the Wichard
snap shackle

Everything about Wichard snap shackle as safety system for kitesurf

Version française video back to home

Safety of 4 liners inflatable kites
The Wichard shackle
Restriction for use, no sand, no soft loop
Use with a leash
My release system: a ring
Other release systems

Safety of 4 liners inflatable Kites

4 liners inflatable kites allow power control through the front lines coming into the middle on the bar. This middle line is hooked to the harness through a small loop called the "chicken loop".
In case of emergency this chicken loop must be released very quickly.
No release system on a dangerous spot can be fatal like for Silke Gorldt in Germany the 7th of June 2002.
Also system that are too difficult to activate can cause severe injuries.

That's why safety of 4 liners kites is a very hot subject and I'd like to bring my modest contribution.

back to ToC

The Wichard shackle model 26 or 27

It's a shackle made by the French company Wichard. It is very popular in Europe.

It is available in several size, with small and large bail. Mine has a large bail.

They open easily under heavy load, more than one ton, by pulling a little string.

But this string is so little that it is too difficult to catch. Many kitesurfer add some plastic ball on it. But this ball can tangle with the hook of the harness, causing an unwanted release of the kite.
Another problem with the little string is that you need to pull it in the right direction, as shown on the picture above.
Therefore it is very important to rehearse the move to grab and activate the release system.

back to ToC

Sand, the enemy of all shackles

Whichever shackle do you use, sand can make it inoperative. As soon as you are in the water, rinse your shackle and remove the sand.
On the beach manipulate your harness in the way that the shackle never goes into the sand.

Always use a ring, never a soft loop

Here is what can happen with a simple knot, the loop stays hanging.

What you must do:

back to ToC

The Wichard shackle and the leash

One can use the embedded swivel to mount a leach that follows the rotations. Fix the leach on the top part of the shackle a the back of the spring. Then everything moves together, the bar and the leach.
Then you need a second shackle. Do not mix up the release systems of the two shackles else you will loose the whole kite as it happened to me.

back to ToC

A ring as a release system

To try to fix most of the problem above, I got the idea of an easier to use release system:
A ring around the shackle that one grabs by follow the line of the chicken loop and pulling toward yourself.
As I have the large bail model, the ring is quite big but it is easier to catch.
It is an easy move, that doe snot need a lot of precision, see the video.

Building

I use a ring for semi rigid PVC water pipe. I sawed to top part, leaving a hole as big as the largest part of the shackle.
At the base of the ring I made 2 holes. And a little string going from these two hole to the shackle spring. Then this string has always the right angle to pull the string.

Very important: adjust the size of the hole at the top.

The first trials showed that my hole was too big, letting the shackle go through it. Not good when you need to hook you kite and you have the other hand busy on the bar. I filled partly the hole with plastic, the white part you see on the picture. But not enough and it was possible that the plastic cap locks the shackle (middle picture). Then I filled again the hole to make sure that the plastic cap cannot go over the spring.

If you have the small bail, then the hole can be smaller and you insert the ring by the bottom. Make sure the ring is big enough to let the swivel and its link to harness can turn freely.

A reader of this Web site found a PVC part that has the needed dimension.
external diameter 40mm
internal diameter 32mm

The trick is to go to the shop with your Wichard shackle an test the part to find the right diameter.

but you still need to adjust the diameter

Mounting a leash

Pictures of my system with a leash on the front line. Et la vidéo.

Tests

I went kitesurfing only half a dozen of time since I mounted this system. I'm quite happy with it, none unwanted release.

People asked me: "With such a big ring, can the pressure of water release the kite ?"
I did already some unwanted strong bodydrags and it didn't release, but I need to test it harder.

back to ToC

Other release systems

A system very similar to mine:
Find the description at the end of page:
http://funoo.chez.tiscali.fr/technique/secu/secukite.htm

and at the right an equivalent solution by Armel

A commercialized product:
the REFLEX safe 360

The first ring system that inspired mine.

More sophisticated, and the lateral leash should help after rotation.

read in reports of flysurf.com

Other systems desbribed on the site www.portnawake.com
Notice on the right picture, the trigger is simply a big flat ring on top of the sshackle's spring.

back to ToC