Soft shackles - uses

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Neeves

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Soft shackles were quite a novelty and invoked much interest on forum, especially how to make them.

I have noted some applications and sometimes I think they are a solution looking for a problem - much contrivance.

Now they have become common place I wondered what people actually used them for - where they are indispensable (better than the alternatives). I have made some but we really don't use them so I'm looking to be educated (and hoping there may be others with a similar enquiring mind) and find out what, with my lack of imagination, I'm missing.

I know of the application of soft shackles to attach a snubber (or bridle) to an anchor chain (had to get anchors into the thread somewhere :) ) but find trying to thread a soft shackle through a 6mm metric link on dark, rainy night is more trouble than its worth (and have a better solution).

Jonathan
 
The boat I currently sail with most frequently uses a soft shackle for connecting the foresail sheet to the foresail itself. Works pretty well actually.

Kevin Boothby (how to sail oceans), uses softshackles pretty much to replace any worn hard shackle (including connecting the mainsail to the boom and reefing points).

Edit:

Softshackles obviously wear out faster, but they're cheaper and relatively easy to replace.
 
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I'd never come across soft shackles until I bought Khamsin in 2010. I saw an article about them being used for head-sail sheet attachments instead if bowline knots or shackles.
Sounded a very good idea - quick and simple - so I made up a set for my genoa.
All went well until a squall hit me,"blew-out" the soft shackle leaving me with a wildly flogging (roll-reefed) genoa and in a sea not conducive to plunging foredeck work trying to tie a bowline into the demonic clew cringle.

I've avoided them since, but still like the idea for easy removal and less danger to head and fingers from flogging knots and shackles - if I could find a thick enough rope to prevent blow-out but thin enough to be able to thread through the cringle I'd try again.

Any thoughts on successful methods gratefully received
 
Luminescent said:
When you say blow out do you mean the rope snapped or the knot slipped through the soft shackle?
Click to expand...
The thick diameter soft shackle was through the "eye" spliced into the sheet-end. This was not thick enough to prevent it slipping through the cringle.
If I'd gone for an even thicker soft shackle it might have been just as hard and dangerous as a flogging metal shackle or a bowline in each sheet (which use I now)
I'd post a pic of the arrangement, but I have endless problems uploading pics:(
 
I do not think that “blow out” is a problem if that means the line parting. 12mm dyneema has a breaking breaking (not swl) load of 12,000kg. More likely that they were constructed incorrectly.

However I do not use them for tasks that will move a lot such as sheet to sail in case they shake free. No evidence that they will but seems like a risk.
 
Robert Wilson said:
The thick diameter soft shackle was through the "eye" spliced into the sheet-end. This was not thick enough to prevent it slipping through the cringle.
If I'd gone for an even thicker soft shackle it might have been just as hard and dangerous as a flogging metal shackle or a bowline in each sheet (which use I now)
I'd post a pic of the arrangement, but I have endless problems uploading pics:(
Click to expand...

Hm, nope I don't understand the problem. We actually tie a small soft shackle straight into the cringle... but then loosen the connection to slip the foresail sheet knot through then tighten. I'm unsure how this would slip through.

@Dutch, physics itself should prevent the knot from coming out. The foresail is always under load (pretty much) and therefore always tightening and it has to be physically loosened to disconnect it. Every time the foresail luffs out (which is where the risk is) the shackle would retighten anyway.

With that said! Theory and practice are two wildly different beasts so I'll defer to experience XD.
 
Dutch01527 said:
I do not think that “blow out” is a problem if that means the line parting. 12mm dyneema has a breaking breaking (not swl) load of 12,000kg. More likely that they were constructed incorrectly.

However I do not use them for tasks that will move a lot such as sheet to sail in case they shake free. No evidence that they will but seems like a risk.
Click to expand...

OK, "blow-out" was an incorrect term (but it described the effect :eek:!).
I hear what you say, but the article which contained the suggestion and showed the method was specifically for fore-sail sheet attachment.

Being ignorant of the idea I copied it, using a hefty diameter rope for the soft shackle, which I thought would be easily fat enough not to pull through the cringle under load.
It was a helluva gust, a katabatic-type down-draft from a high cliff.

(The rest of the last few miles into port with no headsail and engine that could only just cope with the vicious head-wind and a rising sea is forever burned into my memory banks).
A lesson hard earned - don't risk dashing for home with a severe forecast because a warm, comfortable, stable bed ashore beckoned.........:rolleyes:
 
Luminescent said:
Hm, nope I don't understand the problem. We actually tie a small soft shackle straight into the cringle... but then loosen the connection to slip the foresail sheet knot through then tighten. I'm unsure how this would slip through.

@Dutch, physics itself should prevent the knot from coming out. The foresail is always under load (pretty much) and therefore always tightening and it has to be physically loosened to disconnect it. Every time the foresail luffs out (which is where the risk is) the shackle would retighten anyway.

With that said! Theory and practice are two wildly different beasts so I'll defer to experience XD.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I grasp that, but it sounds much like the method I used.
A pic, if you have one, would be useful :encouragement:

As to the OP, sorry about the drift, but I still reckon the principle is a good one with two big advantages.
1 Speed and ease of attachment/release
2 Less painful on the head when struck by a flogging sail/sheet
 
I have made some with low friction rings in them and some without. I don't use them much, but i do use a set of four, with low friction rings, for the cruising chute tack line. I attach the four shackles to stanchions and run the tack line through them, back to a winch on the cockpit coaming. This works really well and saves having blocks clamped to the stanchions when not using the cruising chute.

