Knots **In The Wild**

[Dan_Lehman]

Here are some of the Fisherman's Knots in a nearly 600' length of longline
for a conch-pots string I salvaged (with a lonnnng bout of untangling)
from the beach.  (Oddly, the round slices of plastic drums used for the
pots were there, attached by 2-leg pot bridles (Overhand Eyeknot at center,
securing to pots through drilled holes with Overhand stoppers), but no
other rigging or hardware on the pots (i.e., none of the mesh for the
bottom and half of the top; none of the perimeter guard around the
opening).)

Note that these bends are tied both in the concordant and discordant
orientations (i.e., with same- & opposite-handed Overhand components);
the concordant ones seem to draw up more compactly.  The knots also
appear to have been compacted by compression and not just tension,
though I'm not sure what would to that -- maybe just being pulled
through a guide pulley -- , as I think that unlike with lobster longline
this thinner cord is drawn up by the big spool atop the boat cabin
(in one case I'm familiar with) and not via a V-pinching pot hauler.

Which implies that the clipped-to-longling pot bridles must get unclipped
before the line reaches the spool.  Yet some of the clip points on the
line showed evidence of wear beyond what would be expected for just
a one-time positioning!?

--dl*
====

ps:  And now the "MOVED" thread won't show as latest for Practical Knots !
 

[skyout]

Good find and good job of cleaning the beaches.
Really nice picture, too, Dan. Looks almost like modern art with the dark background.

[Dan_Lehman]

On Saturday (14th), I moseyed down by a row-boat/kayak rental facility's lakeside
depot of boats and came to examine the short haul loops tied at the bow of the
row boats.  I was astounded to find a variety of dubious knots:  Sheet Bend,
Thief bend (!), Granny, and maybe something of the same but with different
orientation (e.g., the Thief can have the end tucks made more *roundly* to
resemble some kind of half-hitch bend); there was also the Square/Reef bend.
--in, oh, quarter-inch diamond-braided cord of some sort (some kind of core).

Admittedly, the one bend most here would think recommendable --viz., Sheet
Bend-- was the only really bad-looking knot in the batch, with the others less
badly set; but the Thiefs still gave me pause.  Ultimately, I re-tied all but the
well-set Reef knots (which are about a neatly compact a knot as can be),
mostly with the Fisherman's knot (all but one in concordant orientation),
and one or two Dbl.Harness bends; oh, one SmitHunter's Bend, in the first
(and I was going to put in Rosendahl's Zeppelin bend but the idea was forgotten).
The Thiefs (etc.) benefited from somewhat *mushroomed* or stiffened (from
hot-knife cutting) ends, mini-stoppers in some effect.  (It didn't occur to me
to put in a Ring Bend / Water knot, darn.)

--dl*
====

[Dan_Lehman]

Here are some more "in-the-wild" finds:
 - a short line w/bowline at one end (with stopper, I think), and tugboat bowline other (!?)
 - another frequently seen *variation* of the bowline found around trawlers (capsized, i.e.)

--dl*
====

[AKSeaplanePilot]

My dog is obsessed with tennis balls.  I've tried several pet toys, but she refuses them all in favor of the tennis ball.  Until, I tied one in a knot, and now it is the object of her obsession.  The photo shows the original "rope" toy, which she ignored completely.  After several attempts to get her to fetch it, or play tug of war, I ended up tying a simple over hand knot in it and left it on the floor.  She chews on it, tosses it, sleeps with it and generally keeps it near.  I have no idea what the difference is, but she probably does!

Terry

[skyout]

Hi Terry and welcome to the forum!

Maybe she likes it because you put a special touch on it with your knot.

You could try one of these for her:
http://pineapple.myfunforum.org/about959.html

[AKSeaplanePilot]

Thanks for the welcome and the pointer to Dan's dog toys.  I met Dan a couple of weeks ago at the Anchorage meeting and probably saw those exact toys as I rummaged through a couple of bins of excellent work.  I intend to attend more meetings to learn from Dan and the other members.  Perhaps I'll choose the dog toy as my first project!

Terry

[Dan_Lehman]

Before this thread goes further to the dogs -- which to my mind
is a decorative topic, maybe leading to some wild knots, but certainly
not "knots in the wild" as intended here (no, here isn't where any photos go),
let me add some bona fide further findings from actual practice.

