Highfield lever Highfield lever A Highfield lever is a lever device which allows tension to be rapidly set up in a wire and equally rapidly released to the required extent. It is frequently used in sailing boats where tension in some part of the rigging needs to be adjusted to a pre-set amount as the wind impinges on one side of the sails or the other. It is typically used in running backstays (runners). To make it work, the backstay is led through a block or fairlead along the deck to a two-legged, second order lever mounted with its fulcrum above deck
Compound lever an equivalent weight and there is no mechanical advantage. This is not usually the goal of a compound lever system, though in rare situations the geometry may suit a specific purpose. The distances used in calculation of mechanical advantage are measured perpendicular to the force. In the example of a nail clipper on the right (a compound lever made of a class 2 and a class 3 lever), because the effort is applied vertically (that is, not perpendicular to the lever), distances to the respective fulcrums are measured horizontally, instead of along the lever. In this example, W/F is =