Soft Shackles

Superman might be most well known for his heroic acts, his affliction from Kryptonite, and his alter ego Clark Kent. But one thing that nobody gives him credit for, was his smarts, and apparently, his future prophecy’s. It is possible to be stronger than steel. Stainless steel has long been accepted and assumed to be the industry standard for shackles, padeyes and other sailing hardware. Well it is time to expand our thinking! Dyneema is a fiber made by the Dutch company DSM. It is not new in general, nor new specifically to the yachting industry. As a woven product it has been used for high tech rope, whether as a core or cover, chafe resistant pads on decks and spars, and in sails for years.

Weight for weight, Dyneema is 15 times stronger than steel. It is highly resistant to abrasion, moisture, UV rays and chemicals. With a specific weight lower than water’s, Dyneema will float. Over the years, much effort and time has been put in to improve “dyneema”. It now comes to the yachting industry in many different grades.

Having had rope made from Dyneema for years, sailors and riggers have looked into new applications of this “wonder” fiber on boats. Racer’s are always weight concious. Cruisers are always wear and tear, and damage concious (noone likes steel hardware banging around on the deck or mast!). Everyone loves reliability, make that dependability. Well, enter the Soft Shackle. Easy to make with any grade Dyneema, these are strong, light and dependable. As with any fiber product, the limit in strength and size comes down to the termination of the fiber. For composite or fiber standing rigging manufacturers, the battle is all over the smallest and strongest termation, or end fitting. These shackles employ two terminations. One end is a knot, which has shown not only great strength, but ability to not “slip out” under load. The other end is a splice, creating a slipping loop, which can open wide enough to accept the knot to be passed through it, and when closed chokes around the neck of the knot, not allowing it to pass back through.

We have tested these shackles, and I have used them in all sorts of applications on sailboats. Actually the associates in the store here use them as bracelets, an application I had not thought of! They have proven to be extremely durable. The ones which we have tested, have shown a conservative breaking strength higher than the lines listed breaking strength. Whether a halyard shackle, a shackle for a sheet, or any other possible application which a stainless steel shackle is used, these have proven to be as reliable, or more. They are lighter, stronger, and maybe best of all, they are “soft” and kind to anything they attach to or bang into (including heads!).

Here at the Middletown/Newport, RI Rigging Shop, we have made up “stock” sizes with consistent lengths, color coded by breaking strength. We have also made custom shackles for customer specific breaking strengths/lengths.