Harken America's Cup History

about harken
harken america's cup history

Downloads
Press Release as a Word Document

At the 2007 America's Cup in Valencia Spain, almost all the competing and training boats are equipped with Harken deck gear and winches. This dominance began at the 1995 America's Cup in San Diego, California, when for the first time Harken provided winches, pedestals, drive trains, AirBlocks®, travelers, cam cleats, genoa lead systems and custom gear to both the challenger and defender.

Harken became an America's Cup player in 1977 when prototype Big Boat blocks were used by the Swedish 12-Meter Sverige. Subsequent Cups saw more and more 12-Meters depending on Harken gear. It was innovative and worked flawlessly, even after months of punishing abuse.

At the 1992 America's Cup, a major innovation was the result of a difficult request: develop a high-load lightweight block like Harken composite bearing titanium blocks, but with the low friction of ball and roller bearing blocks. The result was the AirBlock®. It proved such a breakthrough that 156 were delivered to five syndicates. AirBlocks are now part of Harken's standard line.

Harken acquired Barbarossa Winch Company in 1987. Now Harken Italy, they accepted the challenge of building winch systems for America's Cup boats. Made of carbon fiber and aluminum, with titanium and stainless steel gears, these winches are powerful, lightweight, and extremely reliable. Carbon pedestals pedestals, with carbon fiber drive shafts and handles complete this picture. Harken continues to innovate, researching new materials, and using state-of-the-art design tools and software to make our America's Cup hardware and winch packages the very best available.

Harken, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of innovative sailboat hardware and accessories. Headquartered in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Harken manufactures in USA and Italy. Their network includes offices in Rhode Island, California, Florida, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.