Behind the name ‘soft shackle’ hides quite simply a fiber rope shackle. Light, incredibly strong and above all, very easy to make. And as the icing on the cake, this high-tech plaything will cost you less than a stainless steel shackle.
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Published on 16/12/2016
By
Emmanuel van Deth
Issue:
146
Published:
Mar.
/
Apr.
2016
Progress as regards ropes has been spectacular: racing boat preparers have made no mistake. Their boats are sailing shop windows for their art of ropework. On our more conventional boats, we can of course make use of these new materials. The most commonly used is Dyneema. This fiber resists UV and chafe perfectly. Above all, for the same diameter, it is twice as strong as stainless steel. And for the same weight, the ratio leaps to 12! It is therefore tempting to use Dyneema to replace our traditional stainless steel shackles and snap links. Or even our bulky…
