Check the book -Rappelling- by Martin. Even Ashley shows a bowline
with a securing lashing on the running end. It's commonly mentioned
in the arborist literature. Keep in mind, for these people, a secure
knot is a safety-of-life issue.
I was wrong, though, about the relative strengths of the bowline and
figure-eight loop. The figure-eight loop is rated at 88% and the
bowline is rated at 79% of line strength.
It's never too late to learn something new.
73, doug
From: "Guy Olinger, K2AV" <k2av@contesting.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 19:51:14 -0500
Bowline never came loose on me even once in my life. Never heard of
such. Never read of such. Once tension is on them, takes a little
doing to get them loose.
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.
73, Guy.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dale L Martin" <kg5u@hal-pc.org>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 11:28 AM
Subject: RE: [Towertalk] Knots
>
> To continue the sea stories subthread, I crewed on a Cal-40 racing
in
> Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico for about 15 years. I don't
recall a
> bowline ever working itself loose on our boat. I don't even
remember anyone
> checking before tacking. When on a tack, the windward sheet (line)
is slack
> and tension is off that bowline knot at the genoa clew while the
leeward
> sheet has the strain.
>
> Out in the Gulf, there were opportunities for being on one tack for
hours
> and hours, even days (Galveston-Vera Cruz race).
>
> I think that if there was a concern about the bowline going loose
and
> possibly letting go, it wouldn't have been used or we would have
done
> something to preclude it.
>
> Maybe the conditions onboard weren't conducive to knot loosening.
>
> Under exactly what conditions will an unloaded bowline knot become
loose?
>
> 73,
> dale, kg5u
>
> >
> > You're close. The only problem with a bowline is that if it's
under
> > no load, it tends to loosen. You can make it more secure in
various
> > ways. I believe that it is one of the good knots that maintains
more
> > of the strength of the line. OTOH, the figure-eight loop is
easily
> > tied, even in the middle of the line and seems to stay tight, but
> > loses more of the inherent line strength, and perhaps as the
obverse
> > of the above, is hard to untie. Many of us think a knot should be
> > easily untied.
> >
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