In 1966, the Harken brothers were sailing the Flying Dutchman, a dinghy in vogue at the time. Tired of pulling on ropes that didn't slide, they developed the first ball pulley. This model referenced 001, even if it has been revised, is still in the catalogue today! From this small pulley for light sailing, Harken has developed many other models for larger and larger boats.
Today the range of pulleys is divided into three families:
- Element
- Carbo
- Black Magic
Each of these families determines a different conception.
Element Pulleys
These are pulleys with friction rings. The sheave rotates on one axis. The cheeks are made of forged aluminium for more resistance.
Simple and robust, these pulleys can be used everywhere. They satisfy 80% of cruising yachts. With very attractive prices (35 euros HT for a single 45 mm pulley), they offer above all a very high resistance (700 kg working load for a 45 mm pulley).
Element pulleys accept ropes from 8 to 16 mm in diameter. They are available in single, double, triple, violin and bridge versions, in 45, 60 and 80 mm.
Carbo Pulleys
The Carbo range consists of ball bearing pulleys. To reduce the coefficient of friction, Harken has installed a double ball race on its Carbo pulleys. The first rotates the sheave and the second is on the outside of the sheave.
Less resistant than Element pulleys (a Carbo 40 mm has a working load of 136 kg), they offer much higher performance. This will be noticeable if you make a multi-strand hoist when shocking the listener, for example.
With their winch-pulley version, Carbo boats are often used as spinnaker pulleys on sportboats.
Black Magic Pulleys
And it was with the participation in the America's Cup in 1992 that the Black Magic series (named after the participating boat) appeared. Designed for large boats, the Black Magic range uses rollers to keep the sheave rolling. Unlike a log, the width of the roller distributes the load. These pulleys are very efficient under heavy load. The largest models in the range allow working loads of up to 7 tons! This is why they are often chosen in regattas and on multihulls (catamarans from 40 feet).
The aluminium cheeks of the Black Magic pulleys can be removed with a simple Allen key. Maintenance and replacement of wearing parts is particularly easy
