High Load Thimbles from Allen - Why, When, Where?

by Allen 19 Nov 2021 12:00 UTC

High Load Thimbles © Allen Brothers

Why, when and where should you use a high load thimble?

Find out in our handy guide.

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Also known as low friction rings these handy bits of hardware are used across many different areas of a sailboat. But they're nothing new. In fact the high load thimble has been around for some time, just in slightly different forms.

One of the beautiful things about the high load thimble is it's simplicity. There are no moving parts and it is turned from one piece of aluminium. This makes the finished product extremely strong and lightweight for its size. To compare; a 20mm block weighs 10grams and has a maximum working load of 115kg. A 20mm high load thimble weighs 2grams and has a maximum working load of 400kg. That is an 80% weight saving to a 247% working load increase.

So why isnt everyone replacing blocks for high load thimbles?