Lost of talk of Jib sheet attachment and the use of bowlines. I prefer to have a single line for the Jib sheets, attached at the clew with a cow hitch. No bulky bowlines to snag and if you have the line a little longer than normal you can move the hitch alone a little each season, thus moving any wear points, making the line last even longer.
 
This photograph of a soft shackle connecting my genoa sheets to the sail was taken in 2009. I still use the same shackle, faded from its original blue to almost white, but apparently as strong as ever. Our boat has a fairly large overlapping genoa that takes a lot of winching in on a beat but the shackle has never released itself nor, obviously, broken.


We also use a soft shackle to connect the anchor to an eye on the foredeck when sailing, as it is far easier and quicker for the crew to use. A soft shackle to connect the snubber to the chain is considerably less convenient than using a decent hook made for the purpose. Its only advantage might be that it can come over the bow roller to be detached on deck but this in no way compares with a chain hook that simply falls off as soon as hauling in the chain commences.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Lost of talk of Jib sheet attachment and the use of bowlines. I prefer to have a single line for the Jib sheets, attached at the clew with a cow hitch. No bulky bowlines to snag and if you have the line a little longer than normal you can move the hitch alone a little each season, thus moving any wear points, making the line last even longer.
Click to expand...

We too have 'one' sheet:

I inserted the two sheets into either end of dyneema hollow tape, leaving the centre of the hollow tape - empty. I then sewed each sheet into their respective ends using dyneema fishing line. The sheet is cow hitched using the empty centre section. The cow hitch is flat and does not catch on anything.

We have been using this on 2 headsails, genoa and screecher (Code Zero type) for about 8 years now.

It not an original idea, we first used it on our X-99 headsail sheets - except the hollow tape was nylon and sewn with a not very robust thread - and it was prone to failure.

Edit

Most rope makers supply dyneema hollow tape, which is also useful as (rather expensive) sleeves to protect from abrasion (hose pipe is cheaper but not always appropriate).

Jonathan.
 
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We use lots of soft shackles. They will do most jobs a stainless steel shackle will do, and as they can be made any length there can be useful in some applications where a metal shackle would not work. We have more soft shackles on board than stainless models.

They are ideal for an aluminium boat as they remove any problems of dissimilar metal corrosion, as well as reducing the rattling noise created with a metal shackle.

Most of our blocks are attached with soft shackles, as are the sheets and halyards. A soft shackle is used to attach the chain to snubber. Soft shackles can also be used when high strength is not needed, such as hanging up ropes, boat hooks etc. They can be custom made to the right length for the application.

As well as soft shackles, Dyneema loops can be useful in some applications.

v0Py09d.jpg



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Photo Credit Arthur Smeets
 
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When we bought her there was a snapshackle holding the mainsheet block to the boom tang. On day 3 of the delivery trip one of the crew spotted the opening forces on the snapshackle about ten minutes before it let go. We now use a soft shackle with a friction-relieving ring on it.
 
Neeves said:
Soft shackles were quite a novelty and invoked much interest on forum, especially how to make them.

I have noted some applications and sometimes I think they are a solution looking for a problem - much contrivance.

Now they have become common place I wondered what people actually used them for - where they are indispensable (better than the alternatives). I have made some but we really don't use them so I'm looking to be educated (and hoping there may be others with a similar enquiring mind) and find out what, with my lack of imagination, I'm missing.

I know of the application of soft shackles to attach a snubber (or bridle) to an anchor chain (had to get anchors into the thread somewhere :) ) but find trying to thread a soft shackle through a 6mm metric link on dark, rainy night is more trouble than its worth (and have a better solution).

Jonathan
Click to expand...

Following viewing a video as to the strength of dynema and a demonstration of the use of soft shackle I determined to employ them wherever I could.
I found a 'how too' video and made several of different mm sizes and diameters when in use. My first application was to the clew of my 180 genoa. I spliced eyes to the end of the sheets and used my new shackle to connect them to the clew. What a difference, no clunky bowlines catching in anything in the vicinity. From there on I found many applications, much kinder to all areas of the boat. After a while making them in my sleep.
 
Vyv Cox's pic post #12 is how I've rigged my yankee which used to hang up badly when tacking on the rolled-up stays'l or its stay with conventional bowlines on the sheets.

Now it slips over beautifully.

Here's the recipe for an 'improved' soft shackle;
https://l-36.com/soft_shackle_9.php

Highly recommended.
 
Old Bumbulum said:
Vyv Cox's pic post #12 is how I've rigged my yankee which used to hang up badly when tacking on the rolled-up stays'l or its stay with conventional bowlines on the sheets.

Now it slips over beautifully.

Here's the recipe for an 'improved' soft shackle;
https://l-36.com/soft_shackle_9.php

Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

I think I see where I went wrong, thanks.
I used a completely different style of SS, but the one in #12 solves the problem.
I'll change my sheet attachments forthwith :D
 
I think Neeves just likes controversy:cool:.

I don't "look" for applications, but I do use them.
* Snubbers. I've used them, but no. However, making the soft shackle extra long helps a lot.
* Sail tack and clew attachments. Less scratchy and bangy stuff. Whether it is better depends on the geometry and what is attached to what. I use both.
* Contingency. I always keep a few in my rigging bag. They are darn handy if you need to rig something on a bouncing deck.
* Multiple docklines on too-small cleats. Can be really handy in weird slips and for storm prep.
 
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