Staying At The Front - Of The Front

June is almost at hand. I’ve just come back from Croatia where the first event in this year’s 52 Super Series was held. Nine new boats were built for this season, all designed by Botin Partners or Judel Vrolijk. All the spar packages have been designed by Southern Spars and the rigging by their sister-company Future Fibers. These are exciting times. Even to the experienced eye, these are rocket ships.

Harken is fortunate to have enjoyed a strong position in the TP52 Class since its inception. Although our equipment can be found onboard most 52s, this class is right at the top of the Grand Prix racing world, where every piece of equipment is thoroughly evaluated and highly competitive. We’re competitors, too, so we take nothing for granted. And for this generation of boats, with so many new builds coming at the same time, we cranked even harder.

Eight of the new boats feature Harken Air® 250 winches. Coated in white ceramic for optimal line grip, the drums are low-profile with larger diameter for increased line speed. They come with interchangeable gear sets to match their capability to daily conditions and crew preference. For the first time ever, we have designed winches that are truly integrated into the boat structure, because the winch base is actually molded into the deck during construction. This deck-integration provides a rigid, efficient, and lightweight solution. We’ve incorporated some of the lessons learned in Bermuda at the last America’s Cup, and developed a new gearbox 404 in a distinct yellow color.

Teams are also finding ways to use our new wide-sheave V blocks on their backstays and recessing titanium V sheaves in the aft decks for kite sheets. Last but not least, significant refinements have been made to our hydraulic systems, most notably in the dump valves that can be adjusted while full-hiked.

You may have read that Harken doesn’t just make products for racers. That’s true; we make great products for all kinds of sailors. But in my job, Harken definitely makes products for racers—as many incredible new ones as we possibly can.

Happy June. Let’s get out there and win some big regattas!

-Mark Wiss, Director, Global Grand Prix and Custom Yacht Sales