Last spring I replaced my rope/wire genny halyards with all rope. I have a roller-furler. In discussing shackle options to reduce the chance of catching during furling, my rigger questioned why I was bothering with a shackle at all. My Harken furling unit came with a twisted D or something on the part that is hoisted. The rigger spliced an eye in the new rope halyard to connect to the furler shackle, and it worked fine all season. Unlike almost everything else spinning around up there, the spliced eye on the replacement halyard was not beat up or worn at all.
The shackle on my main halyard is, I believe, specifically made for head boards. I like the blue Wichard one, which I believe they call a “thimble” shackle. From: Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2021 8:17 AM To: Stus-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Della Barba, Joe <joe.della.ba...@ssa.gov> Subject: Stus-List Re: [EXTERNAL] Main halyard shackle I don’t use a snap shackle any more for the jib, since it stays up for months at a time or more. It is a screw-in shackle with safety wire holding it. The main shackle is one that screws in and out. It has never loosened itself. I think the longest the main has been up continuously is maybe 6 or 7 days and it did fine. Joe Coquina From: David Knecht via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 7:52 AM To: CnC CnC discussion list <CnC-List@cnc-list.com <mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> > Cc: David Knecht <davidakne...@gmail.com <mailto:davidakne...@gmail.com> > Subject: [EXTERNAL] Stus-List Main halyard shackle My boat came with a main halyard shackle of a type I have never seen anywhere else. It has a pivoting arm that swings up after inserting through the headboard and secured with a threaded pin. It has worked fine for years and easy to remove and attach, which I do routinely when done sailing for the day. Recently, I twice found it nearly completely unscrewed after a day of rough weather sailing, and that is concerning. I don’t want to lose the halyard up the mast. I am considering replacing it this winter with a standard snap shackle of the sort used on my genoa halyard. I looked at a rigging company web site and they used snap shackles for genoa halyards and pin shackles for main halyards. The logic of that escapes me. On my boat, I take down the roller furling genoa only a few times a season while the main halyard is detached every time I go sailing. I have no idea what the forces are on the main halyard but I would not think much greater than the genoa. Any words of wisdom, or reason not to use a snap shackle for the main? Thanks- Dave David Knecht S/V Aries 1990 C&C 34+ New London, CT
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