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  1. #1
    Senior Member nacra533's Avatar
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    Loop Shackles/Connectors aka The Nacrabiner

    My first contribution to this great forum.

    I use a homemade version of these on sailboats using 1/8 spectra or vectran to replace a clevis or shackle. Spectra handles the chafe a little better than vectran, but I have a lot of 1/8" vectran on hand. Probably some good applications for ultralight folks or hammocks.

    http://www.kohlhoff-online.de/index....=90&Itemid=126

    These could be used in suspension systems in place of biners, marlin spike hitches and other areas where two lines or eyes needs to be joined quickly.

    These work by allowing one side of the loop to adjust opening the eye and when tension is applied the eye closes and secures the knot end. Very easy to make if you have any skills at all splicing 12 strand.

    Any strong stopper knot will work on the end, I use a special knot (it's probably a lanyard knot) so that I can cut the tails very short, but it is complex knot to tie while balancing the lengths of the two "legs". A good stopper knot with a little extra tail is much simpler.

    They are very strong, the applications are for racing sailboats, where weight and strength are at a premium.

    I believe APS sells these as well as the Tylaska Spool Shackle, which is another great way to form a cow hitch when you don't have access to the end of the line.

    =====

    MOD'S EDIT: See Post 71 for Schneiderlein's findings re: load testing the shackles:
    - Use a diamond knot for loop shackles made from Amsteel.
    - It is not critical to have the legs of the shackle perfectly balanced.
    - The loop shackles have a failure load around 175% of the line's rating (190% for the 3mm Lash-It).
    - The Ashley stopper knot and the overhand knot are not suitable for this application.
    Last edited by Just Jeff; 03-24-2010 at 13:44. Reason: Added safety info from Post 71

  2. #2
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    Cool! I've been getting impatient for the next new idea on HF, and here it is.

    Your Nacra does battle with the jet skis on Hartwell Lake?
    .. truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. - Herman Melville

  3. #3
    Senior Member GrizzlyAdams's Avatar
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    loop shackles

    Thanks for the post!

    The image at the URL you pointed to seems to have a loop with a big stopper knot at the end. I followed through looking at spool shackles and see how that would work at the end of a line with a loop, but not seeing how the loop with stopper knot works like that...?

    Along those lines, a couple of years ago Dutch drilled some holes in English pound coins for me to do something like this



    He also drilled a hole in a hex bar of aluminum that is essentially a spool shackle I think



    Ain't this fidgeting with suspension stuff fun! <grin>

    How about posting some pictures of your DIY shackles...

    Grizz

  4. #4
    Senior Member nacra533's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vitamaltz View Post
    Cool! I've been getting impatient for the next new idea on HF, and here it is.

    Your Nacra does battle with the jet skis on Hartwell Lake?
    Absolutely. If the wind is good and the spinnaker is up, we pass them sometimes. Nothing more fun than chasing down pontoon boats running at full throttle and passing them under sail power.

  5. #5
    Senior Member nacra533's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams View Post
    Thanks for the post!

    The image at the URL you pointed to seems to have a loop with a big stopper knot at the end. I followed through looking at spool shackles and see how that would work at the end of a line with a loop, but not seeing how the loop with stopper knot works like that...?

    Along those lines, a couple of years ago Dutch drilled some holes in English pound coins for me to do something like this



    He also drilled a hole in a hex bar of aluminum that is essentially a spool shackle I think



    Ain't this fidgeting with suspension stuff fun! <grin>

    How about posting some pictures of your DIY shackles...

    Grizz

    His version does the same thing. The good thing about the Tylaska spool shackles is they can handle a sail flogging. They stay attached whether under tension or knot. Not really a neccessity with a hammock.

    I'll make another one and post some pictures in a day or two. Mine are currently on the boat and I sent my spare to "The Punisher" at Layline for them to destructivly test to see where it fails. Hopefully, the failure point is not the stopper knot capsizing, but the spectra breaking, which should happen between 2000 and 4000 pounds depending on how it the load is applied.


    It' easiest to describe its use with an example. I put it through a grommet on the sail and a hole on the attachment point on the boat. I open the eye on the loop connector, put the stopper through the eye forming a loop. When tension is applied, the eye closes trapping the stopper knot.

    Any place you would use a clevis or a biner, to connect two loops, eyes, or grommets, you would use this. If forms a ring.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by nacra533 View Post
    Absolutely. If the wind is good and the spinnaker is up, we pass them sometimes. Nothing more fun than chasing down pontoon boats running at full throttle and passing them under sail power.
    More (wind) power to you. Some of those lakes are pretty congested.

    I've been dreaming about a multi-day hammocking trip on a Hobie lately.
    .. truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. - Herman Melville

  7. #7
    Senior Member nacra533's Avatar
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    Pictures and Instructions posted in my gallery

    I posted some pictures and instructions in my gallery. Pardon the fuzzy tails, vectran is tough to cut and I didn't have a razor handy. Also, it doesn't burn easily so I couldn't melt the ends.

    Not sure how to put a link my gallery, but here is link to step one of making it.
    http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...php?i=6170&c=4

    I may have not been real clear in my orginal post. These don't do the same thing as the spool shackles or the holes in a coin trick for adjusting a line.

    One example of a use of these is in place of a biner in a WBBB strap setup.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by nacra533 View Post
    I'll make another one and post some pictures in a day or two. Mine are currently on the boat and I sent my spare to "The Punisher" at Layline for them to destructivly test to see where it fails. Hopefully, the failure point is not the stopper knot capsizing, but the spectra breaking, which should happen between 2000 and 4000 pounds depending on how it the load is applied.
    I just made one of these out of 7/64" Amsteel and now have a 2.9g (0.1oz) carabiner! The weight savings come at a bit of a price, the biner takes two hands to operate. I've been playing with it for the last half hour, and it seems easy enough to do.

    nacra533, did you ever get any testing results for these?

  9. #9
    Senior Member Strapped-4-Cache's Avatar
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    I see some new product offerings in Opie's future...

    This is a simple, elegant alternative to 'biners. Amsteel has led to some really beneficial weight solutions to using a hammock on the trail. Nacra533, thank you for sharing this on the forum.

    - Mark (S-4-C)

  10. #10
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    Just made one of these little gems with an Ashley as a stopper. Very cool. Anybody want a pair of Oz biners?(jk)

    S

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