Suppliers of Grand Prix Deck Gear & Regatta Support : Harken Europe

Harken USA, Harken Italy

Harken, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of quality sailboat hardware and accessories.

Our gear has dominated such events as the America's Cup and Olympics. Our blocks, travelers, furling systems and winches can be found aboard everything from the smallest dinghies to the largest megayachts and cruisers.

Headquartered in Pewaukee , Wisconsin , Harken manufactures in USA and Italy . Our network includes offices in Rhode Island , California , Florida , France , Italy , Japan , Sweden , and the United Kingdom .

 

HARKEN HISTORY

 
1966  
While a student at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Peter Harken works as designer for Gilson Medical Electronics and builds blocks, cams, winches and deck gear for his E-Scow and iceboats because he can't afford to buy them.
Olaf Harken drives from Georgia Tech almost every weekend to help Peter and to insure they devote their time to sailing and not school.

 

 1967
Peter and Olaf rent 60-foot-long garage next to the railroad tracks. Vanguard opens for business. They use polyethylene with masking tape and a $19 floor fan jammed in a broken window for their fiberglass grinding and spray booth.
 Sitting in the Flying Junior is Rose Sorensen, Harken's first employee. Rose is now office manager and corporate secretary.
  Olaf's financial report to obtain loans looked at with amusement and an "o.k., let's just wing it," from local bank.
 Peter and Olaf's landlords, the Stippich brothers (tool and die makers) provide tooling for first blocks at own expense. Agreement sealed with a simple handshake and still exists today.

 

1968
Lowell North and Buddy Friedrichs win Olympic Gold with blocks -- business takes off.

 

1969
  Vanguard wins French International 470 contract. Details of the coup d'etat not taught at Harvard Business School.
 Waukesha police on first name basis with Mac.

 

1974
 470 becomes Olympic class.
Develop weird products like HexaCats, Cam-Matics and Magic Boxes.

 

1975
  Vanguard 420 and MKII Finn in production. Vanguard Finn design reigns for 19 years. Peter loses Mac at Olympic Trials in Sandusky, Ohio. Peter searches for 10 days before finding him.

 

1976
 Supplies Finn tooling for Olympics. 106 out of 130 boats equipped with Harken hardware. Thirteen countries choose Vanguard 470. Abandon terrifying after-work Nite iceboat regatta because no one can see each other on the course. Go bar hopping instead.

 

1977
Swedish AC 12-Meter Sverige uses prototype big boat blocks.

 

1978
 Vanguard signs contract to provide training and tooling for the 1980 Olympic Games in Russia. Russian builders arrive on Halloween and are stunned when Vanguard employees greet them in costume.

 

1979
Creates first thermoplastic recirculating ball bearing travelers.

 

1982
Peter wins iceboater's COFFIN AWARD for multiple crashes through thin ice. Body o.k., but brain frozen.

 

1983
Teams with Frentzel Engineering to produce big boat furling system.
Wins Finn order for 1984 Olympics.
Harken gear aboard most AC 12-Meters.

 

1984
Harken Japan off and running. Harken Argentina on the go. Open East Coast office, Newport, RI.
Equipment supplier for Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Top finishers in SORC use Harken big boat blocks, sheaves and travelers.

 

1985
Peter wins COFFIN AWARD after major iceboat crash. Broken body parts and months of rehabilitation.

 

1986
In another mad adventure, Harken teams with North Sails and Gougeon to try to break world speed record in Slingshot. Destroy boat.
Creates first athletic boat shoe with world class odor.
Vanguard sold to Stephen H. Clark in Rhode Island.
Acquires Harken France.

 

1987
Acquires Harken Italy SpA. Italian Pewaukanese becomes new language.
Opens San Diego, CA office.
International sales take off.
Print catalog in three languages - Pewaukanese, French and German. Later, Italian.

 

1987
Olaf assembles team of companies and designers to develop, test and analyze new technology to make cruising boats faster and easier to sail. A 65 foot yacht named Procyon is designed and built by Kiwi Yachts, the interior done by Catalina Yachts.

 

1991
Experimental yacht Procyon launched.
Saucony manufactures redesigned Harken boat shoes. Smell no longer an issue.

 

1992
Designs AirBlocks for America's Cup yachts.
Supplies sailboat hardware in 1992 Olympics.
Supports first Sail Expo.

 

1993
Compu-Spec, a revolutionary hardware specification program, on-line.
Speedgrip winch handle designed.

 

1995
 Winches and deck hardware aboard America's Cup winner Black Magic and U.S. Defender, Young America.

 

1996
  Introduces Black Magic block line.

 

1997
Celebrate 30 years in business DAME Special Mention for Twisted Winch Pedestal.
Begin in-house manufacturing with machine shop, EDM metal cutting capabilities, CNC machines.

 

1998
Harken Sweden comes onboard.
Harken Italy moves into new modern building.
Introduce Black Magic® sailing gloves.

 

1999
Introduce small boat Carbo Blocks™ (30% lighter, 60% stronger than our classic blocks). Includes the revolutionary Ti-Lite with high strength line attachment.
New furling look with Mark III series; new self-tailing system on our winches; new racing winches.

 

2000
 Our Black Magic® Carbo AirBlocks® win Freeman Pittman Award for Innovation from Sail Magazine.
 Equip 16 of 17 new America's Cup boats with deck hardware and 11 of 17 with winches. Winner Black Magic (New Zealand) and Challenger Prada (Italy) both completely Harken equipped.
Introduce vision enhancing sunglasses.

2001
 Receive Company of the Decade DAME Award at METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show).
Harken Store on-line
Harken Hoister lift system to hang a Laser, boardboat, canoe, up in your garage.
Carbon furling systems that are 1/2 the weight of aluminum furlers. Micro CB (contained ball bearing) Travelers. Roll cars on, roll cars off. No flying balls, no worries. High load CRX Roller Traveler Car (reduces weight and size by 50%).
Harken gear aboard 5 of 6 starters in "The Race."
US Distributor Sales & Customer Service Manager Linda Otzelberger and welder/injection molding specialist Will Pionke celebrate 30 years. The entire company honor their accomplishments with stories from the "old days", a hilarious PowerPoint presentation of historic pictures and a running commentary by Olaf Harken and Art Mitchel that keeps everyone in stitches.
Olaf Harken sails with Cam Lewis and Team Adventure on a voyage of discovery that reacreates Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the new world.
Peter and Olaf are as entrepreneurial as ever and keep us all hopping with their innovative ideas. It's never dull around here. That's for sure!

2002
February 1 we celebrate 35 years in the business. A party guest asks "is it always like this around here?". Well, yes it is. It's a blast!