Knowing Harken takes years and years (Pt.II)

by John Curnow on 25 Sep 2016 In Part One [here] of getting to know Harken, we looked at how Grant Pellew became the MD here in Australia, and how they rigorously go about testing their gear. We also looked at some of the other brands Harken distributes in Australia and so we move on to the last category.

Now the final product range is one that stems from a long running partnership with McLube. Outside of yachting there really are a thousand different things that they make, but we use just four. There is a polish, which is citrus base, then there is an antifouling version, which the Etchells, Melges 32s, 24 and those sorts of boats use when they are in the water for a week at a regatta, which just slows down the growth on the hull by quite a lot. You do notice it at a regatta.

Then obviously there's the sailkote as well, which comprises a spray and it also comes in a liquid form. Not just used by centreboards in small to medium boats, it is also a fave with the supermaxis on their daggerboards, to help with friction, for the product goes down into the casing and makes the whole thing very slippery.

In terms of deck gear, one of the neatest items to have appeared recently is the rig gauge by Spinlock. It currently works on 2-5mm wire and later on in the year, a bigger one will go up to 8mm. Small keelboats have been very familiar with the Loos gauge, and a few years ago, Harken brought out a digital one that read in kilos. “People loved that one, and I still get phone calls even today asking for them. We no longer make them, and if anyone's got one out there, well you've got a gold mine and you can sell it for nearly whatever you want. Especially in the original packaging”, said Pellew with a grin.

“Spinlock have brought out a smaller one, and it too reads in kilos, so all your old data transfers straight across. They also have an app with it that you can download, store all your data, move that data on, or pass it around to your friends, even put it on a website – whatever you want. In that way it has become more like a rigging guide. In a way, the actual tuning manual just got another chapter added to it.”

“Also, in the top right hand corner of the app you can download the Loos gauge numbers, and there's a chart there that you can relate everything to and brings it all back to numbers that you want to work with anyway.”

Also in Spinlock’s deckware side of the business are the life jackets, which are at the top end of the scale in price and quality. “Yeah, look the magic number now is 170n that everyone's making them to. You can get the 275n, and there are also commercial versions. One has the dissolvable tablet and the other has the hammer, which works off hydrostatic pressure for the firing system. Basically, you have to go in the water for it all to happen.”

In terms of cool, Harken’s new V-Blocks, which are the lowest friction ones they have ever made, are it and a bit. Small and powerful, light yet robust, these gems have either carbon or alloy side plates. The sheaves are fully titanium, as to the bearings, and they come in a V-shape, so that all the load is getting pushed down toward the centre of the block, right where the line that's coming in is tracking.

They will work superbly as spinnaker blocks, mainsheet, halyard, mast base and that sort of thing. They get used everywhere, especially on the Grand Prix boats, like TP52's and that sort of thing. They are quite small in size, for their specified load carrying capabilities. Our 57mm Black Magic Block that you see on all the boats has a one tonne working load. The new V-Block is the same size, but is rated to three tonnes!

The V-Blocks also personify Harken the brand, in terms of the inherent quality and longevity of the product and then the after sales support, spare parts and servicing. Pellew explains, “Basically all the products are made out of high quality material. We, source all our alloys from the top end manufacturers and we have like a pretty stringent quality control process that they all go through.”

“We also do all our testing in house. At the winch plant there's a four-storey test rig for testing lines and the winches. We can really load it up too - it gets quite scary. Recently they've just been testing a 70-tonne captive real winch, so it's quite a large thing. It would be like watching a rocket launch, so you'd be standing behind the barrier with the binoculars or maybe a brick wall actually.”

“Everything is tested and retested before they are released to the public. We also do personal testing in house, too. Again, as an example, we had a little problem come up a few years ago with some pawl springs on a couple of the ratchet blocks. It came down to a metal issue, so we got some new prototype ones here in Australia that I personally tested on my boat. I had two blocks on there, one I looked after, and the other I just abused, to see which one would fail first. Neither of them failed, which is a good thing and also shows that by keeping the quality up there we can assist those who may not look after the gear too well, by ensuring a good product lifespan.”

“Then with the carbon fibre it is all compression moulded in house, along with the roller cages, which are also 3D printed in house. There is a procedural and a governance aspect to it all. By way of example, when we did the new radial line of winches, they put the first one through all the tests. This is things like salt water baths for them to live in, heating them up, and then cooling them down. After they finished all that testing, and everything had passed, that winch drum got placed up next to the air-conditioning unit on the roof of Harken in Italy. It just lives there to see what happens over the intervening years, and then this all becomes part of the product knowledge base.”

Pellew went on to add, “For a while we have been helping out Charles Webb, who is doing a charity sled sail to the South Pole. He's built this sled that's got a sailboard rig on the top it, and it's got all our blocks. Now that all sounds quite simple and easy, but, then you start putting a ball-bearing block into sub-zero (Minus 30?C) freezing conditions and more with wind chill, and things start to ice up. He is helping us out with some pretty cool (fully intended) testing and we are helping him get there for a good cause.”

“Of course, in addition to that, and as we've mentioned before, we are actively involved in the Volvo and AC, so all of our gear gets tested at the pointy end of the fleets, that's for sure.”

So every sailor will have come across and used Harken, Spinlock, McLube and Marlow at some point, or every time they sail. That sort of market presence stems from the dominance of the brands in their respective fields. Pellew describes what it is like to not only have that familiarity, but leads on to explain how they support the market as a whole.

“The industry in Australia has changed quite a lot over the years. We used to have a big OEM market with yacht manufacturing, which has gone from Australia now and moved overseas. This is very unfortunate, but we're starting to see it come back a little bit now. Whether it gets back to the big heydays, we'll wait and see, but as a result, our whole market changed basically overnight, so we had to change with it.”



“This meant we ended up a very retail based market, so the gains are made now with support for that retail environment and service. We used to have the van that would go around and do all the service work and things like that. As part of the changes it went, but in its place we now have the trailer, which sailors will have seen at regattas.”

“It was originally made to save on freight as we moved stock and fittings around to the different boat shows. From that, we realised that actually we could set up a small shop in the back of it, by virtue of its design. So it goes out with some displays and other items to be there to support our local retailers at various regattas in their primary areas. It not only has new products for you, but also hopefully the parts you may need for repairs. The staff are also there to assist with advice for servicing and repairs etc. Given its success to date, we do plan to expand on it, by getting it to even more events and involve our local dealers to a greater extent.”

“In closing, I have to say that it’s a worldwide policy for Harken, and it's also in our mission statement, that people are our assets - our greatest assets. It is extremely true. It is not just about me, for it's the people around me that make Harken what it is. We're very big on the whole team aspect and it is how we get our results. We respect each other and all work together. We don't have problems. We just have solutions.”

So it might have taken Grant years and years to get to know Harken, but sailing is a sport for all ages and the art or craft side of the game also takes ages to master. Indeed, there is always something to learn at sea. See www.harken.com.au for all the information on the products or to locate your nearest dealer and call 02 8978 8666 to ask the team for their advice.