Here is a Clove hitch tied to some stout "rebar" (concrete reinforcement)
for a tent.  I've seen also the Rolling hitch used, but also in the same
opposite-to-what-is-usually-shown orientation as this Clove, with the
round turn away from the loading angle, S.Part jamming in against
the HH'd end.

Oh, I should add this:  illustrative of a simple knot used in the anchoring
of a haul line for a lightweight (20' extended?) ladder; but also -- and
this is MOST interesting -- of some peculiar UV degradation of the rope,
i.p., on but ONE strand of the rope (trust me:  the appearance seen in
this limited section extends for all? of the rope (okay, I saw maybe just
8' or so and didn't check it all)).  It's as though the one strand was made
of fibres devoid of UV inhibitors?  Could that be purposeful:  to have the
one-third of the rope show an ageing that thus warns that the entire
rope is taking on enough UV to compromise it overall?  -- dubious, that.

 

[AKSeaplanePilot]

OK, no more dogs ... but, a friend sent me this airplane tie-down from EAA Airventure at Oshkosh WI this week.  I can't for the life of me identify the knot, but the line goes from the rebar to a ring attached to the airplane wing.  There should be one on the opposite wing and one at the tail.

[Dan_Lehman]

Aha, this is a new area -- airplane tie-downs.  I can imagine that often such
things will be pretty well prepared with mechanical locks.
The rebar here looks as though it might be intended to make a sort of
cleat for quick securing to with a few wraps then a couple half-hitches
to finish, able to be released under tension!?

Good find!  (And to your friend, yes, that's an affirmative "WOOF" , roger.)

--dl*
====

[jeatonx1]

I took this photo at a country club in MIchigan. There were about 30 of these holding down a temporary shelter.

[Dan_Lehman]

Yes, that's a typical find:  about a half-inch PP laid rope, and a Slip-knot
Trucker's Hitch.  I can't discern the completion, but it looks like a Half-hitch
and then some slip-bight is tucked (making the shadow) somehow.

Hitches on the other ends of such support lines can also provide some
knotting.  (I think that somewhere I might have some notes on this.)

Thanks,
--dl*
====

[Sweeney]

I was talking yesterday to a man whose job is replacing gas mains pipes.  Here plastic pipes are pushed inside old iron gas pipes (these are about 18 inches or so in diameter) and the short sections welded before being inserted. The knotting bit was that they use tape slings attached to the plastic pipe with a double or triple Prusik and then with an excavator pull the sling which then pushes the pipe into the old main (saves excavation) - up to about 4 metres at a time. The pull was said to exceed 2 tons as the length of pipe inserted increases but the Prusik holds well! The guardians of health and safety are apparantly stopping the practice as dangerous if the sling breaks.

Barry

[Dan_Lehman]

[Post 800 !    ]

Seeing is believing ?!

Anyway, take a gander at these eye splices -- someone apparently didn't
like the frequency of tucks in the usual form, so tucked only every 3
strands or so !!  (There were two such eyes, fore & aft.)
[Edit to add... :]
Conceivably, these comical splices will test stronger than the usual,
as the *intrusion* of each tucked strand is spread over a longer span
and so makes less *disturbance* to the lay!?  (and the sided of the
eye bear only 50% of the load, after all)  But, on the other hand,
these splices' exposed strands must be much more vulnerable to wear.

     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And, going for my quota of attachments, voila one artistic display of
two lines joined -- nylon solid braid with an eye formed by an Overhand
eye knot (coming out of symmetric dressing) with HH & tape tie-off,
tied to by CEO (CoExtruded Olefin)  laid line w/Two HHs (and a rather
raveled end -- tape needed here !).

It's intersting to see that superfluous HH put in for the Overhand,
rather than merely taping the end w/o it (less bulk).  A more usual
attachment of the other line would be a Sheet Bend with the end
tucked back through the lay (and then maybe taped to it, for neatness).

--dl*
====

[Sweeney]

Dan

It's always nice to see that out there are people who make my knotting skills look good! As a result I enjoy you're pics as much as the pics of beautiful work which members post and I also know is beyond me. Keep it up please.

Barry