Halyard with integrated soft shackle

[Graham W]

I've come across this video of a very interesting piece of ropemanship using Class II lines, which are those with Dyneema (and similar) 12 strand cores and Polyester (and similar) outer covers.  The captions are in Dutch but it's fairly obvious what to do if you have a decent splicing fid and have made a soft shackle before http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgymQn-GmhM

Useful not just for halyards but also for outhauls, downhauls and anything else that normally terminates in a stainless shackle or hook.

Here's a good American video on how to make stand-alone soft shackles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH66tGsWv_Y#t=11  The demonstration of how to tie the all-important diamond knot (3'40" onwards) is particularly clear in a way that virtually all other explanations that I've seen (including the one at the end of the Dutch video) are not.

[Matthew P]

I like the idea of these soft shackles. Would you trust  a well made one for a forestay?
Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Graham W]

Here's a resource on soft shackles http://l-36.com/soft_shackles.php?menu=4

Towards the bottom of the page, the author tested some soft shackles to destruction. His conclusion was that the single shackle is a bit stronger than the line with which it is made. So a soft shackle made with Marlow's 4mm D12 would break somewhere north of 2,000kg. This makes it quite a bit stronger than a 4mm stainless steel shackle. For 2.5mm D12, the break load would be more than 600kg.

Two caveats: make sure that the diamond stopper knot is tied properly (see the US video above for the best instruction); and don't use a soft shackle on anything with sharp edges, as it could abrade.  Of course, check it as regularly as you would a steel shackle.