Garhauer will replace the sheave if you send the block to them, for a charge of course but they are extremely reasonable.
Dick & Shirley Darrow
Cativa, NS30U #496
Sodus Bay, Lake Ontario
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID
It is a garhauer block, just has a plastic sheave. Seems like I could just replace the sheave and not buy the whole block assembly. A metal sheave would be good…
Thanks for that Idea Dick. That’s what I’m going to do.
Rick, when I bought Lionheart in 1999 (built in 1986), several of the blocks, including the mast foot block, had damaged or frozen sheaves. The original blocks had white plastic sheaves that had become brittle from UV, and they turned on simple pins - no bearings. I contacted Garhauer and they offered to replace all of my blocks with their latest design for a token price of $5 each. The new blocks had Delrin bearings and a much better quality sheave that is still in great shape today.
If your blocks are similar to the ones I had, especially if they do not turn on bearings, look into a complete replacement. I can’t promise the same deal I got, but Garhauer is very honest and easy to work with, and I think you will be happy with whatever they offer.
Bill Spencer - LIONHEART, NS30U 352 Hyde Park, NY
Thanks for the info Bill. Sounds like they’re a great company to do business with.
I did find the part number for a replacement Garhauer block, if anyone needs to know. It’s FB-01-SB.
Rick…
Hi Rick
Yes that is the correct replacement for that block, same hole pattern as on the fairlead collar. If I may advise here. The new block will be a ball bearing block and will be sent to you with nuts holding it all together. The VERY FIRST thing you’ll want to do is put elastic bands around it before you remove the nuts or else all the little balls will fall out. You’ll need to trim down the length of each bolt to suit your depth on the fairlead collar casting. On each of the 4 spacers there may be a small flat washer so be careful not to lose that. I’d recommend, when installing to the fairlead collar to put a 1/4 lock washer between the block and the casting and instead of Lock Tite use Tef Gel. The lock washer will allow space between the casting and the stainless plate for occasional flushing with fresh water as well as helping to secure the bolts. The elastic bands can be cut off at that point. The Tef Gel will allow for easier removal next time.
Cheers
Mike Quill
Thanks for the tips Mike. Without that I’m sure I’d have had a big mess on my hands.
On my boat the block was screwed in directly to the mast. It sounds like you’re saying there should be a cast mounting block there as well. For sure there was nothing like that.
Rick…
Mike,
I got down to the boat today and took a good look at what I have going on. Your advice is now clear to me. Pay no attention to my last post about the block being attached directly to the mast…