> Towertalk has the distinction of carrying the only mention of bowline
> self-loosening I've seen in my entire lifetime. Maybe it doesn't
> happen.
>
I looked at perhaps 50 web pages on knots, and several articles talked about
the self-loosening aspect of the Bowline (I personally cannot comment
either way - I'm just trying to understand what knot to use). The reasoning
seems to be that there is not enough internal friction in that knot. The
recommendation was to use a figure-eight knot on the free piece of rope to
the knot from loosening. Also, the strength of the Bowline varied
(depending on the article) from 50% degredation in strength, to around 30%.
Today, I finished my tower installation - just need to do some adjustments,
and then put on the antenna. The tower is an old Tri-Ex THD-354. The ham I
bought it from never guyed it, but everyone I've spoken with has suggested
that it definately should be guyed. The prior owner used a TH3MKIII, and I
am using a 3 element SteppIR, which has a bit more surface area. I plan on
using antenna rope for the guys, 5/16" double braided polyester. I had good
results on my former pole tower support with this material. But I was
thinking about what kind of a knot to use - hence the relevance of this
thread. As far as I can tell, for the guys, the best knot seems to be the
Buntline Hitch, which was discussed previously in this thread. It seems to
be more for a permanent type knot. Any ideas? Tom W6EIJ
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