Harken agent Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland gives some top tips for improving your boat and servicing your Harken deck gear. Barry has been working at the highest level with Harken for 15 years, dealing with boats from Maxis, TP 52s, high-end racing boats, cruising boats and dinghies.
With winter fast approaching, planning your winter service starts this month with deciding which of your deck hardware needs to be cleaned and serviced, and which needs to be upgraded for the start of spring. Harken provides extensive service and upgrade manuals to help you get your boat race ready for the coming season.
Start by making a list of the deck gear you have on your boat, be it big or small. For example: four winches, two genoa tracks, one mainsheet track, four cleats and ten blocks.
To get started on finding the information you need to service your Harken deck gear you will need to identify your tracks and winches. Winches will have a number on the top to identify the size (for example 46.2). For the mainsheet and genoa tracks, all you need is the width of the track and the length of your car(s). Take a picture of your cars and winches for future reference.
Winches
Cleaning and servicing your winches is simple. Once you have identified your winches, you can find the relevant service manuals on the Harken website. For example:
This will give you a full overview of all the parts inside your winch and how to service it. You can order extra pawls and springs, winch grease and pawl oil, or a full-service pack which includes all three. There are videos available online showing how to strip your winch and which parts to clean:
Top Tips:
Use more pawl oil and less grease! Bring a newspaper and a bucket, so you can keep the boat clean and the parts on board – cut a hole in the newspaper the size of the winch, to catch any drips. When you tighten the screw in the top shaft on the winch, just firm is enough.
Electric Winches
If you would like to upgrade your existing winch to an electric winch for ease of use, there are just a few changes to make to the Radial or Performa winches: you will need a longer central shaft and the motor. For racing, most boats will also need to add an extra battery to the system.
The difference in IRC for an electric stored-power winch is about one point.
Electric winches can often be a great asset for a boat which is short on crew, as it speeds up tacks making racing and cruising easier. An electrician can help you install a winch motor; it can be a bit tricky to get the winch turning in the right direction! Harken’s new digital switches are simple to use and make life easier and safer for you.
Tracks & Traveler Cars
First of all, look at the attached link to identify the style of car you have and the correct process for removing it from the track to service. Then identify the type of car you have using this guide:
Take the ends off the track and remove the car as shown in the link above. Then remove the bearings, clean them and inspect them for wear. If the bearings need replacing, the guide will confirm the type and quantity used for your car. Harken cars use Delrin or Torlon bearings; changing to other materials will damage the cars and track.
J 121 deck gear
Cleats
Cam cleats are easy to maintain and rebuild: the Harken 150 Cam-Matic is the most popular and is very simple to service to bring it back to life. Harken can supply service kits for cleats. Giving your cleats some TLC could make your inhauler work better next season – make sure to rinse them with fresh water after every use.
Blocks
Blocks are also easy to maintain: wash them with soap and warm water, then use McLube OneDrop ball-bearing conditioner on the ball-bearings inside block to protect the balls and keep them working correctly (you really do only need one drop!) Check the rope on your soft-attach blocks for fraying, and to make sure they are attached correctly, or check the shackles and split pins are still present and secure.
Mainsail Battcar Systems
To maintain your battcar system, just use soap and hot water! If the system is new, then the ball-bearings will be held captive in the car, so it is easy to remove the cars to clean them with soap and hot water. You can then use OneDrop ball-bearing conditioner to make sure the ball-bearings will work correctly. Replacing the split-pin in the headboard car is always a good idea, to make sure it’s easy to use for the coming season.
If you are worried about your mainsail stack height being too high, Harken provide a fantastic new switch track system for 18mm track. This is excellent for keeping your stack low, and folding your sail neatly at the same time!
Top Tip: The differences between Torlon and Delrin are, Torlon balls are high-load emersion ball-bearings. Delrin black balls are low-load emersion ball-bearings with UV protection. Delrin white balls are low-load emersion ball-bearings with no UV protection.
Winch Handles
You can repair the locking mechanism on Harken winch handles with a Lock-In Handle Repair Kit – this is a cheap alternative to throwing the handle away!
An example of deck gear layout on a modern cruiser-racer
For more tips on Harken products please go here or email me with any questions at the email address below
Check out the 2019 catalogue to get you started here
