Soft Shackles

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  • 25 Nov 2012 17:46
    Reply # 1145483 on 736620
    Being as how you are Somewhere in Malaysia, this might be easier said than done, but maybe you should hunt down a different brand of Dyneema/Spectra.  It's cheap as chips here, if you buy it from the Commercial Fisherman's stores and the usual one is a grey plaited product.  The splicing instructions looks too easy to be true - you essentially just wriggle it in and out of itself.  Because of the way it's laid up, as soon as it comes under load. the lay tightens and grips harder, so the more load, the harder the grip.  As they use this rope for dragging trawl nets over the sea bed (let's not go there, this is no place for a rant!) the splices obviously hold!

    NZ has quite a few trade links with Malaysia, so you might find some: it's grey and slippery looking: the layup looks almost tubular.

    But you can always use three-strand polyester - or even polyprop.  It's still terribly strong.
    Last modified: 25 Nov 2012 17:48 | Anonymous member
  • 25 Nov 2012 13:02
    Reply # 1145389 on 736620
    Deleted user
    Ok, well I guess it's try try again! They look so ingenious - and useful!

    Thanks
    Lesley
  • 23 Nov 2012 00:56
    Reply # 1143901 on 736620
    Deleted user
    If anyone following this topic wonders why a someone is appearing as 'Deleted' it's because he/she didn't renew membership and was 'archived'. In this case it's Alan 'Maddog' McBride - a much-missed contributor.
    Last modified: 23 Nov 2012 00:57 | Deleted user
  • 22 Nov 2012 23:42
    Reply # 1143865 on 1143737
    Deleted user
    Lesley Verbrugge wrote:
    I tried to make one and failed :o( just so not like me to give up.  I used 6mm dyneema and I could not get the darned thing through, no matter how I tried! What's your secret?!

    I just followed the directions and used the web calculator for length and positioning. Mine were made from 1/4" Amsteel (Samson's SK-75 spectra 12-plait line). I also have one of Brion Toss' splicing wands which I used instead of a fid shown in the directions, but getting 12-plait spectra through itself is easy (at least compared to stuff like double-braid or sta-set X splices).

    The only tricky part for me was tying the diamond knot and pulling it tight enough.
  • 22 Nov 2012 18:50
    Reply # 1143737 on 1141279
    Deleted user
    Barry & Meps / Stellrecht & Schulte wrote:Soon after finding these soft shackles I started making them, and they are now holding the standing part of my topping lifts to the masts. I found that I really couldn't fit the SS shackles I would have needed to do that job the other way so they really were needed.

    They are working great, and I loved making them.

    I tried to make one and failed :o( just so not like me to give up.  I used 6mm dyneema and I could not get the darned thing through, no matter how I tried! What's your secret?!
  • 20 Nov 2012 05:04
    Reply # 1141279 on 736620
    Deleted user
    Soon after finding these soft shackles I started making them, and they are now holding the standing part of my topping lifts to the masts. I found that I really couldn't fit the SS shackles I would have needed to do that job the other way so they really were needed.

    They are working great, and I loved making them.
  • 03 Nov 2011 09:15
    Reply # 740966 on 736620
    Deleted user
    For future reference, I've added the soft shackle link to the Other Websites page.

    When adding links I usually go back to the site's homepage to flesh out the link a bit. Of interest here is that the L-36 group homepage has a number of additional soft shackles; the soft shackle, improved; the double soft shackle; and the halyard soft shackle.
  • 31 Oct 2011 16:01
    Reply # 738396 on 736620
    Deleted user
    Given that Seablossom is portable on a trailer and that I hope to take her to salt water from time to time, I need to set her up so it is easy to remove the sail from the mast. I can see using these soft shackles at the forward and of all my batten parrels and any other necessary place to make her easy to break down for transport.
    editor's note:I This confounded smartphone thinks it's a lot smarter than it is. It corrected "parrels" for me, to "barrels," in the original of this post.
    Last modified: 31 Oct 2011 21:46 | Deleted user
  • 30 Oct 2011 17:55
    Reply # 737568 on 736620
    I actually use the Carrick Bend quite a lot - it's very useful, especially when you are joining 2 ropes of different sizes.

    There are all sorts of ways of making rope shackles - the grommet that Maddog! suggest works well.  We use them a lot on Iron Bark.  You need to be happy to have a fair amount of drift, so if you want eg your block close to deck they are not always idea.

    Spectra is cheap as chips in NZ if you go to the fishing boat suppliers.
  • 30 Oct 2011 16:22
    Reply # 737536 on 737183
    Deleted user
    Jeff McFadden wrote:OTOH, I did learn the scaffold hitch darn near immediately.  If I want to learn that double carrick bend with the bitter ends stuffed up its whoozis I'd better free up the rest of the winter.

    Probably true.  But this is more like a splice--you learn it and do it with references because you don't need to make one very often, and usually not in a hurry at sea.  All you are doing frequently is opening and closing it, and that looks easy!

    So get back to sewing all winter instead of knot practice!

    Barry
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