Nautos Blocks

I have a couple of fiddle blocks I've used for few seasons. Haven't had a problem. They aren't Harkens, but then nothing else really is.

Disclaimer: I am the US Distributor for Allen blocks.
Nautos is a company out of Brazil that all they do is copy blocks of other companies. They gained most of their momentum when Holt broke from Allen to partner with Nautos. Then the two of them had a falling out.
Allen has been manufacturing the blocks in the UK for 40+ years and has a high quality standard and a lifetime warranty. Our prices are not too far off from Harken or etc for the reason. In most cases the materials used by companies that can sell blocks cheaper than Allen, Harken, and Ronstan are not up to snuff and will not last. Especially when it comes to blocks made of plastic. There are exceptions of course.
Peter, I live in Quincy and would be happy to sort you out with some good blocks at a good deal. Send me an email Todd dot Riccardi at gmail dot com

I have been a Harken fan for decades. They are the best.
I have been using Nautos as replacements for three years:

Jib Blocks - 5/16" Dacron line
Mini blocks and cam cleat with fairlead for adj. jib downhaul 1/4" Dacron
Laser fiddle vang w/cleat for adjustable trapeze line - 1/4" Dacron

As you can see, I have not yet tried main sheet blocks. My Harkens get loved and washed and polished every season. Based on the performance of Nautos' other gear, I would be willing to try their main sheet blocks.

Brazilian engineering has worldwide respect. What once was an in-house military aircraft shop is now the fourth largest commercial aircraft builder in the world. If you have flown anywhere in the US in a 120 seat jet, you probably flew Brazilian engineering.

Edited by klozhald on Feb 07, 2014 - 12:46 PM.

Brazilian engineering has worldwide respect. What once was an in-house military aircraft shop is now the fourth largest commercial aircraft builder in the world. If you have flown anywhere in the US in a 120 seat jet, you probably flew Brazilian engineering.

They are good, but not as good as a Boeing. We run a fleet of Embryo's (Embraer), they do the job, but not with the same level of creature comforts for the pilots, or engineers who maintain them.
As noted above, it is pretty easy to copy a proven design, time will tell if they cheaped out on materials. Give those small blocks 10 years in the sun,(20 for main blocks) & if they hold up as well as the Harkens, then they will be a serious threat.
Perception counts for a lot in that business, if they can get their product onto Olympic & America Cup boats, they may be a force to be reckoned with.

Good points. The Nautos are probably fine unless you are hard on your parts but If it were me I would prefer to look for a used Harken setup for a mainsheet. Those blocks seem to last forever. Could you rebuild your lowers?

My Nautos mainsheet system is holding up great, I couldn't be happier with the purchase. I bought a "Classic Line" 57MM 6:1 triple stack setup which I have since converted to 7:1 (8MM Samson Trophy Braid mainsheet). At the time of my purchase the setup cost me about a third of what I would have paid for Harken equivalent and it came with a 5-year warranty. PayPal'd it right off Nautos' website and it arrived in less than a week.

Harken's lifetime warranty (without need of proof of purchase) is reason enough for me to pay extra

Harken equivalent and it came with a 5-year warranty

Excuse me to hack this thread but since we are talking about blocks. When we say 57mm or 75mm block, where it is measured? at the OD or at the bottom of the sheave? I think it's the later but not sure.

Thanks.

Yeah, I understand that, and it was certainly a consideration when I bought the blocks. If the system fails in year 6 or whatever, I won't even bat an eye because that means I got 5+ years out of my (then) $130 investment. The system I replaced was a Harken system that failed (ratchet seized on a discontinued block). In any event, my experience having actually used the Nautos blocks for two seasons now has been positive.

MN3 wrote: Harken's lifetime warranty (without need of proof of purchase) is reason enough for me to pay extra

Harken equivalent and it came with a 5-year warranty

MN3 wrote: Harken's lifetime warranty (without need of proof of purchase) is reason enough for me to pay extra

Pretty sure Harken's warranty went limited while we weren't looking.

Original materials and workmanship only, with specific time limitations on some pieces.
Take a read:

http://www.harken.com/content.aspx?id=7798

Dissappointing, to say the least.

Edited by klozhald on Feb 11, 2014 - 03:45 PM.

coolhead wrote: Excuse me to hack this thread but since we are talking about blocks. When we say 57mm or 75mm block, where it is measured

The outside diameter of the sheave, not the diameter of the channel the line goes through.

Edited by klozhald on Feb 11, 2014 - 03:44 PM.

Looks like a Harken 2-7 year warranty in plain english you race at all if you ask me…..Hmmm... I'm in the process of looking for modern mainsheet blocks for my '81 H16 so this is a great thread!

Edited by fxloop on Feb 11, 2014 - 05:59 PM.

I've been trying out Viadana blks from sailcare.com. They appear to be moderate quality knock offs of several of Harken's lines, from Italy I believe. I don't have any of them in high load positions, and have only had them a couple of seasons, but good so far. Very attractive pricing, and nice folk to deal with.

Dave

Nice find on the blocks through sailcare! Some of those are perfect for the downhaul upgrade I want to do. Thanks. Pete

That warrantty page has a date on it of June 2008

I wouldn't be surprised if they still would do a repair for free.. worth checking out

klozhald wrote: [quote=MN3]Harken's lifetime warranty (without need of proof of purchase) is reason enough for me to pay extra

Pretty sure Harken's warranty went limited while we weren't looking.

Original materials and workmanship only, with specific time limitations on some pieces.
Take a read:

http://www.harken.com/content.aspx?id=7798

Dissappointing, to say the least.Edited by klozhald on Feb 11, 2014 - 03:45 PM.

