Big Highfield levers on eBay

[rbgarr]

with an inexplicably huge S&H cost: http://tinyurl.com/3e293b

[John B]

Just to be pedantic, and because I feel J laurent Giles has been hard done by, and because I always say this...

Those are Giles pattern levers. Not Mr Highfields.

sigh, I feel I have done some righteous good in the world today, now.

[paladin]

Methinks the seller is trying to be slick....he pays e-bay for the sale of $50 and collects the bucks on the freight.......I don't mind trying to beat the system a bit..but...

[rbgarr]

I agree on both counts. (Didn't think most readers would know what Giles pattern levers would be.)

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

I agree on both counts. (Didn't think most readers would know what Giles pattern levers would be.)

This is the WBF - where the sort of nerds who distinguish between Highfield Levers (and who know who Highfield was!) Giles Levers and Warrington Smyth Levers all congregate!

But I agree all the same!

[The Bigfella]

Bet some even know the difference between a Browning Lever Action and a Miroku Lever Action too.

[John B]

I know ,I know. I just can't help meself.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

...it was Commodore Highfield...

They do look nice, but I think little Mirelle would look lost underneath them.

Cost a small fortune, when new.

Moray McPhail at Classic Marine has got the patterns for these (in all three sizes) and will run some up for you if you can get an order for six sets put together.

Careful inspection reveals "free if collected".

[paladin]

About 35 years ago I looked at the price for the Merriman levers...and although they were dirt cheap compared to todays prices they were a bit rich for my blood....so I drew up the basic patterns and had some made locally in Thailand...of Bronze.....but they were a bit heavy for the trimaran...so I did a redesign in aluminum, and using stock size metal parts so that I could set the turnbuckles on the rigging, then release the levers and drop the entire rig...about an hour from setup to tear down and reverse....made a neat addition to a couple of trailerable designs that I did...just used 3/16ths inch wire with turnbuckles and levers...rig goes up and down in 15 minutes....

[Bayboat]

Those things are dangerous! Years ago I was on a race outside San Francisco Bay on a 50-footer. It came on to blow and the helmsman got a little nervous and went into a jibe. I tried to set up the hifield before the boom went across, but he jibed back and the boom slammed into the runner above the hifield. So there was my hand, still holding the lever. Ouch! By the next week the owner had block & tackles installed and we tightened the runners with winches. I still can't stretch my hand fully open.