Mainline Anchoring

[Dennis H.]

I am going to show you the way that I am going to use for anchoring the ends of my mainlines.
I have been pondering the wireless method of stringing up mainline line for awhile now. I bought a few of those SS grips to have on hand for the moment that I was going to use them.
Well that time has come and I am changing my mind about using them.
I had a tree come down on a mainline and broke the fence wire and in order for me to use those grips would mean that I would have to separate the mainline at a fitting and slide those grips down the mainline a few feet. Not very convenient.
Then it came to me why not use rope! I do a little recreational tree climbing and thought why not do something like I use with climbing, a prusik loop?
I cut a length of rope, about 5', and using a double fishermans knot made a prusik loop. The loop ended up being about 3' long.

Here is a pic the SS grip, the prusik loop and a short demo mainline with end ball valve.
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As you can see if you wanted to put that grip on you would have to remove that valve first. With prusik loop it can put on at any spot along the mainline.

This is a anchor point that I will be using in this demo. I will be using these out in the woods also. I want to do away with the mainline wire going around the end tree.
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Ok here we go.
Grab the rope loop and start wrapping it around the mainline. The more wraps the more friction/grip it will have on the mainline. I gave mine 4 wraps but think I will give it a 5th when I put it into use. The prusik loop is plenty long enough for that fifth wrap.
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Then you take that long end and fish it thru the short end.
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Dress the knot so that it looks like this. You want it nice and neat so that once you start putting a pulling force on it, it will tighten up quickly.
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End of part 1!

[Dennis H.]

Part 2

I take the long end and place it over the anchor point. I pull on the mainline to be sure the rope grips the mainline good and the wraps stay nice and together.
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I then went to the other end and did the same thing. This end is the tensioning end so I will be using a ratchet strap.
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As you can see in the pics the mainline will tend to curve in the opposite direction of the rope that is going to the anchor point. I feel that I can use this feature for the good.
If I need the mainline to curve to the left I can orient the rope so that it comes off the right side. If I need the mainline to come off the right side I will put the rope on the left side. If the mainline needs to goo up then orient the rope to the bottom.

You may ask how much can it hold, well I rigged it up from a ceiling joist and hung from it with no slippage.

[Dennis H.]

Forgot to mention the knot name that I used. It is called a Klemheist, it is a friction hitch.

[cjf12]

Fello tree climber here for occupation. Check out a voldatran tresse. Also known as a VT. I use a variation of it for climbing and in the bush. Make an endless loop of smaller diameter of what your holding. Simply hold one end and wrap around line with other. Then grab both ends with a beener or most likely in the bush another piece of rope. More wraps equals more friction and will hold more evenly with less chance of kinking the line as with prussik or kliehiest. Easy to slide to adjust tension. Its not a true VT but works beautifully in holding things under tension. Lousy at technology or i would drop a picture in.

[Dennis H.]

I have seen the VT just never used it. I mostly use the prusik for climbing, call me old school.

I tried the prusik for this demo and it just did not have the holding power of the kleimheist. Plus the kleimheist used the same prusik loop as the one I use for climbing.

[cjf12]

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[cjf12]

Figured it out. Hope the baler twine on the sweeper cird helps visualize a little bit. Not much different than kliemhiest but you can get better friction with the ease of sliding it better as well as easy to take off and on. Your line can also run straight with the knot with no problems.

[Dennis H.]

I will have to try that out. Looks just as simple at the one I have tried.
When you mentioned VT I was picturing one with wraps and then braids. And it did not use a loop but just a straight section of rope and the length was dependent on # of wraps and then # of braids.

Yours does look quick and simple also, it will be nice to have that in my bag of tricks.

[cjf12]

The trouble I see with the kliemhiest is it puts all friction on a single point. In the case if a rope it allows it to grab aggressively, which is a good thing. In the case of the plastic line it will cause it to kink if to much tension us put on it.