MN3 wrote: I wouldn't be surprised if they still would do a repair for free.. worth checking out

There was a very recent entry here where the person talked with Harken and though they were nice, they turned him down for warranty repair.

any details?
surely there are items that fail to meet warranty replacement guidelines

klozhald wrote: [quote=MN3]I wouldn't be surprised if they still would do a repair for free.. worth checking out

There was a very recent entry here where the person talked with Harken and though they were nice, they turned him down for warranty repair.

MN3 wrote: any details?
surely there are items that fail to meet warranty replacement guidelines

[quote=klozhald][quote=MN3]I wouldn't be surprised if they still would do a repair for free.. worth checking out

There was a very recent entry here where the person talked with Harken and though they were nice, they turned him down for warranty repair.

It was me. They were nice. Technically, they warranty for five years, but it sounded like they would have tried to work with me if the block wasn't 28 years old. No, it is not a lifetime warranty. BTW, lifetime is a bit unreasonable, if you ask me. I mean c'mon, we beat the living crap out of these things 🙂

thanks for the details. I can't believe they wouldn't fix your 28 year old blocks! (jk)

my experience with Harken went like this
- I told them my ratchomatic main blocks didn't seem to be engaging ... they gave me tips to fix it (soak in hot water) - after that didn't fix it.. they said send them in . I asked if i need to find the receipt. They said no.

this was several years ago, but i was thoroughly impressed with their support (except they returned the blocks with something assembled backwards... I think it must have been the cleat. but i was able to turn it around correctly)

peterk123 wrote: [quote=MN3]any details?
surely there are items that fail to meet warranty replacement guidelines

[quote=klozhald][quote=MN3]I wouldn't be surprised if they still would do a repair for free.. worth checking out

There was a very recent entry here where the person talked with Harken and though they were nice, they turned him down for warranty repair.

It was me. They were nice. Technically, they warranty for five years, but it sounded like they would have tried to work with me if the block wasn't 28 years old. No, it is not a lifetime warranty. BTW, lifetime is a bit unreasonable, if you ask me. I mean c'mon, we beat the living crap out of these things 🙂

davefarmer wrote: I've been trying out Viadana blks

Dave

Me too, added 2 Viadana 38 composite blocks to my Harken main-sheet setup,
to help me handle the main better solo. They're holding up good
for 2,5 seasons now, but I'm on sweet water most of the time.
They differ 30-40 % with the H
The only minus is their website......... http://www.viadana.it/

André

Edited by catmodding on Feb 15, 2014 - 02:13 AM.

wildtsail wrote: Disclaimer: I am the US Distributor for Allen blocks.
Nautos is a company out of Brazil that all they do is copy blocks of other companies. They gained most of their momentum when Holt broke from Allen to partner with Nautos. Then the two of them had a falling out.
Allen has been manufacturing the blocks in the UK for 40+ years and has a high quality standard and a lifetime warranty. Our prices are not too far off from Harken or etc for the reason. In most cases the materials used by companies that can sell blocks cheaper than Allen, Harken, and Ronstan are not up to snuff and will not last. Especially when it comes to blocks made of plastic. There are exceptions of course.
Peter, I live in Quincy and would be happy to sort you out with some good blocks at a good deal. Send me an email Todd dot Riccardi at gmail dot com

Nautos is a factory in Brazil manufacturing blocks and general sailing hardware for more than 40 years , I m sad to read what you posted , because is not true, Nautos still manufacturing to Holt in the European market and Nautos NEVER had falling out , we have a high quality standards in our hardware and the reason we are cheaper than other factories is because we sell directly to customers . Our warranty is 5 years and in some cases 7, also as a reference Hobie use our blocks at the mainsail sheet system. Our materials are the same as Harken , Ronstan and others.
We develop our products and also they are well tested , for your knowledge we were the first on launch at METZ in Amsterdam the ALL composite block , which another nice brand take the good ideia to develop a nice product.
So next time you try to make an bad apreciation of a competitor think several times and inform yourself better.

juanv wrote:
Nautos is a factory in Brazil manufacturing blocks and general sailing hardware for more than 40 years , I m sad to read what you posted , because is not true, Nautos still manufacturing to Holt in the European market and Nautos NEVER had falling out , we have a high quality standards in our hardware and the reason we are cheaper than other factories is because we sell directly to customers . Our warranty is 5 years and in some cases 7, also as a reference Hobie use our blocks at the mainsail sheet system. Our materials are the same as Harken , Ronstan and others.

jaunv, welcome to TheBeachcats.com. It sounds like you are familiar with the company, care to introduce yourself?

If you are located in Brazil it would be great to hear local perspective of the upcoming Olympics now that catamarans with the Nacra 17 are back in.

DamonLinkous wrote: [quote=juanv]
Nautos is a factory in Brazil manufacturing blocks and general sailing hardware for more than 40 years , I m sad to read what you posted , because is not true, Nautos still manufacturing to Holt in the European market and Nautos NEVER had falling out , we have a high quality standards in our hardware and the reason we are cheaper than other factories is because we sell directly to customers . Our warranty is 5 years and in some cases 7, also as a reference Hobie use our blocks at the mainsail sheet system. Our materials are the same as Harken , Ronstan and others.

jaunv, welcome to TheBeachcats.com. It sounds like you are familiar with the company, care to introduce yourself?

If you are located in Brazil it would be great to hear local perspective of the upcoming Olympics now that catamarans with the Nacra 17 are back in.

HI Damon
I'm at Ft Lauderdale taking care about Nautos Usa ( Nautos distribution ) and yes I know very well the company .I sailing since I was 16 years old. ( 62)
I 'm travel several times a year to Brazil , is great the Olympics will be there at the Guanabara Bay in Rio , is a tricky bay with lots of currents up and down.
Lots of crews are training and more planning to come during this summer ( winter there) which is the greatest time of the year to sail.