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Does anyone use these on their headsail sheets?  How good are they?   Particularly when tacking?   What size is best?  Thinking 6mm being a total of 12mm holding power.   Do you leave the on when furling and after putting the boat to bed?  

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On 5/02/2022 at 5:24 PM, SanFran said:

And making them..., if u use, then what length is best to make.

Yeah we have then. As short as possible is the answer. Also add pull tails so they can be easily opened. 

They are kind of a bugger when changing sails in a rough seaway, they demand two hands, which makes hanging on difficult, while a bowline can be tied with one hand

Don't worry about the diameter you use. Pick whatever is sensible. 6mm has a breaking strain of 4000kg, unless you're going to be hanging the equivalent of a family size car off your clew you won't break them.  ;)

We also have a Velcro wrap on each which we wrap around the centre to reduce the chance of catching on things when tacking and stop them shaking off. 

And we leave them on all the time. 

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For headsail clew - brilliant. Over 30 years I've experimented with allsorts. No heavy bits of steel to hit you on the foredeck. Make them [ from old rope even] with long tails. They look a bit untidy, but it makes then easier to take off if you are changing sails. I've never  had one break on me, but probably best to replace each season due to u/v damage.

 

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I've found these instructions really helpful.  https://l-36.com/soft_shackle_9.php   Great little calculator to help with measurements and sizings. 

Added them to new Genoa / Jib Sheets.  A small eye splice on the sheet means the soft shackle fits in tightly and stays there permanently.  

Agree with Carpe Diem.  They take two hands, to attach and remove, which can be a drawback.  

splice.thumb.png.d1ae5b3c3cf9aa8afe8fe1b8246398a1.png

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5 minutes ago, aardvarkash10 said:

whats the advantage over just tying the sheet to the 

We found Soft Shackles helped with timing the Genoa and Jib in.  Always the same size, not like a bowline.  So better as a reference for timing. 

Also, the bowline on the sheet needed to be very small otherwise it would touch or restrict the Jib car.  

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52 minutes ago, aardvarkash10 said:

whats the advantage over just tying the sheet to the clew?

its a neater solution all round, doesnt catch the shrouds as much as a bowline and faster if changing sails. If you havent got eyes spliced in the ends of your sheets then youll need to buy new ones as thats almost impossible on old lines.

Have tried them but not a big fan of integrated shackles as the button knot wont pass through sheaves easily and it's a tidier bundle at the clew with a single shackle with only one knot to catch shrouds, although you only need the softie on one sheet so there is that.

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1 minute ago, SanFran said:

 

Good to know.  Any issues when they are not under load?  Ie they dont open up or shake off...

They can be fidgety to open, especially if you have wet gloves on, that's why pull cords are advised to open them quickly. 

They could theoritcally shake off right, just like I could theoritcally find the winning lotto ticket blowing down my street.... I think it is very unlikely, but definitely not impossible. 

I have never had one shake off, while I have had bowlines shake out several times. 

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