Fittings - which are the best

Harken are the best, the reason you pay all that money is because they're well made, with good materials, by a privately owned company that has had the right mentality for the business since they started out making ball blocks for ice yachts.  IMHO they still have the same philosophy as they did when the brothers started the company - they just want to make good products they'd want to use on their own ice yachts or boats, and they listen to what good sailors & designers ask them for and put that into practice. 

Yep, they don't have the massive range Holt do and yes, Ronstan/Freddy make some nice products (for years the Fred micro track was the business, till Harken made one), and yes I'm biased..... but, I'm still using a #019 hexaratchet I bought more than 15years ago and have transferred from boat to boat in that time, all 15yrs in salt water sailing with regular clean water wash out but not much care beyond it and I'll never use a different cleat on any dinghy... there is only one you can cleat and un-cleat, hiked or trapezing under no load or full load, nice and easy time after time... yup, the harken #150 

Well some of the manufacturers are watching this thread...

It does occur to me that when a block keeps "blowing up" in a given application then just possibly there may be something wrong with the block selection process...

Most people will select a block by

• Safe work load
• Line size
• Weight

All perfectly valid, but not in isolation

You also need to consider

• Line speed
• Nature of the static load
• Line material
• Articulation

Now, some of these considerations are more relevant on big boats where a badly selected block will demonstrate its displeasure in somewhat more dramatic fashion but...

If a block needs high line speed (asymetric sheets, spinnaker halyard etc) then the bearing system needs to be designed for that in order to optimise low friction while still giving decent strength. A bigger diameter sheave will always turn more freely, all else being equal, and a smaller line will run freer, again all else being equal. If the block carries a high static load (top block of a kicker cascade, genoa halyard blocks etc) then the bearing needs to be designed not to deform under those loads. You can't use wire through a plastic sheaved block, and consider how the block has to turn and move with a shifting direction of load - if the line starts wearing on the cheek of the block something will give eventually - line or block. You shouldn't use a triple block to lead three control lines to the cleats because the loads on the lines are not equal and the block will tilt - friction and wear follow.

Sometimes you need a block that is good for a high static load but also needs to be relatively easy to spin (49er kite halyard anyone?). There are blocks out there which will perform in that application (lets face it - an America's Cup boat has a much higher load and a much higher line speed and they survive....) but they tend to be heavier and more expensive....

So... having realised that you make a choice - one block to live for a while, accepting the extra weight, or accept that you will be changing that block frequently.

Whichever manufacturer you choose make sure the block is the right type and it should perform to its specification - if it doesn't, consider the above.

Then go out and buy the coolest ones...

Originally posted by Jack Sparrow well that sort of says it quite clearly. but what power Brand? Afterall VW do make Skoda and how many on here would buy Skoda?

Quite ... however a Skoda is not VW with a different badge, whilst there are components in the Skoda that have Audi & VW markings a friend who works in the industry told me whilst they often use the same tooling for components they don't use the same grade of materials ...

well that sort of says it quite clearly.

but what power Brand?

Afterall VW do make Skoda and how many on here would buy Skoda?

A holt block literally exploded on the 14 downhall a while back, but i just think it was a friday afternoon job, and wouldn't stop buying holt because of it!  Was quite interesting big bang and ball bearings every where i should imagine if we sent the block back to holt they would replace it