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**sarafina** · 31-08-2010, 19:20

shackle and a bowline

bewitched · 31-08-2010, 22:23

I have a question for those using the buntline hitch

Is it easy to undo once it's had a lot of load on it?

Roaring Girl · 01-09-2010, 00:19

Yes, so long as you release the seizing on the end first! Needs a bit of working of course but ok.

**Jim Cate** · 01-09-2010, 00:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by bewitched

I have a question for those using the buntline hitch

Is it easy to undo once it's had a lot of load on it?

G'Day Bewitched,

IMO "easy" isn't quite right... possible seems more accurate! But, a bit of fussing with a marline spike will usually get it free. If not, then... the knife! But the good news is that you loose very little length because the knot is quite compact.

There is another similar knot that is recommended by the folks at Selden Spars. I don't know it's proper name, but I've found it to be easier to undo than the Buntline, but it is a bit bulkier. It can be found in their website, and I seem to be using it a lot these days.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Airlie Beach Qld, northbound

pacific_voyager · 18-12-2014, 20:19

Buntlne hitches rob 53% of the strength of HM rope. Bowlines nearly 90%. Buntline is better but eye splicing HM rope is the best.

pacific_voyager · 18-12-2014, 20:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by roverhi

I don't like shackles on halyards. They hurt like hell when they hit you in the head and, given enough momentum, could even kill you. They are especially bad because the ends of the halyards pretty much live at head height.

For the past 35 years and going on 20,000 miles of sailing, I've used nothing but the halyard knotted to the sail head board or cringle. Used to use a bowline but have switched to a Buntline Hitch Buntline Hitch | How to tie a Buntline Hitch | Boating Knots as they are more secure. Never had a problem with a bowline coming undone on a halyard but have had one or two let go on jib sheets.

By using knots to secure almost all my halyards and sheets, have saved the money and weight of shackles and saved my head.

Buntlne hitches rob 53% of the strength of HM rope. Bowlines nearly 90%. Buntline is better but eye splicing HM rope is the best.

NahanniV · 18-12-2014, 21:13

My new mainsail is a bit taller than the old one, so the splice in the halyard was jamming in the masthead sheave.

I cut it off and used this for the season:

The red ball is just a stopper knot in my version.
Seemed to work well.

Is that wrong ?

Cheers,
JM.

**StuM** · 18-12-2014, 21:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacific_voyager

Buntlne hitches rob 53% of the strength of HM rope. Bowlines nearly 90%. Buntline is better but eye splicing HM rope is the best.

Have you got a reference for that? I've never heard a figure that high for loss of strength. All the test data I have seen has the bowline somewhere in the vicinity of 50-65% of breaking strain ( i.e. 35-50% loss of strength).

**estarzinger** · 18-12-2014, 22:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacific_voyager

Buntlne hitches rob 53% of the strength of HM rope. Bowlines nearly 90%. Buntline is better but eye splicing HM rope is the best.

Eye splicing is certainly the strongest. But that bowline number is nowhere near what I found in my testing . . . Load testing

Scroll down to dyneema single and double braids

rognvald · 23-12-2014, 10:51

I have used a halyard hitch Animated Knots by Grog | How to Tie Knots | Fishing, Boating, Climbing, Scouting, Search and Rescue, Household, Decorative, Rope Care,halyard/index.php?...

on my main, jib and spinnaker halyard shackles for over 20 years. I do this for simplicity and also since I reverse my halyard ends every year to minimize uneven wear. It is secure, easy and efficient.

Cheechako · 23-12-2014, 11:31

I gave up eye splicing. Not worth the effort... then you have to cut and resplice. A common bowline on a heavy duty shackle is great... and easily changed.

Wrong · 23-12-2014, 11:43

Halyards, and preventers that connect to the boom bail are both attached by double whipped eyes after serving the line through shackle eyes.

Advantages to whipping is it's strong and easy to see any unravelling of the whipping thread permitting repair long before there's any danger of failure.

Another is it's easy to replace an external halyard before adding the eye. I simply attach either end of the old halyard to the new halyard with a couple of loops threaded through the ends. Then the new halyard replaces the old as it's withdrawn. Simply add the eye to the new halyard by double whipping it in after serving through the shackle eye.

Quick, easy, durable and effective.

I'd avoid using a trigger type shackle because my experience is they can release unexpectedly absent sufficient lubrication. In spite of what you think, they may not have in fact snapped completely into the closed position but appear to be closed until put under load. Of course, frequent lubrication can help to eliminate the hazard, but becomes another something to remember to do. Pin type shackles do not normally suffer from a lack of lubrication, and when they do you'll know because the pin mechanism is stuck in a closed position...