These things are fantastic. Use them on my blocks, and all over the place on my Hobie 16, Hobie 20 and two hobie 14's. Don't use them for standing rigging ( wires holding up the mast obviously ) but setup and take down time gets cut in half. When coming in fast, even the most novice crew will understand "pull the pin". Cool thing is they never fall off! I'd get 10 so you have spares and even help a fellow sailor then they drop a shackle in the water and their trailer/sail box is a long hike away. I keep a few spares on all my boats just so they're handy. Have never broken or lost one.

6.8 X 3cm size seems to be the ones i go to. Try one or two of the other sizes as well for odd ball general purpose.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Marine-Boat-Yacht-Stainless-Steel-Anchor-Chain-Shackle-Snap-Swivel-Quick-Release/132150415972?hash=item1ec4c75264:m:mOIf-L18G1Cfdt3a3Kuxe-w

--
Tim Grover
1996 Hobie Miracle 20
Two Hobie 14's
1983 G-Cat Restored
Memphis TN / North Mississippi
--

these are ridiculously cheaper than any i have seen

that makes them VERY suspect to me - i would be worried they are cheap knock-offs and wont hold up to marine use

product is made in china, brand "MagiDeal" and seller is in india
this seller has 200 poor reviews in the past 2 years
and 25000 possitive reviews

I am sorry but i don't trust this seller or product -
i will continue to purchase expensive gear from known vendors ymmv



Edited by MN3 on May 08, 2018 - 06:57 AM.

I too am skeptical, but went online and bought a few to use in less possibly dangerous areas.
Will give them a shot to see if they hold up
Hate to waste $’s, but have spent other dollars less wisely, and this small investment is worth the low risk - to me.
I will say that my experience with China SS has been poor, and even bought a China based Sunfish centerboard, which lasted about 8 sails before it collapsed. The only positive was that I was able to practice the drill and fill method of Hull reinforcement on this foam and fiberglass centerboard, which gave me a chance to get experienced before I did a neighbors H16 hulls. Sometimes these bad experiences give us a chance to experiment

--
Supercat 15
Windrider 17
Several Sunfish and Sunfish clones
Ratboat built from Zuma and Sunfish parts
Shallow water sailor in the Delaware Bay
--

Quote

I too am skeptical, but went online and bought a few to use in less possibly dangerous areas.

what part of your boat that could use this (swivel snap shackle) is not critical?

I use them to connect jib sheets. Also to connect main sheet on Hobie 14 boom. Saves some time.

--
Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold
--

I've switched to soft shackles for most uses. Less metal to corrode or slap me in the face.

I get proper dyneema soft shackles on ebay, there's a trader in NYC with good prices. And I make some rough ones myself with a knot on a piece of dyneema and a plastic ball.

Buy the spyderline dyneema spools for the line. At marine stores the plastic balls cost a ton, instead I buy bags of 40 bungee loops with ball (from Amazon) and take the ball. The remaining bits of bungee get used too for all sorts of things.

I'm at work, so I can't see the ebay link. That said, I'm also moving to soft shackles like Martin. I have a 5mm Dyneema one for my jib that is so strong the jib will tear apart before the soft shackle will.

--
Dana, Holly, Emma & Hannah

LJ/Stu's Dart 18 (Sold! :( )
--

Like Martin I too have moved to soft shackles. I use the quick release style the O.P posted on the mainsheet and that is about it.

I make my own soft shackles from 3mm dynema and just tie the ends with a standard overhead knot. These haven't failed on me and as others have said are much stronger than what you are attaching in most situations.

For completeness. The "proper" soft shackles I get are https://www.ebay.com/itm/…-2-Shackles/322744068788 -- I have a spool of the thinnnest spyderline to "tie them" in place, so they don't fall off the flapping clew.

For the rough soft shackles, I use a mix of stray bits of old (thin) rope, and spyderline dyneema spools, I make an overhand loop knot. Then I have a bag of cheap bungees -- https://www.amazon.com/BC…Cord-Black/dp/B01G5CNK1C -- for the balls.

For some uses, you don't even need the overhand loop knot. You can have a plastic ball or knobbly knot at the end of the line, then make a loop through a grommet, and put the ball through the loop you just made...



Edited by martin_langhoff on May 08, 2018 - 12:33 PM.

