[pct-l] Tarps, Tents & Knots

[Stephen]

Good point Jason,
were you reading my mind?
A taught tarp is a happy tarp.  But geez, don't rip the grommets out !
I'm going to add my two cents worth here.
Esspecially for the knot challenged who wish to give tarping a try.
IMHO the single most important knot you'll want to learn is the Rolling 
Hitch (also known I think as the tent hitch for good reason).  This knot is 
handy for when you loop a guy line cord around something like a stake or 
rock and back to itself. Tied properly it can be slid along up the tensioned 
cord and will not slip back.
The Bowlin is a good knot for tying cord to a grommet where no adjustment 
would be necesarry.
Two Half Hitches can also be used like the rolling hitch, but will be more 
prone to slip.
Clove hitch is good for tying off around a branch log, securing a guy line 
to a hiking pole.
Figure Eight with a loop for using the loop over a pole tip or some object 
and being able totension all directions.
Fisherman knot.  This is a very good way to tie two peices of cord together.
Double Sheet Bend.  A good knot for tying two different sizes of line 
together.
I'm not a big fan of the square knot; I use it to tie my shoes and that's 
about it.
My philosophy regarding knots is this, a good knot is one that can take a 
load and then be untied easily.
Except for the Fisherman knot, all the other knots I listed above, in most 
cicumstances, can take a load and be broken and untied with relative speed 
and ease.  Rigging your tarp you wont experience the heavy loads we do 
sailing, but it's still nice to be able to change long and short guy lines 
or add to them some times.  I've had numerous occasions to use the rolling 
hitch to take hundreds of pounds of load off a line when out yacht racing in 
order to either clear an overide on a winch, make relead adjustments and all 
sorts of fixes.  The trick there is to be able to get it done fast, take the 
load, fix the issue,and release and be able to untie the temporary load 
line, clear it and either get back to wherever I need to be.
The bowline we use primarily for attaching the sheetlines to the headsails. 
They can take a tremendous load repeatedly tacking upwind and still be 
untied easily for sail changes etc...  For a few years we used fancy cast 
stainless snaps and have recently gone back to using bowlines.
When we pull masts out of boats I use a clove hitch around the base beneath 
some hard mounted bracket or gooseneck and back it up with a simple half 
hitch.  If the base of the mast has no hardware to prevent the line slipping 
up, I use a rolling hitch and test it by loading the crane, but they always 
seem to grip nicely.  And after picking up two to five hundred pound rigs 
again the key is the knot did its job safely and then was easily untied.
Jason was reading my mind because earlier today I was looking in my copy of 
"Mountianeering: The Freedom of the Hills", because I was thinking of this 
very topic since some folks seem to be getting interested in tarps.  This 
book has an excellent section discussing these knots with decent diagrams. 
It also has a nice page about tarps and shows good examples of how they can 
be rigged.
If you can peak at one of these books at an REI or find a knot tying book at 
the library or online I highly recommend learning a half dozen useful basic 
knots.  There will be a quiz at VVR for anyone who don't clear out before I 
get there, and anyone who doesn't pass will have to take the class.
Sorry for the sailing shpeel, it's in the blood, and I use knots everyday.
If anyone needs help in my area getting a few knots down and rigging a tarp 
in various configurations I'm right on LA Harbor and be glad to give some 
instruction.
Knotty hiker


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jason moores" <jmmoores at hotmail.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 10:13 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Tarps, Tents & Knots



Sorry, sent post before I finished my thoughts.

For two people the SMD Duo provides "extravagant" space for 1# 5oz per 
person.

I would like to make a few suggestions to those who are new to using tarps 
and tarptents. 1. Silnylon relaxes after you pitch your shelter. To reduce 
the annoying flapping that a "loose" pitch can produce, re-tighten all guy 
lines 10 minutes after set up. Taking an extra minute to guarantee that 
you're shelter is snug will save many sleepless moments if the wind picks 
up.

2. When I began using tarps I quickly realized that I lacked any real 
knowledge of how to tie a useful knot. Luckily this was easily remedied. I 
picked up a used copy of "The Complete Book of Knots", grabbed some line, 
and taught myself a few useful knots in a short period of time. A boline, a 
few hitches, and a slide and grip loop - the Tarbuck knot, a sliding knot 
that seizes under pressure and releases when the pressure is relieved. 
Knowing a few extra knots gives me more flexablility with where and how I 
pitch a shelter, and I even find these new knots faster and easier than what 
I was using. ( I suggest using a thicker piece of line to practice with, the 
micro line often used for UL shelters can be difficult to remove knots from)

So while we're sittin' indoors counting the days until the long walk, I 
suggest putting our hands & time to something useful. Knowledge is light.

jason





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