstan because of durability issues. They seem to break easier. Plus the Harken logo looks way cooler.


Lee

Keyboard sailors are always faster in all conditions.
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: TeamChums] #235300
07/27/11 04:45 PM
07/27/11 04:45 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 932
Solomon's Island, MD
S
samc99us Offline
old hand
samc99us  Offline
old hand
S

Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 932
Solomon's Island, MD
I had a harken 8:1 mainsheet blow up during Tybee, Harken replaced the lower block assembly for free, no questions asked.

I also blew up some ronstan blocks trying to run a 2:1 system on the spinnaker, they weren't auto ratcheting or anything special but simply weren't built to the same toughness of a comparable Harken block (no Harkens in stock at WM).

I've used the harken setup on the N20's and its worked perfectly fine, seems fairly bulletproof. As a tip, its best to at least spray the auto ratchet blocks after sailing in salt water, better to soak them overnight in a bucket of soapy water


Scorpion F18
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: samc99us] #235305
07/27/11 08:09 PM
07/27/11 08:09 PM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,304
Gulf Coast relocated from Cali...
TeamChums Offline
veteran
TeamChums  Offline
veteran

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,304
Gulf Coast relocated from Cali...
Quote
I had a harken 8:1 mainsheet blow up during Tybee, Harken replaced the lower block assembly for free, no questions asked.
I also blew up some ronstan blocks



Was anyone injured in the explosions?


Lee

Keyboard sailors are always faster in all conditions.
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: TeamChums] #235306
07/27/11 08:30 PM
07/27/11 08:30 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 932
Solomon's Island, MD
S
samc99us Offline
old hand
samc99us  Offline
old hand
S

Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 932
Solomon's Island, MD
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on where you were sitting at the time, no one was hurt.. Blow up may be a bit exaggerated, the end caps that prevent the cleat from rotating failed over the course of 3 days-1 day of hard upwind sailing followed by 2 days of hard reaching. In the end the lower set of 3 blocks was no longer attached to the base and was riding at the top of the mainsail. Needless to say these problems made sheeting the main a b$tch and resulted in at least 3 capsizes.

I should mention that a replacement Ronstan lower block assembly was available to us, however the attachment point to the traveler was a whopping 3/16" stainless clevis pin, which I've bent on a Hobie 14 mainsheet system, never mind a 8:1 N20 mainsheet. In the end we used a friends Harken 10:1 system which worked flawlessly for the rest of the race.

Last edited by samc99us; 07/27/11 08:34 PM.

Scorpion F18
Re: Autoratchets; Who is using what? [Re: samc99us] #235325
07/28/11 09:26 AM
07/28/11 09:26 AM
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 172
Anacortes
Sloansailing Offline
member
Sloansailing  Offline
member

Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 172
Anacortes
I have the Ronstan Orbit auto ratchets on the spin sheets and they work pretty good, came with the boat. The grip is great. They are switchable between full ratchet, auto, and no ratchet, which seems great until you find they will switch themselves from one to the other, mostly from auto to full ratchet. So on jibes when you think the ratchet will disengage it doesn't, which really slows down the kite coming across, especially because they have so much grip.

On all the other boats I sail I use Harken autoratchets and they are dependable and work great. Just set the adjustment all the way out and you're at the perfect setting.

If i was replacing the spin blocks on my Tiger I'd go Harken.


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