Quote

I use them to connect jib sheets. Also to connect main sheet on Hobie 14 boom. Saves some time.

either of these locations are too mission critical for me to risk w china/india crap

I seen jibs die a quick death when they popped open in a real blow, and then had a clew plate flying around
I have lost my H18 boom to clew connection in a blow (when a quick pin wormed a hole into the brass clew plate), next to a bridge - it could have been a mast snapper

I use a soft shackles on my jib pigtail, main outhaul and boom to main connection

i had a ronstan quick swivel shackle (like the ones in this thread) but this was a $75 one (years ago) and has basically ended it's life recently - so i am back to a regular shackle (that requires a tool to secure) - it's takes about 20 seconds more than my snap shackle did

I was talking about the snap shackles in general..I use a quality piece on the jib. On the Hobie 14 boom it was pond sailed in light wind so very little risk of failure. But I guess there are some folks who will always be most negative about other’s ideas.



Edited by tnell on May 08, 2018 - 01:32 PM.

--
Tim
Collierville (Memphis), TN
Supercat 15--sold :(
Hobie monocat--given
Vanguard 15--traded for...
Nacra 4.5--sold
Nacra 5.7
Hobie 14–sold to make room for...
Supercat 17–sold
--

Quote

what part of your boat that could use this (swivel snap shackle) is not critical?

As you can tell by my signature, I have several boats and this type of equipment I would start out on my Zuma Rat boat and Sunfish, likely for the mainsheet to transom bridle.
As I implied, it's worth the small investment to try these out - for me. Each is entitled to their own opinion on this.
Likely why we have these sometimes lively forum discussions

--
Supercat 15
Windrider 17
Several Sunfish and Sunfish clones
Ratboat built from Zuma and Sunfish parts
Shallow water sailor in the Delaware Bay
--

Quote

I was talking about the snap shackles in general ...

I was talking specifically of these cheap ones from china being suspect, and thought you were too.
no offence intended

Quote

But I guess there are some folks who will always be most negative about other’s ideas

I am not negative about other's ideas - but telling people to buy these, and you can use them on your jib and main blocks "might be" less than good advice to others who don't know

- if you can purchase parts for your boat at an 85% discount, and they come from china, and then india ... there is a 85% chance (or more) they aren't gonna hold up when you realllly need them to

I like the snap shackles, too... they are handy as hell, especially for rigging up with newbie crew... and still, I respect the caution of others. I sail inland lakes thus far, with no bridges, no freighters, and no offshore winds (well, not if you go around the lake). The consequences of failure are somewhat lower on fresh water, and taking hard (and heavy) bits off the boat to substitute for lighter and higher-load soft shackles is tough to argue against, especially if you sail salt-water.

All that said, I have Hobie/Ronstan snap shackles on my H18 mainsheet, and have thought about moving one to my F18... rigging up fast is a trade-off, and at least on the H18, I've somehow managed to twist/snarl the upper block a few times such that it was handy to be able to head-up for a moment to de-tension the mainsheet system, then execute a one-handed unclip, flip, and reclip... dunno yet if the F18 is subject to that, since it has better blocks.

Randii (who purchases off-brand asian ring-dings to go with my Hobie-stamped made-in-'Merica pins)

Actual user experience - I've been using one of the e-bay cheap imported swivel snap shackles for a year, for the tack of the kite on an Inter 20, with the original end-pole launcher. So far no issues.

I have been using swivel snap shackles this summer since June. I use one on my jib clew and one on my main sheet block to boom. No issues thus far, saves time on setup. I have been out in light winds and 15 knot winds without issues. I do keep spare shackles and clevis pins onboard just in case of failure.

--
Frank
Prindle 15/Hobie 16/Hobie 14T
--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bytkgeo9Q1g

I've been using these on my H18 for the mainsheet to boom and traveler all summer without issue. They may seem like a small time saving, but anything that makes setup/takedown after work during the week is a + in my book.

Great video MN3, buy American!!! I shudder to think of an equipment failure while underway out on the open water due to a small crappy made part.

--
Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
--

Quote

I've been using these on my H18 for the mainsheet to boom and traveler all summer without issue. They may seem like a small time saving, but anything that makes setup/takedown after work during the week is a + in my book.

I've used quality snap shackles for over 40 years now - they are great

my point is cheap ones will fail a lot faster than high quality ones - and i don't know about you but I'm not willing to sacrifice my steering/throttle connection with questionable gear that is known to be inferior ... just to save $40

cheap ones should work under normal conditions without problem
the real issue it's when your caught in a pop up storm and getting slammed with a big gust and they fail

i would also expect the cheaper steel to rust and/or seize the pin inside it much faster and needing replacement much more frequently - my last harken lasted over a decade with lots of hard use





Edited by MN3 on Aug 02, 2018 - 11:25 AM.

