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Hi folks,
How do you fasten a new ratchet block to the Sunfish deck? Does one drill pilot holes first and then fasten? I am also having difficulty finding exactly what screws or other fasteners that should be used in this application. I have a 73 that is still in excellent condition and would rather not make a mistake here.
Many thanks!
Brian
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Brian,
I cut out a block of wooden decking board as a backing plate, clamped it in place and drilled thru holes for a #8 or #10 SS machine screw.? Mount ratchet block and secure with screws ?washers and nyloc nuts.? I mounted a cam cleat instead
of a ratchet but the procedure should be the same for both.? Select the proper screws (oval head, countersink, etc) depending on requirements.
?
Mr Mike
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Sent from for Windows 10
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From: Brian Rood
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2020 7:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [SunfishSailor] securing new ratchet block
?
Hi folks,
How do you fasten a new ratchet block to the Sunfish deck? Does one drill pilot holes first and then fasten? I am also having difficulty finding exactly what screws or other fasteners that should be used in this application. I have a 73 that is still in excellent
condition and would rather not make a mistake here.
Many thanks!
Brian
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Hi Brian, ? I took an original, pretty nice, 1984 AMF Alcourt boat and put all the racing equipment on it. I used a Harken eye strap and Harken ratchet block. You need to through bolt it on the deck just above where the current brass mainsheet hook is. Instead of washers I used a second eye strap underneath the deck and use that to secure the forward end of the hiking strap. ? I'm just about to do the same thing to my practice boat which is now sitting on the beach at Lake Onalaska in La Crosse (part of the Upper Mississippi River system). I've only sailed it one time and I have to say it was fun using the hook since I haven't done that in a Fish since I got my first one in the 1960s. At the beginning, for racing, that was all that was legal (along with the Manella mainsheet). Then they approved just a single brand/model, center, mainsheet cleat that worked very poorly. A few years later they open that up for all options. ? If you would like, I'd be happy to send you a photo. ? Best regards, ? Mark ? Sunfish 7500 La Crosse Sailing Club La Crosse, Wisconsin ? 
? Mark A. Kastel Kastel@... 608-625-2042 ?
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From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Rood Sent: Friday, May 22, 2020 6:32 AM To: [email protected]Subject: [SunfishSailor] securing new ratchet block ? Hi folks,
How do you fasten a new ratchet block to the Sunfish deck? Does one drill pilot holes first and then fasten? I am also having difficulty finding exactly what screws or other fasteners that should be used in this application. I have a 73 that is still in excellent condition and would rather not make a mistake here.
Many thanks!
Brian
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Hi Brian We'd suggest getting the block first then going to the hardware store to find the right size fasteners. Make sure to get good stainless, marine grade preferred. Machine screw, washer and nylon stop nut. Assuming you are attaching the block to the cockpit lip we like to get fasteners that are not too short and not too long. Too short and it is hard to get the nut started on the screw back in its blind spot. Too long and you need a deep socket to hold the nut as it threads over 10 miles of screw. 1/2 inch extra thread is about right.? Get a pencil and mark the spot for the fastener holes. Don't go too far forward or you drill into the internal hull or forward cockpit bulkhead. Too far aft and there is no clearance for the nut.? Some folks like to add a thin metal or plastic backer plate underneath the lip. Not needed but helpful. The manufacturer does not add anything other than washers.?  Fire away with questions. Our question is which block are you installing? -- Cheers Clark and Skipper Our blog Our book?
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Thanks so much for the quick and helpful answers. I have not purchased the ratchet block yet but was thinking about the H2135 57 mm ratchet block from Harken. Thoughts on that?
Many thanks!
Brian
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Yes, please send a pic if you do not mind, Mark.
Thanks!
Brian
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thinking about the H2135 57 mm ratchet block from Harken. Thoughts on that?
My own experience with this family of block has been to think it’s great. ?It might be bigger than you need, except that to run a comfortable-size mainsheet (half-inch, in my opinion), you might not want a block much smaller. ?This one should certainly be able to handle the load; it’s listed as recommended for the much bigger Flying Scot. ? But OTOH the Scot has a 3 1/2 :1 purchase on the boom, whereas the Sailfish has 1 1/2 :1 (reckoning the part of the line from mid-boom to cockpit as the 1/2 in each case) — so the actual tension on the sheet may not be too different.
I say “this family of” block because mine is the 2135’s predecessor by 35 years, a 2 1/4” Harken Hexaratchet bought in 1984, but same size and with same mildly polygonal sheave in it — so the corners of the polygon in the sheave’s V groove act as modest jam cleats, adding up to a good belay effect when the ratchet’s on. ?(There’s a lever to flip that turns the ratchet off if you want, so that in light air you can play the sheet without drag — I suppose that's standard with most ratchet blocks.) ? The Hexarachet block was standard equipment on the fleet of Tech Dinghies I learned on, and it was great, so when I refitted the beat-up 1964 Tech I bought for myself (and still sail), I gave it one too, and have continued to think it’s great. ?(My boat is intermediate in sail size between Sunfish and Scot, and intermediate in mainsheet purchase as well, with 2 1/2:1. ?(The Scot has 3-part tackle at the stern, the Tech has 2, the 'Fish has 1.)
With any block that size, one nuance (or nuisance) is that in really light air it may tend to flop over and not pay out the sheet as freely as you’d like. ?But the remedy is easy, just bypass the block ?— run the sheet all the way out to park the stop knot at the block, and then play the sail purely by hand by taking hold of the sheet in the bight above the block. ? Or just play the boom itself by hand.
So unless Harken's new generation has managed to introduce some defect, I think you’ll like it.
Crispin
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I'm not the op, but nice, helpful, thorough post -- thanks!
