Snap shackle

[daletournier]

Hi all, on my previous boats all headsail halyards were attached to D shackles via a bowline.

My current boat has snap shackles spliced to the Halyards.

A rigger back in Australia said to me he didn't like them. Feared they could come undone,in fact I've heard that twice.

Interested in others thoughts.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Dale,
You probably already know this, but I will post a brief comment for the benefit of others who may not on this topic.
I don't claim to be an expert on this, or a rigger, but I hope this helps others with some brief info.

Snap shackles were for years preferred on headsails on boats that race, because they allow the headsails to be changed quickly by the foredeck crew (something I used to do when racing in San Francisco Bay).

They are faster and easier to open, but that is also their weakness, because they also open unexpectedly, often at the worst moment it seems. Many sailors have seen multiple failures when they are used for halyards. For mixed reasons (springs fail, rings catch, rings cut crew) some sailors don't trust them.

A "D" shackle would be a safer, more "fool proof" choice for a halyard on a cruising boat.

A more modern (and often preferred now) shackle would be a "Soft Shackle."

I would go "Soft" if possible.
________

A more expensive shackle I had to use on a large racing boat was a trigger release shackle. See last photo for example.

I will post a few photos to illustrate.

Hope this helps.

[atmartin]

Some people put rigger's or electrical tape around the pin to cut down on accidental openings. I've done with and without tape and been lucky so far, I guess. I never use them going aloft.

They are nice to have and make for quicker headsail changes. I suppose the Tylaska or Wichard spinnaker-type shackles are less likely to snag and open accidentally.

We use a lot of soft shackles, but I wish they would swivel.

[DocBrauer]

I'd be more concerned that if a halyard wrapped around a side stay that shackle would be violently beating your head as you tried to unwind it. Ask me how I know. Bowline ok. Reverse tie one so smooth surface of knot on sidestay side. What I do. Wouldn't mind trying the soft shackle technique.

[HankOnthewater]

Discounting the halyard connection (either a knot or spliced), there is only one failure point on a D-shackle: the pin.
A snap shackle (as you pictured) has at least 3: the swivel, the hinge, the pin.
I always had shackles and had never one broken or bent on halyards. I use the type as in the picture. I think it is important that halyard shackles to be of the type that the pin cannot get lost. (captive pin)
I am sure that others have more stories to tell.

photo borrowed from the net

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by atmartin

Some people put rigger's or electrical tape around the pin to cut down on accidental openings. I've done with and without tape and been lucky so far, I guess. I never use them going aloft.

They are nice to have and make for quicker headsail changes. I suppose the Tylaska or Wichard spinnaker-type shackles are less likely to snag and open accidentally.

We use a lot of soft shackles, but I wish they would swivel.

You make an interesting point, you never go aloft using one, as I don't. I always use a bowline, there lies the answer to my question. I instinctively don't use one to go up the mast thus I don't trust them.

[daletournier]

One of the reasons I ask is I've had a halyard issue of late and am trying to determine the cause prior to my next big passage.

Never had this problem before, halyard twisting and out casing torn. I've changed a few things recently and then this problem occured. One of the things I changed was I got rid of the snap shackle and went to a bowline.

Just questioning all I've changed. I have a 700nm forward of the beam passage coming up.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by DocBrauer

I'd be more concerned that if a halyard wrapped around a side stay that shackle would be violently beating your head as you tried to unwind it. Ask me how I know. Bowline ok. Reverse tie one so smooth surface of knot on sidestay side. What I do. Wouldn't mind trying the soft shackle technique.

I've seen your head, it dosent look that beaten[emoji2]

[daletournier]

Hi Steady, my use of soft shackles is very minimum, but I'm interested in going more that way. One of my goals is to get efficient at splicing dyneema..... People often ask what do I do, truth is I run out of time with all the things I get interested in.. Lol.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Hi all, on my previous boats all headsail halyards were attached to D shackles via a bowline.

My current boat has snap shackles spliced to the Halyards.

A rigger back in Australia said to me he didn't like them. Feared they could come undone,in fact I've heard that twice.

Interested in others thoughts.

We used one on the jib halyard on a Farr 1/2ton that has been raced regularly for many years including doing a few Coral Sea crossings. Never had one go on the halyard (spinnaker sheets are a different matter ) (But I did replace it last year with a soft shackle when it was re-rigged)

[daletournier]

Thanks StuM.

[Benz]

The only metal shackle on a boat should be on the anchor. Now that we have dyneema and toggles (sometimes wrongly referred to as "dogbones"), there's no reason to not have a soft (OK, the toggle is metal, but has no springs or moving parts), quick-release, inexpensive, toggled soft shackles on halyards.

[OldManMirage]

Soft shackles are new to me. Shows you what happens when you let even just a couple of years go by without keeping up with the latest stuff. I really like the idea and I will be getting a supply of them.

BUT, here's a follow up question :
Do you use the same thing to attach the tack of the jib ? If not, what is the preferred method here ?

Thank you !

[SSgtPitt]

And making soft shackles is a nice relaxing way to pass the time. I bought a bunch of different sized knitting needles and made fids out of them and then hit WM for different sized Dyneema lines. A few lazy afternoons and now I have a sack full of soft shackles and am slowly replacing all the hard shackles except for high abrasion areas.

[atmartin]

This website is really helpful:

Soft Shackles

We've used soft shackles for a few years, but still forget the details sometimes, so we archived that site for cruising.

My favorite soft shackle upgrade is to attach the jib clew to small spliced eyes on the jib sheets with a soft shackle, makes for quick sail changes and doesn't hang up on the forward lowers as bowlines tend to do.

They are a pain to open if there's any pressure at all, which I suppose is OK for a halyard, especially if you're riding on it.