I'm brainstorming a replacement soft shackle replacement pigtail for the jib clew. I want with with no metal, unlike the Murry's variation with the aluminum buckle instead of a diamond knot.

Isotope235 has a variation here on catsailorfrom 2010 that intrigues me, as it seems to combine the shackle and the pigtail.

Has anyone made similar variations?

My hobie generally stays rigged in the yard and I only drop the sails, so I would like to be able to quickly remove the shackle from the jib clew, rather than unsheaving the jib sheet. A one piece pigtail/shackle intrigues me, but I can't figure out the best way to make it.

Any ideas? I've made a few of the Allen Edwards better soft shackles so that is what I am envisioning as a starting point.

My personal preference is a simple Y-shaped pigtail with locked eye splices at all three ends. The middle eye attaches to the jib clew with an eye-hitch, and the ends eye-hitch to blocks. This is the cleanest and most secure attachment, with nothing to snag on the mast when tacking.

One improvement is to splice the ends directly to tie-lite blocks. That leaves even less weight on the jib clew, and the blocks don't dent or scratch whatever they bang into.

The only drawback is that you cannot remove the jib without unreeving the sheets.

I currently make my soft shackles with a self-closing eye in a manner similar to Allen Edwards' "improved soft shackle). I have found, however, that people unfamiliar with it invariably put the knob knot through the wrong loop and invert the terminal eye. That makes it rather insecure. Fixed eyes are more foolproof.

I put full locked brummels at both ends of the bury (Edwards only half-locks his and I use a different knot for the knob. Most people tie a "knife lanyard knot" (ABoK 787) and unfortunately refer to it as a "diamond knot" (which is actually a different knot - see ABoK 781). I don't like the knife lanyard knot for this purpose for two reasons. 1) It is a lanyard knot (the ends exit the top of the knot) rather than a button knot (where the ends exit the bottom). A button knot is more esthetically pleasing. 2) The knife lanyard knot can slide under load if not pulled up tight enough. I use a 2-strand 8-part button knot (ABoK 980) which I feel is both more attractive and more secure. It tends to get tighter under load.

If memory serves, I started that particular pigtail by putting eye splices in two pieces of line. Then I lock brummeled them together. Next, I made the slipped eye in one end. Then I lock brummeled the two lines together again. Finally, I tied the button knot and cut off the ends.

If you'd like to see some of the other pigtails and soft shackles I make, take a look at www.nautiknots.com.

I hope that helps,
Eric

That helps immensely!

I suspect changing my routine to involve unreeving the jib sheet is probably the most wise choice and would nullify the my other concerns!

I've got two variations I think I will experiment with... But first I'm going to tackle that ABoK #980 button knot. That is a great suggestion that will provide me with hours of spaghetti knot fun.

I know that the OP didn't mention racing, and I can't see a real speed advantage, to say nothing about practicality, but in case someone reads this later and tries it...

Is this legal under the IHCA Hobie class rules (say for a Hobie 16)?

Mike

My soft shackle is just a loop with sister clips. Very quick. I attach the blocks directly to the clew, but one line at each side to save some sheet length could be easily added. The sister clips don't fit through the block hole so i added a small loop there too, all with thin line, maybe 2mm, but two turns, so that the knots don't take too much room.