I'm looking for feedback on rope clutches. The choices seem to be
between Lewmar, Spinlock and Antal. Lewmars have a reputation for being
kindest to the line but have very small size ranges. They can be ganged
but no side mount is available. Spinlocks have a wide (and adjustable)
size range but are supposed to be harder on the line. They can be side
mounted but the bigger sizes can't be ganged. I don't know much about
Antals other than they are a bit more pricy.

Right now I am leaning towards Spinlocks but I am open to suggestions.

Spinlock also has some substantial looking jammers but I am not sure
where you would use a jammer rather than a clutch.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Glenn Ashmore wrote:

I'm looking for feedback on rope clutches. The choices seem to be
between Lewmar, Spinlock and Antal. Lewmars have a reputation for being
kindest to the line but have very small size ranges. They can be ganged
but no side mount is available. Spinlocks have a wide (and adjustable)
size range but are supposed to be harder on the line. They can be side
mounted but the bigger sizes can't be ganged. I don't know much about
Antals other than they are a bit more pricy.

Right now I am leaning towards Spinlocks but I am open to suggestions.

Spinlock also has some substantial looking jammers but I am not sure
where you would use a jammer rather than a clutch.
Add Garhauers to the list-I have heard good things about them from
users, and the price is certainly right. I currently have Spinlocks,
which do tend to fray the rope surfaces a bit. but are really handy
where I have ganged clutches and different size lines. The fraying is
not excessive; current main/jib halyards have held up over 6 seasons
with no need for replacement, just some surface fuzzing. But I would
look hard at the Garhauers if I needed to replace them. The Garhauers
support 5/16" through 9/16" line.

I will second the recommendation on the Garhauers rope clutches. I looked
into them when Practical Sailor gave them a high rating for causing less
line chafe and for best value. I have a total of 11 now.

However I have never seen any side mounts, but call and talk to their staff.
They have provided semi-custom gear for me before. the way their clutches
are assembled, they may have mounting method that I wasn't aware of.

I'm using all Garhauer clutchs and most of my running gear. I plan to add
their ridged boom vang before spring.

Their people are the best in the industry for customer service and guidance.
They don't sell through dealers, just internet web site and the major boat
shows.

If you want to get fast service, try to avoid the boat show season. It may
take you a week or so to get what you want during period.

BTW. So far they have never charged for shipping or handling, use UPS and
even authorize pickups for returns.

I hope they never change this policy.. I just wish they would increase their
line of products.. Maybe a line of winches??


--
My opinion and experience. FWIW

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Comments based on outfitting Swee****er in 1994-95 -- technology may
have changed since then.

First, although we did not use Antal clutches, other pieces by them
were entirely unsatisfactory -- mostly corrosion in odd places. I
won't use them again for anything.

As to Lewmar versus Spinlock -- it's a toss up.

We had Spinlock clutches on 3 reefs, vang, Cunningham, and preventer.
Entirely satisfactory, no excessive wear in roughly 25,000 miles of
sailing (out of 33,000 mile circumnav).

We used Spinlock jammers on main, genoa, and forestaysail halyard to
lead all three to one winch. Jammers are useful for loads above what
clutches will handle -- they are essentially free from abrasion, but
you must re-tension the line before release, in order to pull the
sliding wedge back. The Spinlock high load jammers were great, but
their price matches their load rating.

IMHO, clutch abrasion is largely a question of how you use them. If
you always pop the clutch with full load, you'll get some abrasion.
If you retension before release, you'll never have any. Reality is
somewhere between.

You can gang any of them with a little clever machine shop work. Side
mounts are easy with some 6061 angle from our favorite industrial
supply house. Or take them apart, drill and countersink the side plate
for flat head machine screws from the inside, then screw the side
plate to a slightly larger piece of 6061 and reassemble the clutch.

Similarly, when ganging or mounting clutches very close, I like to
mount them all on a single piece of 3/8" or 1/2" 6061 that's a little
larger than their bases and then fasten the whole assembly to the deck
with four machine screws through bolted. If you mount them
separately, any irregularities in the deck can cause binding. Also,
the mount screws in most of the clutches are hard to get at – it's
much easier to screw them to a plate in the shop and then the whole
thing to the deck.

Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com




Glenn Ashmore wrote in message news:l1hib.74370$sp2.18707@lakeread04...
I'm looking for feedback on rope clutches. The choices seem to be
between Lewmar, Spinlock and Antal. Lewmars have a reputation for being
kindest to the line but have very small size ranges. They can be ganged
but no side mount is available. Spinlocks have a wide (and adjustable)
size range but are supposed to be harder on the line. They can be side
mounted but the bigger sizes can't be ganged. I don't know much about
Antals other than they are a bit more pricy.

Right now I am leaning towards Spinlocks but I am open to suggestions.

Spinlock also has some substantial looking jammers but I am not sure
where you would use a jammer rather than a clutch.

Superlocks rule!

John

Truelove39 wrote:

Superlocks rule!

John

I thought so too until I really started looking into the choices. Now I
am not so sure. Lewmar seems to have gone through some changes in the
past couple of years that have not had a good effect on their quality of
product or support.

In my recent experience Lewmar preferrs to go after the big production
deals and will spend little effort on individuals. I walked into their
booth at Annapolis and presented my bill of materials (about $25K in
winches and hardware). They gave me a 2 minute tour and couldn't wait
to return to gabbing with each other. Took the same list into the
Harken booth and spent 2 hours with Peter Harken and Neil Harvy going
over the whole sail plan and deck layout in detail. Same with maritime
Trading. They spent an hour with me selecting Spinlock clutches.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Yes, but.

The difference in attitudes is why we used all Harken winches when we
refit Swee****er in '94-'95 -- much better pre-sale service. You
haven't mentioned their AutoCad drawings and other design tools....

However, in use, the brand new Harkens required more frequent
maintenance and always felt rougher than the 12 year old Lewmars that
came with the boat.

And, our one electric winch, on the main halyard, failed twice, and
Harken made us pay for the new parts both times, even though it was
two sizes above their recommendation, and both failures were within
warranty. Unfortunately, suing a Wisconsin corporation from
Massachusetts for $1,200 is a losing proposition.

So, it's no more Harken winches for us, although their blocks are
still hands down best. (For those who understand that Fintry is not
likely to have any halyard winches, I'll point out that she will have
two 55s for docking.)

Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com



Glenn Ashmore wrote in message news:htyib.74528$sp2.3442@lakeread04...
Truelove39 wrote:

Superlocks rule!

John

I thought so too until I really started looking into the choices. Now I
am not so sure. Lewmar seems to have gone through some changes in the
past couple of years that have not had a good effect on their quality of
product or support.

In my recent experience Lewmar preferrs to go after the big production
deals and will spend little effort on individuals. I walked into their
booth at Annapolis and presented my bill of materials (about $25K in
winches and hardware). They gave me a 2 minute tour and couldn't wait
to return to gabbing with each other. Took the same list into the
Harken booth and spent 2 hours with Peter Harken and Neil Harvy going
over the whole sail plan and deck layout in detail. Same with maritime
Trading. They spent an hour with me selecting Spinlock clutches.

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:l1hib.74370$sp2.18707@lakeread04...
I'm looking for feedback on rope clutches. The choices seem to be
between Lewmar, Spinlock and Antal. Lewmars have a reputation for being
kindest to the line but have very small size ranges. They can be ganged
but no side mount is available. Spinlocks have a wide (and adjustable)
size range but are supposed to be harder on the line. They can be side
mounted but the bigger sizes can't be ganged. I don't know much about
Antals other than they are a bit more pricy.

Right now I am leaning towards Spinlocks but I am open to suggestions.

Spinlock also has some substantial looking jammers but I am not sure
where you would use a jammer rather than a clutch.

Generally clutches work best when used with the largest size line of their
suggested range (i.e. if a clutch is good for 5/16" - 1/2" rope, use 1/2"
for best results). So depending on your running rigging sizes, one brand
might fit better.

Spinlocks are rougher on lines, but do o.k. if you bleed the tension and
don't just open them fully loaded.

The jammers are for high load items (typically halyards on larger boats),
freeing you to use a halyard winch for hoisting another sail. However you
do need the winch to unload them before releasing them. They work well for
what they are designed to do and are the only thing suitable for larger
boats.

I'd buy Lewmars before Spinlocks because I think they are kinder on lines
and thus are cheaper in the long run. Spinlocks "side mounting plates" are
nothing more than a chunk of L shaped aluminum extrusion - no reason you
can't do the same with Lewmars too. However if you can get a much better
price on the Spinlocks, they will do the job fine!

--
Evan Gatehouse

you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me
ceilydh AT 3web dot net
(fools the spammers)

I have Easylocks and they work great. Too bad they have been discontinued.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
Trains are a winter sport