Great post.

I've had number of stainless and "waterproof" items that have had internal springs, parts and mechanisms seize/fail in saltwater, despite regular care.

Clips, biners, knifes, shrouds, shackles, VHF radios,..

--
Prindle 18
96734
--

I've used quality snap shackles for over 40 years now - they are great

my point is cheap ones will fail a lot faster than high quality ones - and i don't know about you but I'm not willing to sacrifice my steering/throttle connection with questionable gear that is known to be inferior ... just to save $40

cheap ones should work under normal conditions without problem
the real issue it's when your caught in a pop up storm and getting slammed with a big gust and they fail

i would also expect the cheaper steel to rust and/or seize the pin inside it much faster and needing replacement much more frequently - my last harken lasted over a decade with lots of hard use

Edited by MN3 on Aug 02, 2018 - 11:25 AM. [/quote]

Here's a coincidence....

I was reading this thread yesterday. For my main blocks, I've got one of these snap shackles at the boom and a conventional shackle to the traveler. After reading your post I start thinking I should be running two conventional shackles.

Leaving them as is for now, yesterday evening I took the P19 out solo in some fairly rough stuff. Buoy reporting 15 gusting to 19. At the harbor entrance I decided to run uni rigged with the jib furled. Less power, and just less to deal with solo. Blasting through some really steep waves, I get out about 3 miles and wind just keeps coming up. Decide to not push my luck, so I go to tack, and blow the tack. I look to make sure I am fully sheeted and see the boom with main blocks hanging loose off the side of the boat. I figure the shackle is gone, but see it hanging below the blocks, seemingly intact with the bolt still in place. Look to the traveller and it looks fine too. While my mind is racing on this, the bows are being blown and pushed by the waves downwind. I lash the tiller with rudders to windward with a bungee, then move foward and pull the boom back over the deck, finding that the conventional shackle has broken. (A first for me.)



Got my spare parts bottle out of the deck port and grabbed a couple shackles, one the same size as the failed one, and one with a very large crown and captive bolt that I figured would be temporary but easier to hold onto in the conditions I was in. (I took the photos later at the dock to recounting the event here).

With the blocks flying all over the place, I took a dock line and went through the becket on the cam cleat and tied it to the crossbar:



I fumbled with the small shackle, and with stuff moving around so much I just was not making progress. So I pulled out the larger crown shackle and with multiple attempts and some patience was able to get it in place:



Obviously not the right tool for the job, but I took it as easy as I could to get back to the harbor.

The break in the shackle was not clean. It was corroded save for a small shiny spot. Apparently there was a hairline crack that I had probably been running with for quite some time. I've never inspected shackles as they have never failed in my 40+ years of sailing. I trusted them like I do bolts. No more. Going to inspect all for this issue. Also, after discussing the incident with a fellow sailor, I am going to go with this type of shackle which should better distribute the load:



--
Bill Mattson
Prindle 19 "Gelli Bean"
Prindle 19 "Cat's Pajamas"
Nacra 5.2 (Will sail her a bit and let her name herself)
--

Quote

Here's a coincidence....

I was reading this thread yesterday. For my main blocks, I've got one of these snap shackles at the boom and a conventional shackle to the traveler. After reading your post I start thinking I should be running two conventional shackles.

WOw that sucks but seems to have ended ok - glad for that

I have lost a few shackles over time to that type of failure - pretty rare but can have serious consequences (i had a failure in my forestay shackle aloft - that one would have dropped my mast on something had i not caught it)

looks like a lot of discoloration on that pic. that is a sign of impending doom and need for replacement

In my research on this topic there are lots of articles on SS failure
interestingly i learned that SS in a poor choice for salt water and only in use due to the fact that the better material (silicone bronze) is too expensive

Check out this article and look at the links on the bottom - great info
https://www.practical-sai…l-Corrosion-10640-1.html

Wish there was a good way to backup the Jesus Shackle. Chance of failure low... consequences of failure potentially very high!

Regular inspection is critical, which ain't too bad if you regularly raise/lower to transport... one of my boats lives at the lake now and I haven't had the mast down in 60 days.

Randii

So I have collected like 100 + shackles of different sizes and shapes over the years... Looks like my magnifying light is going to get a workout this week....

As noted, in my 50 plus years of sailing, I have never had one of these things fail... and I am not looking for a first time.

--
John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
--