Is vanity is rearing its ugly head on deck hardware?

[JPA Cate]

haven't ever used the stacked ones, but if the upper ones are slack, might the moving of one of the lower ones cause something somewhere to foul? (all ours are horizontal)

A.

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

haven't ever used the stacked ones, but if the upper ones are slack, might the moving of one of the lower ones cause something somewhere to foul? (all ours are horizontal)

A.

Good point, Ann. Both of mine are stacked and there always seems to be sufficient tension that I've never had any issue with fouling lines. The bigger issue (in my mind) is the sideway force as the halyards transition from the mast blocks to the side deck. There's not a lot of technical specs on many of them. I'm kinda leaning toward the Garhauer 40 series (with 6 ball bearing sheaves) despite preferring the black anodized styles.

[Celestialsailor]

I'm such a mutt when it comes to this stuff. But time and time again, I'm always impressed with Garhauer's bling beauty and their reasonable pricing. But of course it's not yachty PC.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I'm such a mutt when it comes to this stuff. But time and time again, I'm always impressed with Garhauer's bling beauty and their reasonable pricing. But of course it's not yachty PC.

I also drool for Garhauer...I have a 4:1 mainsheet block/beckett/cam from them and really like it. If my crew shows up I may even get to use it today.

Gamayun, sorry about the injury, I hope you keep feeling better and are enjoying the view while sailing soon.

[Greatest Lakes]

I just installed Andersen 40 ST winches. My old ones still worked, but they were feeling their age. I have installed tons of new hardware on the boat, brand seems less important than using the best hardware for the task, I have a few Schafer blocks, but Garhauer, Harken and Viadana are all used. I do long for the day when the oldest thing on my boat is me.

[gamayun]

Ooooh, new deck bling. I'm jealous. I'll have to post mine soon, too. Keep em coming!

It's curious that Schaefer hasn't been mentioned till now. As to Garhauer, I found them right after I got Kynntana and need a hard vang. Some people said their stuff doesn't hold up but I continue to like (and use) their stuff including a really nice block for my mainsail.

Happy Fourth everyone!!!!!

[RaymondR]

If black paint wont do the bling thing enough for you, you could strip them all down and get all the metalwork bits chromed like the car customizing folks do.

[gamayun]

Here's an update. I bought two Garhauer 6-sheave organizers for the starboard-run lines (everything goes aft) and moved the 4-sheave one to port for the vang, downhaul and outhaul. It was not an inexpensive solution but is looking good and I'm happy with the solution. I also replaced the teak handrails and eyebrow with Plasteak. Has anyone done the same? What was your experience? I got the handrails dry fitted today, but still trying to get the rolled up eyebrow to behave on a flat surface (hence, the duct tape) before I can screw down those parts. The dodger is still a work in progress but it should be all done this week and I'm super stoked about the frame design that is going to fit my use better.

So things are coming along....finally. What more can a gal ask for?

[gamayun]

Oh, that rough paint on the edge of the side deck is still a work in progress. I want to rebed the toe rail before I tackle that part of the paint job. The top part of the deck is AlexSeal with SoftSand. Really happy with it but just a word of warning. The "coarse" grit is super aggressive for the non-skid.

[Tayana42]

Those Garhauer deck organizers look great. Nicely done. Thanks for the update. The only experience I have with Plasteak is a board between stations for lashing Jerry jugs. It has lasted well for 7 years so far. My only hesitation for your use is that I don’t know if it is as strong as real teak for your grab rails. I’m not saying it isn’t, just that I don’t know.

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by Tayana42

Those Garhauer deck organizers look great. Nicely done. Thanks for the update. The only experience I have with Plasteak is a board between stations for lashing Jerry jugs. It has lasted well for 7 years so far. My only hesitation for your use is that I don’t know if it is as strong as real teak for your grab rails. I’m not saying it isn’t, just that I don’t know.

I'm very happy with the deck organizers. Thanks. The strength of the PlasTEAK rails was the one worrying thing. That said, the forward teak handrails had been holding with only 5 screws each because there had been leakage and the first screws on each side had broken easily when I removed them. The PlasTEAK handrails are not through-bolted, which I could do eventually, but I am going with screws for the time being. At sea, I tend not to put a lot of weight on the handrails because I'm just sliding or crouched and I'm always tied into a jackline so would never use the handrail for this. That's my thinking anyway. It'll be a test like other things I've changed over time. I'm happy with the look and especially with no maintenance!