I spent the majority of the day today preparing my house for Airbnb guests, painting my front porch and packing some of my things in boxes.
So....tonight I wanted to share some helpful knots that I used to help support the solar panels during the mounting process.
The Sheet Bend
This knot is useful when you need to join two ropes of different sizes to extend the total length. I've used this knot several times when hammock camping if I need to span larger trees.
Begin by making a loop in the larger rope or in this case rachet strap webbing.
Insert the smaller rope into the underside of the loop exiting to the right.
Tuck the rope on the underside of the loop.
Come around over the loop but under the small rope.
Tighten the knot by pulling down on both sides of the small rope.
Dress the knot, sometimes the smaller rope may want to tuck into the loop. Adjust so it stays taught and will not slip.
Test the knot by putting some weight on it and make sure it will not slip.
The Tautline Hitch
This knot is useful when you need to tighten a rope to a certain position and keep it from slipping. The knot can move one way but not release and loosen when a force is applied to the main line. It can be adjusted by holding the knot and either tightening or loosening. This is most helpful when camping and you need to tie down your rain fly, create a clothesline, tightening a hammock, or creating shelters. This is one of the most useful knots I use all the time.
Begin by taking your rope and looping it around the object you're tying to. I start by taking the shorter end of the rope and looping it over the long end.
Loop under the long end.
Come back over the long end.
Loop back under the long end.
Come back over.
Bring the short end behind the first two loops that were just made and go under the long end of the rope.
Come around the long end of the rope then back through the loop you just created.
Tighten and dress the knot, it should look like this. Test out the knot by pulling on the long end of the rope. The knot should not move. To tighten the rope, grab the knot and the long end of rope on the loop section. Pull the knot toward you while pushing the long end away from you.
