Double Soft Shackle Update
 

Yet another improvement on the design. In this new design, the shackle is secure on the sheets even before attaching it to the clew. This was not the case with the ring hitch which led to some problems on the water. The ring hitch version may have some good applications, it just wasn't ideal for what I was trying to do. That led me to the design that has the knot in the center but with the eye inside of the knot as shown below. I am using a double fisherman's knot as the center knot. The double fisherman's knot has a lot of test data on this type of line from search and rescue applications which gives additional confidence in the design. It is more stable than a diamond knot in this application in my tests (the diamond knot distorts under load).





Note that the tails of the fisherman's knot are buried in the shackle. This helps to adjust the eye size and also makes the finished shackle a bit cleaner but I consider it optional.

I tested it on my setup with a diamond stopper knot made from the next line size up and the failure was at the eye. That is as good as can be done so that is a pleasant result.

I have written up how to make it along with some more pictures on my site:
Double Soft Shackle

Allen

Further Wow
 

Hi again,
You are on a roll. Sorry to have been so slow in getting to this, but hope to have more time soon. Meanwhile, Wow.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

Ps
 

How did you manage to insert pictures into the thread? We get a lot of questions from people about this..

Allene has his own website, but for those who don't, here's what worked for me in a recent post (http://www.briontoss.com/spartalk/showthread.php?t=2181)

1: Take your picture and copy it to your computer.

2: Upload the picture to a picture hosting website. I use Photobucket.com, which is easy to use and free. Once you have registered, you can tell it to upload any picture on your hard drive.

3: Copy the IMG code of the picture. That's the URL of the image preceded by [IMG] and followed by [/IMG]. In Photobucket that's as simple as mousing over the picture and single-clicking on the box marked "IMG code".

4: Paste the IMG code into your post. When you preview it, it should show as an image.
(Note that the picture will show in your post only as long as you leave it on the picture hosting website.)

Thus:

I click on the "Insert Image" button and enter the URL of the picture.


The image is not uploaded to your site so will go away in the thread if it is removed from the site you enter.

Allen

PS. Is this what they call having a thread hijacked? :-)

PPS. As Techocholer states, I do have a web site for the boating community. It includes articles, reference material, and a very popular sailing weather site. www.L-36.com. check it out!

It's a classic case, as I realized after posting. Sorry. :o

Not a problem. Your explanation was excellent and will probably help a lot of people.

Allen

My Bad
 

Hi again,
Actually, I think, in my Techanderthal helplessness, I'm the one that invited the hijack. Thanks for the help!
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

All in good fun. I just could not resist. Do you want me to send you one of the double shackles so you can take a look? Happy to do it.

Allen