Snap shackle on furling jib halyard?

[Seattle Scott]

I was helping a dockmate hoist his furling jib for the first time ( new boat to him). The halyard terminated in a snap shackle which attached to a conventional horse shoe or "U" shackle that attached to the furling head. He said he was gong to leave the sail up for a few months and did not have another jib, so wouldn't be doing sail changes when underway. I told him to wire the "U" shackle so the bolt wouln't back out and said to check out what other people do for the shackle at the end of the halyard. I use a locking shackle on my halyard since it sits hoisted for months and is rarely checked. So snap shackle OK, or locking shackle the better practice?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Snap shackles are a disaster just waiting to

happen. Locking or screwed D shackles for that application are a lot better.

 

[Bob]

snap shackle

You can use the snap shackle. However, to avoid it opening at the worst time, you should use a plastic wire tie to hold it shut. When you want to take the sail down, just clip the wire tie.

 

[ITMaster]

I always use

stainless steel wire as a backup to ensure that I won't have the pin backing out due to vibration. My halyards are equiped with snap shackels with the wire to ensure I don't have the problem of it opening up if I don't want it to. I also use it on the shackel on my anchor rode to ensure that I don't loose the anchor.

 

[Ray T]

snap shackel

Be wary of plastic ties they will degrade from U V rays. the black ties seem to last longer than the white ones. Your best and cheapest bet is the U shaped shackel with a screw in pin secured with stainles wire.

 

[Ross]

Snap shackles are a convenient, quick way to detach

a line from a load. Carabiners are much better if you must make rapid changes but screw pin shackles are the most secure.

 

[Seattle Scott]

Thanks for the responses

n/m