[TowerTalk] Need a Knot Expert

[k7lxc at aol.com]

Howdy, TowerTalkians -

    Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it and warm good wishes to everyone else!
    I've been following this thread with some interest. In my book UP THE TOWER - The Complete Guide To Tower Construction (available from championradio.com), I have a whole chapter on knots and rope management. 

    I've worked on over 260 ham installations where most times the owner was the ground person. I can count on one hand how many of them knew any knots at all. In my book I say that if you are trapped on a desert island and can only take one knot with you - it'd be the bowline. A lot of my ropes and knots experience came thru my days of mountain climbing. It was there where it was suggested that you practice the bowline in a cold shower in the dark since it may come down to that.

    The original post wanted to tie 2 ropes together where of course I'd have suggested 2 bowlines. Other suggestions like a square knot with half hitches on each end works great as well. (BTW I always triple knot half hitches for guaranteed safety.) Suggestions for more sophisticated knots were good but really outside the scope of your typical amateur.
    I also endorse the figure 8 which is indeed easy to tie and untie but for my tower experience it is too big to be at the end of your haul line where an inch one way or another is the difference between an easy successful job and needing that extra inch for a lift and not having it.

    In my tower work I also use the clove hitch and the trucker's hitch. They're both easy and wonderful when you need them.

    I don't think this is a new topic (a rare occurrence!) but doesn't come up often so I hope everyone got something out of this thread.

Cheers,Steve     K7LXCTOWER TECH -Professional tower services for amateursCell: 206-890-4188