Adjustable jib cars

[sandy stone]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

After they re-machine the track, do they re-anodize it also? If so, that'd be tits. And if not, you're pretty much hosed.

I think he means they machine the cars to fit the track, not the other way around. And for what it's worth, I vote for Garhauer too. Their stuff is a bit heavier and bulkier than Harken, but it's way cheaper, and seems to be bulletproof.

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by landonshaw

Roverji, thanks for your comments. A few questions if I may.

You have the E-Z G2. That is listed as the E-Z G2UB on the web site??

That is the one I would be looking at also. E-Z G2 UB.

They offer a optional swivel cam. Is that a swivel cam cleat? If it is, did you purchase it? If it is a cleat, I believe in our boat we would have the cleat up by the cockpit for easier access.

Thanks, sv aloisius


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Don't know what the swivel cam is. Possibly a cam cleat on the forward control block. I secure the control line to a cleat on the side of the cockpit coaming which works great. A cam cleat on the control block would be way forward and might necessitate going forward to release it. Should check with Garhauer to verify what the swivel cleat is.

[Stumble]

Don't get me wrong I like Gurhauer stuff. But it always feels a little unrefined. Not bad by any means, but not quite up to snuff.

I tend to stick with Harken, or more recently Karver. The Karver stuff tends to the slightly more technical but very well executed. And for a lot of things these two aren't much more than Gurhauer.

[landonshaw]

I might be reading the sites incorrectly, but it looks like the Harken system uses 2 - G273B Lead cars at $352.00 ea, 2 end controls E2750 at $237.35 a pair.

The Gurhauer E-Z 2UB is $350.00 for port and stud set ups.

$589.35 vs $350.00 Is harken worth the $239 more? or is the $350 Gurbauer a good system that will last years and worth the $350?

Thanks
Dave

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by landonshaw

I might be reading the sites incorrectly, but it looks like the Harken system uses 2 - G273B Lead cars at $352.00 ea, 2 end controls E2750 at $237.35 a pair.

The Gurhauer E-Z 2UB is $350.00 for port and stud set ups.

$589.35 vs $350.00 Is harken worth the $239 more? or is the $350 Gurbauer a good system that will last years and worth the $350?

Thanks
Dave

Honestly both. There are good reasons why I would pay more for the harken, the wide jib lead for instance means you can run two sheets through it temporarily while doing a head sail change. While the lower profile increases the adjustable range on the sail luff. I am also not a huge fan on the shoulders of the jib lead block whichever should be flared open to handle a wider trim angle without inducing wear on the sheet.

On the other hand these things are really only critical on a race boat. Cruisers almost never do head sail changes, so the width isn't important. Cruisers don't use deck sweeping jibs so the extra height required isn't a problem, and the shoulders only matter a lot if you are using barberhauls to change the lead position.

The one major difference for everyone is that Harken uses captive recycling ball bearings, so you can easily remove the car from the track and reduce friction. Where the Gurhauers are non-captive. This means to remove them from the track you have to use a short piece of track to load it onto or the bearings will go flying (as I recall they ship them with extra balls for exactly this reason).

Horses for courses. I prefer the Harken, but it isn't like the Gurhauer's are bad. That little bit of extra cost upfront comes with real differences in the product. Gurhauer made a very reasonable decision that most people are fine with a product that is 60% the cost but only does 90% of the job. For a lot of people this works great. But if you care about the remaining 10% then Harken it is.

[savoir]

You are not comparing equivalent products.

The Garhauer is a T track setup with some kind of solid slider, probably a nylon insert. The Harken runs on X track and uses ball bearings to slide. That type of car will cost more in every brand. Harken don't make a product equivalent to the Garhauer and neither do Ronstan or Schaefer.

An almost equivalent purchase would be to buy Schaefer pin stop cars from Defender for $184 each and modify them by adding your own double blocks for roughly $35 each, which assumes you want 4:1 purchase on the cars.

[Matt Johnson]

The Garhauer is ball bearing and slide very nicely. We have the type two version with the cam cleat(on its own car) and wouldn't trade it.

Matt

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[landonshaw]

Looking at the harken and garhauer web sites, the harken takes a r27 track and the garhauer can be machined to a specific size for the existing T track on my boat. I am going to get the measurements and call Garhaur to verify. Not wanting to change tracks, the Garhaur might be the way to go. Not racing, only cruising the Caribbean, 90% might be all that I need.


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