When I've done foresail changes on Astraea it always seemed that I would drop one of the Harken #6 bow shackles overboard. Now I've remedied that problem.Some background: In order to change say from our 150% light air genoa to our 100% working jib, I've got to pull the sail all the way out, release the halyard and drop the whole thing on deck. This hasn't change with the new setup and I'm still concerned about controlling the 150% sail if the wind really pipes up. Then I have to unscrew each #6 shackle from the head and the tack of the sail. They also come completely apart into 2 separate pieces convenient for dropping one of them overboard. Reconnecting them with the new sail and the halyard swivel (at the head) on a pitching deck was a little difficult and added to the potential time spent on the foredeck in potentially tricky conditions.
Now, with a snap shackle at the head and the tack I can't drop anything overboard. Everthing remains attached to the roller furler and the connection is literally a snap. It is much less fiddling or putting shackles into my pockets and reduces the conversion time. This makes me feel safer knowing I don't need to be on foredeck in tricky conditions any longer than necessary.The snap shackes were $54 a piece - a bit pricey compared with $9 bow shackes, but feel like I'm buying some piece of mind too.
I still need to add some bungee cord to help control the sails while they are laying on deck to complete the whole package.
