NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Knot Question
From: UNK
Date: 2004 Aug 12, 14:16 -0400
From: UNK
Date: 2004 Aug 12, 14:16 -0400
On Thursday, August 12, 2004 1:13 PM, Brooke Clarke asked: > I would like to plumb a number of antenna masts by adjusting the > length of the 3 parachute cord guy ropes that are staked into the > ground. Is there a knot that would allow adjusting the length of > the line, yet would hold fast? Bill Noyce replied: > The Boy Scouts teach the "tautline" hitch for this purpose. > First hit from Google had nice pictures: > http://www.iland.net/~jbritton/tautlinehitch.htm The tautline hitch (and its cousins the rolling and midshipman's hitches) is great for temporary work; fine for tent guys; a lifesaver for taking the load off a sheet or halyard that's jammed on a winch. I'd be leary of using it long-term, especially on parachute cord. If you can, I'd use the tautline hitches to get your masts plumb, but then use switch to bowlines, anchor bends, or such. If you can't do that without upsetting your adjustments, try a tight seizing around the loop at the stake to add some extra friction. -- Peter
