Bowline? Clip? Ball end? What works best?

Depends on where and how often you're going to have to mess with them.
I've tried a bunch of different things - I thought the Hobie push-on
clips would be good for the trapeze shock cords (because they could be
easily disconnected from the bowline in the end of the trapeze rope),
but they just kept breaking. People use hog rings (aka upholstery
staples) a lot. A bowline usually works in a pinch.



Edited by jonathan162 on Jun 24, 2024 - 08:24 PM.

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Southern Alberta and all over the damn place.
*
1981 SuperCat 20 "Roberts' Rockets"
1983 SuperCat 19
TriFoiler #23 "Unfair Advantage"
Mystere 17
Unicorn A-Class (probably made by Trowbridge) that I couldn't resist rescuing at auction.
H18 & Zygal (classic) Tornado - stolen and destroyed - very unpleasant story.
Invitation and Mistral and Sunflower and windsurfers w/ Harken hydrofoils and god knows what else...
--

Ace Hardware used to sell "zip hooks". I run the terminal end of the shock cord through these end finish with a stop knot. They hook onto a bowline of the quarter inch line which goes to the "dog bone" or what have you. The hook has a built in v jam cleat that allows you to tighten the shock cord easily so it's not flapping around when you're not on the wire. I know it's against conventional wisdom to have an open hook anywhere on the boat but they face downward and I've used them for years without them ever snagging on anything unintentionally. If this freaks you out, get some nylon shock cord hooks from West Marine or Murrays. They can't accidentally snag onto anything and have a hole for the stop knot to fit into.

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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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I use small non-locking carabiners attached with bowlines to the trapeze shockcord. There's little load on them and I can easily move them around when securing my boat cover.

I appreciate all the replies - thanks much. I had totally forgotten about hog rings, which I think is the direction I'm headed.

Thanks again.

I prefer to use plastic hooks. Easy to disconnect the wire from the bungee for trailering or if things get tangled.

https://murrays.com/products/carbine-hook-plastic

sm

what he said ^^, or a little stopper knot on the adjuster line, and a loop on the bungee, and then connect those two with a little larks head know around the adjuster line stopper knot...



Edited by robpatt on Jun 26, 2024 - 04:11 PM.

99% of the cats I see have a hitch loop or some other simple loop on the bungee, tied small. Run the tail of the knot through the small loop to make a larger loop, and capture something in the trapeze. This can be either a monkey fist knot if you have a secondary line connected to the ring. Or capture the ring itself.