Using Dyneema Shackle with a Web Block

[John Stone]

I broke an old Schaefer block I had been using as a turning/foot block on the Far Reach for six years. It broke on my third trip down to the Virgin Islands.

I decided to replace both blocks with Antal OPM 80 web series blocks. There is no shackle or bail for a hard shackle. It is designed to use with a soft shackle.

I had a couple soft shackles on the boat that I made a few years ago which incorporated wood toggles. They held up very well. But I wanted to replace the wood (ipe) with aluminum toggles made by my friend Ben Zartman at Abednego Marine.

The new blocks arrived last week and I wasted no time testing them on a hard beat from St Thomas to Francis Bay, St John USVI. When I get some time I will leather the blocks just like the old ones.

The soft shackles are made from 5/16" dyneema, if I remember correctly. Doubled, they probably break at over 15,000 lbs. It's ridiculous. Ben told me he tried to break the toggles in a load cell but could not even at 16,000 lbs. So I think this set up should work well.

[John Stone]

I also installed an Antal low friction ring to serve as a fair lead deflecting my jib sheets just enough so they don't make contact with the varnished teak winch bases. The sheet passes through the jib lead then aft through the Antal fairlead then to the turning/foot block and back to the winch. I made the soft shackle from 3/16" Amsteel dyneema. I made the shackle long enough so I could get an extra wrap around stanchion base. The wrap constricts around the base and keeps the soft shackle from sliding up the base. It locks it in place.