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On Friday, May 22, 2020 11:20:11 PM crispin_m_miller wrote: On May 22, 2020, at 8:29 PM, Brian Rood <brianfrood@...> wrote:
thinking about the H2135 57 mm ratchet block from Harken. Thoughts on
that? My own experience with this family of block has been to think it’s great.
It might be bigger than you need, except that to run a comfortable-size
mainsheet (half-inch, in my opinion), you might not want a block much
smaller. This one should certainly be able to handle the load; it’s
listed as recommended for the much bigger Flying Scot. But OTOH the Scot
has a 3 1/2 :1 purchase on the boom, whereas the Sailfish has 1 1/2 :1
(reckoning the part of the line from mid-boom to cockpit as the 1/2 in
each case) — so the actual tension on the sheet may not be too different.
I say “this family of” block because mine is the 2135’s predecessor by 35
years, a 2 1/4” Harken Hexaratchet bought in 1984, but same size and with
same mildly polygonal sheave in it — so the corners of the polygon in the
sheave’s V groove act as modest jam cleats, adding up to a good belay
effect when the ratchet’s on. (There’s a lever to flip that turns the
ratchet off if you want, so that in light air you can play the sheet
without drag — I suppose that's standard with most ratchet blocks.) The
Hexarachet block was standard equipment on the fleet of Tech Dinghies I
learned on, and it was great, so when I refitted the beat-up 1964 Tech I
bought for myself (and still sail), I gave it one too, and have continued
to think it’s great. (My boat is intermediate in sail size between
Sunfish and Scot, and intermediate in mainsheet purchase as well, with 2
1/2:1. (The Scot has 3-part tackle at the stern, the Tech has 2, the
'Fish has 1.)
With any block that size, one nuance (or nuisance) is that in really light
air it may tend to flop over and not pay out the sheet as freely as you’d
like. But the remedy is easy, just bypass the block — run the sheet all
the way out to park the stop knot at the block, and then play the sail
purely by hand by taking hold of the sheet in the bight above the block.
Or just play the boom itself by hand.
So unless Harken's new generation has managed to introduce some defect, I
think you’ll like it.
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Nice tips. I like the one about adding the eyestrap below the lip, useful for a lot of things.
--
Cheers
Clark and Skipper
Our blog
Our book?
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On May 22, 2020, at 11:33 PM, Randy Kramer < rhkramer@...> wrote: I'm not the op, but nice, helpful, thorough post -- thanks!
Thanks for the kind words!
Regarding my worry about?
one nuance (or nuisance) is that in really light?air it may tend to flop over and not pay out the sheet as freely as you’d?like, it looks like this becomes a non-issue if you install the block with a stand-up spring under it, as my2fish’s post has now illustrated. ?Come to think of it, I believe I’d seen that feature, on a block mounted to the cockpit sole of a bigger boat, but forgotten it. Might make the block less likely to strangle itself by falling in a heap during a lull or a gybe and getting a loop around itself.
If the spring pressure impedes the swiveling and that gives you trouble in light air, you can still play the sheet from above the block as I was talking about last night.
BTW this is probably obvious to everyone, but if you invest in nice hardware that’s made of metal (well, even just your spars) and then you sail in salt water, it’s a good idea to hose down your boat fairly thoroughly before it spends time back in storage. ?As part of that, I dump all my loose rigging parts (sheets, blocks, etc) in a bucket of fresh water overnight and then lay ‘em out to dry. ? For me that includes the ratchet block, since mine just dangles on a shackle from the c’board trunk (on the Tech), but if it were mounted on a standup spring I’d just drench it and let it stand there and drain itself.
Crispin
—————————————
On Friday, May 22, 2020 11:20:11 PM crispin_m_miller wrote: On May 22, 2020, at 8:29 PM, Brian Rood <brianfrood@...> wrote:
thinking about the H2135 57 mm ratchet block from Harken. Thoughts on
that?
My own experience with this family of block has been to think it’s great.
It might be bigger than you need, except that to run a comfortable-size
mainsheet (half-inch, in my opinion), you might not want a block much
smaller. ?This one should certainly be able to handle the load; it’s
listed as recommended for the much bigger Flying Scot. ??But OTOH the Scot
has a 3 1/2 :1 purchase on the boom, whereas the Sailfish has 1 1/2 :1
(reckoning the part of the line from mid-boom to cockpit as the 1/2 in
each case) — so the actual tension on the sheet may not be too different.
I say “this family of” block because mine is the 2135’s predecessor by 35
years, a 2 1/4” Harken Hexaratchet bought in 1984, but same size and with
same mildly polygonal sheave in it — so the corners of the polygon in the
sheave’s V groove act as modest jam cleats, adding up to a good belay
effect when the ratchet’s on. ?(There’s a lever to flip that turns the
ratchet off if you want, so that in light air you can play the sheet
without drag — I suppose that's standard with most ratchet blocks.) ??The
Hexarachet block was standard equipment on the fleet of Tech Dinghies I
learned on, and it was great, so when I refitted the beat-up 1964 Tech I
bought for myself (and still sail), I gave it one too, and have continued
to think it’s great. ?(My boat is intermediate in sail size between
Sunfish and Scot, and intermediate in mainsheet purchase as well, with 2
1/2:1. ?(The Scot has 3-part tackle at the stern, the Tech has 2, the
'Fish has 1.)
With any block that size, one nuance (or nuisance) is that in really light
air it may tend to flop over and not pay out the sheet as freely as you’d
like. ?But the remedy is easy, just bypass the block ?— run the sheet all
the way out to park the stop knot at the block, and then play the sail
purely by hand by taking hold of the sheet in the bight above the block.
Or just play the boom itself by hand.
So unless Harken's new generation has managed to introduce some defect, I
think you’ll like it.
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Be sure to take the hook off!?
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Signal Charlie
turluck