Which 10 quid block is that ? The main halyard block ? That one should be ball bearing one or it will indeed cease up. Like I said earlier all these things were prototyped and the Blade design has addressed all these points. We can't garantee however what individuals and builders decide to do for other reasons.
To be fair, the block on the Blade has not failed yet. But then again, I've been sailing it less than half a season. My point was simply that, in my experience at least, those blocks up the top of the mast don't last too long and aren't cheap to replace. I'll start worrying about how my spi pole is strung together once it starts breaking more often that those pulleys.
Paul
