Eight Bells: Performance hardware pioneer, Olaf Harken

Olaf Harken

Oct 24, 2019

Olaf Harken, 80, passed away Monday, October 21 after a weekend of accolades and family. Harken was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the Pewaukee Yacht Club Awards Dinner on Saturday. He was a seasoned Scow sailor and businessman who enjoyed sharing his passion for sailing.

Olaf was the vice president and co-owner of Harken, Inc., the international manufacturer specializing in performance sailing hardware and industrial solutions, headquartered in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The firm was founded in a 60-foot trailer in 1967 by Olaf and his brother Peter.

Following his time in the Navy, Olaf joined Peter in forming a company to make sailboats designed to withstand the rigors of college sailing clubs. Harken, Inc. created the widely famous ball-bearing blocks. Hugely successful, the blocks revolutionized the sailing hardware industry and became the preferred block of the best sailors in the world.

-US Sailing

Related Articles

Pursuit 500

Pace Inflatable Boats—From Sailing Dads to Sail Canada Partnership

June 12, 2025 By Mathew Channer Canadian company Pace Inflatable Boats was founded just four years ago when co-owners John Doucette and D’Arcy Craig met through their daughters’ sailing team. The company produces both commercial and recreational rigid aluminum-hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) and have 40 vessels currently being assembled at their Ottawa factory. Last month…

Information on Your Destination

Information on Your Destination

May 22, 2025 Despite everything, I am relentlessly committed to taking a positive viewpoint on the shenanigans currently raining on our parade. The May Two-Four Long Weekend was the universal start of the boating season in these parts. The unprecedented overuse of the word ‘unprecedented’ nonetheless describes our upcoming boating season, thanks to the bizarre…

Unstoppable Tracy

Unstoppable Tracy Represents Canada at the 2025 Hansa Para Worlds in Australia. 

May 22, 2025 By Mathew Channer Being born without arms and legs has never stopped Tracy “Unstoppable Tracy” Schmitt from pursuing sports and adventure, including mountain climbing, scuba diving, skiing, and particularly sailing. Schmitt is an author, motivational speaker, and competition sailor who recently returned from representing Canada at the 2025 Hansa Para Worlds in…

ENVGO NV1 Prototype

ENVGO to showcase NV1 Prototype in Ontario This Spring and Summer

May 22, 2025 Canadian company ENVGO has announced that it will showcase its NV1 electric hydrofoil prototype at two events in Ontario this year. The NV1 prototype will appear at Charge Ahead, an electric vehicle and charging event in Bracebridge on May 31. It will also be showcased at Green Innovation Weekend in Orillia on July 26 and 27, along with an…

Video Gallery

Starcraft SV 16 OB

By Craig Ritchie

Photos by Starcraft Marine

Building great boats has always come down to a mix of art and science, and that’s particularly true when it comes to meeting the biggest challenge of all—creating an appealing yet affordable family runabout. Buyers want a boat that is affordable but not stripped to the bare bones.

Enter Starcraft and its delightful SV 16 OB, an all-new-for-2025 family deck boat that elegantly balances comfort, amenities and affordability.

Read More

Destinations

The Erie Canal – An Extraordinary Waterway

By Mark Stevens

Photos by Sharon Matthews-Stevens

As I shift our chartered canal boat into neutral, I’m soothed by the soundtrack of bird calls, the occasional plaintive horn of a distant train and the hum of our engine.

I reach for the VHF to radio the lockmaster in charge of Erie Canal’s Lock 32 dead ahead. Our boat spins gently in the current like a maple key in a mud puddle.

“This is Onondaga,” I say. “Headed westbound and requesting passage.”

Read More

Lifestyle