DaySailer.org Forum

GL - yes I was thinking that those lengths would be important also. I'll play around with some extra line, tie the loop on, and then give myself an extra inch or two as the target length.

The diamond knot looks the hardest to do. I saw mentioned on a couple of sites that the knot is the point where the shackle will fail, if it is going to fail. Makes sense.

Yes Polypropylene, I had that wrong. It may look knobby and rough, but the 9mm Regatta Lite feels SO smooth in my hand, and SO light. Also have some 8mm Bzzz line that I may use for the jib sheet... so a shackle that will work with either 8 or 9mm.

Thanks!

The diamond knot isn't hard to do. My personal experience. You'll get the pattern of it pretty quick.

The shackle will fail "at" the knot, because at that point, the entire tension (or full 1/2 of the total) is at the single strand that forms the "neck" of the knot. Everywhere else, the rope is doubled up, because of the buried tail of the splice.

That's different from the knot itself failing. If you work it tight so it's rock hard when you are done that knot is not going to go anywhere.

Polypropylene ropes tend to be lighter than polyester. In fact they don't sink, which is why I have something similar to this line as painter and dock lines. They are definitely grippy, but heed the warning on rope burns.