Fast pins?

Has anyone seen a fast pin break? I have in the past used both the Ronstan type with the steel ring pull and the blue ones with the central button, and never brocken them but I wondered if they were safe or a problem waiting to happen.(i have managed to bend some regular rigging pins recently and wondered if the fast pin could have taken that load)

You cant really go up a size as you couldn't get a thicker pin through the hole in the shroud adjuster. My thinking was that if the solid pins bent, the fast pins must be weaker as they are not solid due to the internal mechanism. Thus they could be suspect ( but if no one has ever seen them go, I shouldn't really waste my time worrying about them!)

The only issue I've ever had with fast pins has been a metric/imperial mismatch where the pins are slightly smaller diameter than the hole so they can fall out.

given all the other bits of rigging a boat up; Do fast pins really save much time?  some of the split rings designs can be removed really quickly and it doesn't really take more than 20 seconds to change the position

Originally posted by Neptune given all the other bits of rigging a boat up; Do fast pins really save much time?  some of the split rings designs can be removed really quickly and it doesn't really take more than 20 seconds to change the position

If you want to change mast rake on the water between races a fast pin is much easier and less risky. We would use fine cord to tie ours to the chain plate so we couldn't lose them.  Never had one break or fail.