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• interviews
  • Anna Tunnicliffe
    • David Schmidt interviews Anna Tunnicliffe,USSTAG Match Racing skipper
      
      
  • Mark Mendelblatt
    • David Schmidt interviews Mark Mendelblatt,USSTAG Star skipper
      
      
  • Erik Storck
    • David Schmidt interviews Erik Storck,USSTAG 49ER skipper
      
      
  • Zach Railey
    • David Schmidt interviews Zach Railey, USSTAG Finn sailor.
      
  • Paige Railey
    • David Schmidt interviews Paige Railey USSTAG Laser Radial sailor.
  • Bora Gulari
    • David Schmidt interviews Bora Gulari, Moth Champion
  • Jonathan McKee
    • David Schmidt interviews Jonathan McKee about the value of teamwork.
  • Mischa Heemskerk
    • David Schmidt interviews Mischa Heemskerk about rigging for speed on the F18.
  • Tom Slingsby
    • David Schmidt interviews Tom Slingsby about how he has trained to achieve world class status in the Laser.
  • Seb Josse
    • 
      Harken Interviews Seb Josse before the 2008 Vendee Globe Challenge.
  • Sam Davies
    • 
      Sam Davies fulfills a life-long dream as skipper of the Open 60 Roxie in the Vendée Globe.
  • Open 60 Deck Design - Harken France
    • 
      Managing Director Patrick Rieupeyrout and Technical Service Manager Jean Martins discuss Open 60s and the company's role in the Vendée Globe.
  • Grant Simmer
    • 
      Managing Director and Design coordinator of the America's Yacht Alinghi expresses his views on improved winch efficiency,the rules on stored energy, and the development of a new AC class.
• racing
  • SAIL Magazine
    • 
      Sail Magazine writes about Harken in 2009 AC.
  • Mini Maxi Fever
    • 
      Mini Maxis are future-focused yachts sailed by athletes that continuously chase higher efficiency and test out the newest high-performance technology.
  • America's Cup
    • 
      Peter and Olaf Harken discuss the development of Harken hardware.
  • AC Trickledown
    • 
      All Harken customers benefit from our America's Cup research and development with the taxing conditions providing the ultimate test for our gear.
  • Block Development
    • 
      Like many good ideas, Peter Harken's decision to use plastic instead of steel ball bearings in his boat hardware was born of necessity.
  • Paralympics
    • 
      John Ruf turns a life-altering event into an opportunity to excel in a sport he loves— from racing E-Scows to representing the U.S. at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Qingdao, China.
  • Optimists
    • 
      Learn why this 8 ft, flat-bottomed kid's boat has become the first trainer for many of the world's best. And why this unassuming dinghy has brought more new sailors into the sport than any other.
  • Morning Light
    • 
      Roy Disney talks about his documentary Morning Light, an unscripted, full-length film that follows the selection and training of 15 young sailors for the 2007 Transpacific Yacht.
  • Chasing Records
    • 
      Join Matteo Miceli on his solo record-setting passage from Gran Canaria to Guadaloupe in his 6 m (20 ft) beach cat Biondina Nera.
• cruising
  • Electric Furling
    • We answer your questions about Electric Furling
  • Salperton
    • 
      Barry Houghton's sleek cruising sloop Salperton combines the luxury of a contemporary home with the performance of an elegant race boat.
  • Turkish Gulets
    • 
      Turkish Distributor Ibrahim Karatas focuses on gulet-type boats with an eye to improving the performance of these lavish Turkish motorsailers.

Link to Larger Image

Running Backstay/checkstay
wo-part system: runner/checkstay combination controls mastbend and headstay tension at two different points on the mast. The runner features 57 mm Black Magic® AirBlocks®, while the checkstay uses a floating system of lightweight Micro blocks.

Adjustable Genoa Lead cars
Recirculating Delrin® ball bearings allow genoa lead cars to easily adjust loaded sheets from the safety of the cockpit. Low profile, lightweight Small Boat track and traveler car features 29 mm Carbo T2 control blocks to adjust tackle. A 40 mm Carbo T2 block on the car for a fair lead.

6:1/24:1 Mainsheet system
Features gross-trim/fine-tune system that sheets from the center of the cockpit. Carbo blocks reduce weight by 30% and are 60% stronger. 57 mm Carbo T2 block attaches with high-strength Spectra® line. Fore and aft/awthwartship configurations minimize twisting and spread the load. The soft attachment always provides a fair lead.

Copyright© 2011 Harken, Inc. All rights reserved
If you would like to link to or reprint this article please contact Brownie Lewis
 

CLASS HISTORY
At 21.5 feet, the Mini 6.5 Meter is a supercharged small keelboat that is over canvassed, sports a mast almost twice its length, and has been clocked in excess of 20 knots. The active circuit culminates every two years in the Mini Transat, a solo 4,000-mile battle from France to Brazil. With 70-plus boats on the starting line, competitors range from professional to amateur. All compete for the personal challenge and to test mental limits. The Mini is a development class designed to a box rule. Proto (one off) boats feature carbon sandwich construction and canting/sliding keels and daggerboards. Production boats or 'Series' are simpler, featuring aluminum spars and fixed keels.

LINKS
Mini 6.50 Class
6.5 Mini Class US
Harken Dealers
McLube™

BOAT SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 6.5 m (21.5 ft)

Beam: 3.0 m (10 ft)

Draft: 2.0 m (6.5 ft)

Rig Height: 14.0 m (46 ft)?봟ottom of keel

Freeboard: 0.75 m. (2.4 ft)
Main boom: Can't project aft of transom.
Ballast: Maximum 400 kg (882 lb) water or
Lead bulb: not more than 450 mm 17.7 in X 450 mm (17.7 8 in) in cross section.