Wearing out parts

I bought this Lewmar 50mm Synchro fiddle block new at the start of this season.  It is part of the mainsheet system for Western Flyer.  A few weeks ago the cleat started slipping under load.  The plastic / fiberglass cleat pawls have worn.  Adam Savage has a new tool strategy of buying a cheap tool first if he doesn’t know the difference.  I sort of did this with this fiddle.

I chose the 50mm synchro fiddle based on Lewmar’s sizing chart.  It recommended this size for boats up to 28 feet.  This gives a 4:1 advantage.  My boat has a mainsail of 100 sq ft.  I sail it without reef up to 12-15 knots.  At higher wind speeds it can be strenuous to manage the load.  I have lost grip and had it run out on a couple of occasions.  I dont feel like this is a quality problem.

The pawls on the cam cleat are clearly of economy quality.  I have seen decades old harken cleats that have seen much use and still work.  I replaced the cleat on this Lewmar fiddle with an old harken cleat from the old traveler system.   I think this will continue to work now as if it were new.

However, in going back over the other fiddle options I found a much better one in light of my experience this season.   The Harken 57mm Carbo Ratcheting fiddle (with becket) sounds like just what I need.  The ratcheting block will let me more easily hold the mainsheet when it is loaded up.  My hand can be a little sore after a powered up sail.  This should help a lot.   From my direct experience the Harken parts perform and last.  So, I suppose I need to avoid the lure of the less expensive parts for the main components.

When the Harken fiddle arrives I will move the Lewmar fiddle to the boom vang.   I have an undersized vang on there now that is impossible to release under load.  This Lewmar fiddle will allow us to release the boom vang in an emergency which will allow the sail to spill out some of the wind.

The new mainsheet fiddle from Harken