Ejecto Hook

I just bought a new harness with the RWO quick release hook, and was a bit disappointed to find that the hook decided to come out whilst I was on the wire, leaving me in the water!  Fortunately I had a spare but I don't want this to happen again, and am contemplating just abandoning the quick release system for a normal hook.

I was wondering who else had had (or knew someone who has had) an experience with a quick release hook failing on them like this or if it was just a fluke. 

Its interesting that Betwaite originally started out with a QR hook rather than his keyball thing, but abandoned the idea after a test one came back from loan with the mechanism taped up so it couldn't accidentally release...

i have a magic marne harness with a QRH, its never failed on me (yet, touch wood) and the mechanism looks reliabe enough, it has a ball on the end of the hook with 2 holes drilled through it, the hook fits into a tube on the spreader bar with a spring in it with 2 holes on either side of the tube. then you put a big, 2 pronged pin through the cylinder and hook and it has a metal retainer so the pin cant come out easily. takes a fair tug on a piece of string to release it and the string is tidied up by velcro so it looks safe.

Originally posted by Medway Maniac Happened to a couple of people at Wilsonian too. If you don't have a spare hook then you're stuffed, especially in the likes of an MPS/RS700 - could even be dangerous. Better off with John Waddington's flush hook: You don't get tangled up using this in the first place - or puncture your nice epoxy-sandwich hull climbing back in...

First time I'm seeing this design. Thanks for posting. I use the Bethwaite Keyball on my 29erXX and am generally happy. The issue is when others sail with me and have their own harnesses or when I need to sail with others on their boats with the ring. Looks like this design incorporates the best of the Keyball approach while remaining compatible with the %9x of the trap boats out there. Is the spreader made from an alloy or plastic/carbon etc?

QR hooks are absolutly rubbish, the RWO version is the best out of them but it is still crap. The problem with them is that they just seem to release the hook for no reason or if the hook stays in the its normally really hard to actually get it to release. I have one harness with and one without, but I do not find it a problem because i never take my hook out so i imagine that it would not come out if i needed it to anyway. It would take me less than a minute to take my harness off but i suppose when something happens on the water and you think that your hook might be stuck you just need to get you harness off straight away but thats probably not what you are thinking of at the time.