I'm looking for solutions to release the forestay with minimum fuss. I keep my 22ft boat on a mooring in the river and have to drop the mast to pass under bridges on the way to the ocean. To do this I have to detach the forestay. Currently this involves taking the split pin out of the clevis pin in the rigging fork which is a pain in the ass on a tight foredeck.

I have tried using a shackle instead of a clevis pin - the pin of the shackle is just the right size to go through the rigging fork, stem head fitting and screw tightly in to the u of the shackle. Easy to remove with a shackle spanner and unlikely to come loose by itself.

What do people think of fast pins for this purpose? They small spring loaded catch seems unreliable to me.

Any other suggestions?

I need something that locks in positively and won't come out until I want it to, and then when I want it to, comes out easily.

I use a a safety pin I bent from s/steel weld rod, just like a shark clip.
I have the clevis pin and the pin clip tethered together so I won't lose them. The tether goes through the fitting so it all stays together. This is for my removable inner fore stay

Another possible solution would be a hyfield lever, these were used on running stays. If you used one of these you could quickly remove the loading and could look at a snap hook style fitting, nothing to loose or fall overboard then!
cheers Richard

I said above I use R clips for many applications. Actually for the forestay pin, rudder pintles and pin for main tack to gooseneck I use Ronstan retaining clips (RF413) . Compact and strong.

Jolene said..
I use a a safety pin I bent from s/steel weld rod, just like a shark clip.
I have the clevis pin and the pin clip tethered together so I won't lose them. The tether goes through the fitting so it all stays together. This is for my removable inner fore stay

I have stacks of shark clips laying about. I cut the rope end off and bend the end over to make the retaining pin.