On a sailboat blocks that are attached to pad eyes or tracks can flop around and damage the finish of the boat, decks get scratched and gelcoat cracked. I was getting especially mad when my genoa sheet blocks would bash into my bright-work and mash up the varnish in no time flat.
When the sheet is under load the block is held clear of the boat but the lazy sheet still flaps around and damages the boat. Stand up springs prevent this from happening as they make the block stand up straight even when no rope is rove through them as shown here but getting the springs into place can be a real pain. The problem is that you have to compress the spring as you reassemble the block, pushing the clevis pin back through the fitting then threading on the split ring. It is all too easy to lose some vital part as the spring is want to throw bits and pieces in every direction, usually to the bottom of the sea.
A neat trick is to use some small zip ties to hold the spring in compression as you assemble the fitting then when everything is installed simply cut the ties with a knife and voila a perfect job with no missing parts and no rude words.
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