[brianc]

I'm trying to find out if the shackle in the attached pic is a 'high resistance' shackle or just a regular one. According to Harken, the HR ones are stamped with an 'HR.' The pin on this one is stamped with 'HR' but the other piece isn't. Harken doesn't make any statement as to whether the pin is also stamped in the HR versions.

Any thoughts? This shackle is (was) used to attach a one of the vang blocks to a short line running from the boom. I think the pin worked loose and...

 

[mike dryver]

Your not saying the pin eye came through the shackle eye!!!??

 

[Stumble]

It looks like you have a standard shackle with a hr pin. The shackle itself should be stamped as well.

I can't imagine under normal loads any of their properly sized stuff would bend like that in use as a vang. The deck hardware should have ripped thru the fiberglass first or the line snapped. Either you got a bad one from the start, or as you mentioned the shackle came undone and deformed from a side load.

 

[Loki9]

I have a shackle from a vang that looks just like that one and it happened the same way. The pin wasn't wired and worked loose, allowing the horseshoe to bend. Mine wasn't an HR shackle and it worked fine until the pin came loose. I wire them now.

 

[brianc]

Ok thanks all for the replies!

Do you think it would be worth re-using the HR pin or just go with a whole new non-HR shackle.

And yes, I'll be wiring these closed from now on...

Brian

 

[MedSailor]

Zip ties also work well for "wiring" shackles shut and create less snags.

Medsailor

 

[Stumble]

You need a new shackle and pin. The pin itself is starting to show surface rust which is a precursor to crevice corrosion, and I don't think you can buy just a shackle anyway.

I always buy HT shackles for the extra safety margin, but without knowing the setup I couldn't say you need to.

 

[pdqaltair]

I think you will find that the HR rating has no bearing on the failure in this application; 80% of the strength comes from the closed loop, even more if the shackle gets sideways. And while wiring it shut is certainly good practice, most likely it was never much more than finger tight.

By all means, wire it closed--that is the important thing. And secure it in such a way that it cannot get sideways.

 

[obelisk]

You need a new shackle and pin. The pin itself is starting to show surface rust which is a precursor to crevice corrosion, and I don't think you can buy just a shackle anyway.

I just called Harken to see about getting just a pin for the 10mm HR shackle that attaches the tack of my genoa to the furler--dropped it overboard when taking the sail down --and they told me i was S.O.L.

At NZD$44 replacement cost, i just went with a generic bow shackle. As long as you seize the pin, just about any reputable brand, HR or not, should work in that application.