"Steve G" wrote in message
...

I am building a boat which I will need to outfit with all of the deck
hardware soon. It's a 48' catamaran. I am very unfamiliar with all of
the
hardware vendors and their endless selection! Any favorites out there for
Winches, Blocks, and Mainsheet Travelers????

Winches - Harken or Lewmar. check out Andersen too. Their ribbed drums are
very easy on ropes and are sometimes a bit cheaper

Blocks - Lewmar, Harken for lightest weight options
Garhauer if you have a low budget and don't mind the weight, Schaeffer for
good middle of the road quality but generally
heavier than Lewmar & Harken

Traveler - Harken. With a 48' cat you're probably even past their "Big
Boat" Series and into the "Maxi" range. I feel your pain $$

Rope clutches - Spinlock XX/XTS

Also, are there any large negatives from the following:

Buying good used winches?

Some Barient/Barlow may have trouble getting spare parts as they haven't
been manufactured in at least a decade or so.

Ending up with different manufactures of winches ( I need five on my boat
ranging from a 16ST, 30ST, 40ST, 50ST and a 52).

Just that you will have to have spare pawls and springs from different
manufactuers

Can a used non self-tailing winch be fitting with something aftermarket
for
Self Tailing? Do they work?

The only one I know of is the "Wincher" - and they are sort of o.k. for
little winches but I wouldn't use one on the larger winches.

Any good resources (similar to consumer reports) for recommendations on
hardware?

Practical Sailor is always a good choice. Keep your eye on ebay for good
deals.

Don't forget that most hardware suppliers recommendations are based on
monohulls and cats, with their higher loads, will tend to get the next size
up for most gear. Your designer may have specified breaking loads for gear.

--
Evan Gatehouse

you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me
ceilydh AT 3web dot net
(fools the spammers)