Harken SnubbAir Winch

It began as a response to a J/70 deck layout challenge. Where it goes from here is anyone's guess.

First designed to solve a deck layout challenge unique to the winch it replaces. But the product has so many potential applications it defies classification as a winch.

“The Classic Harken plain-top B&A winch has proven to be a great product on boats all over. But take one walk down the dock at a J/70 event and you see the whole array of creative ways crews try to pad or cover them up. We started to think that changing out the B&A in that application could improve crew performance, and reduce the amount of bruising the trimmers endure,” said Jim Andersen, Harken’s US Sales Manager. “Give credit to J/Boats. They wanted to keep the winches and maintain the ability for mixed and different sized crews to continue to sail the boat at a high level. They recognized that some form of load holding assistance was necessary. That leads us to SnubbAir.”

SnubbAir comes with four integral threaded studs placed to match the bolt pattern of the B&A winch on the J/70 deck. Early experiments indicate that start to finish, swapping out the two winches for SnubbAirs takes less than 10 minutes. All washers and Nylok nuts required for mounting are included.

“We named it the SnubbAir because it is a modern spin on an old-school snubbing winch,” Hartlmeier said. “And its low profile, wide drum diameter and large hole in the center make it look a little like our Grand Prix Air winches.”

As is called for in J/70 Class rules, SnubbAir will debut with the next series boats produced by J/Boats. As such, they are now class legal for retrofit and are available from Harken dealers immediately.

Snubbair

Winch Handle Adapter

Press Release by Harken.