Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
Lifting your dock onto land should be part of your annual cottage winterization. Docks that are not protected by winds or are located in an area where the water level gets very low in the winter should be lifted out of the water to prevent damage. Lifting a heavy dock might seem like a daunting task, but with the help of a winch your dock will be on dry land in no time.
Elevating your backpack off the ground between two trees can be done with a piece of rope and a carabiner. If your backpack becomes wet during hiking, stringing it up between two trees helps dry the fabric. You will not want to use this method as a bear bag, or a way to keep food away from animals, because you will not be able to string it high enough off the ground. Animals will also be able to crawl along the rope and enter your backpack, possibly damaging the pack.
While large ocean liners use chains to secure their anchors, many smaller personal boats use smaller anchors with rope lines attached. When attaching a rope to an anchor it is important to use a secure hitch to ensure that the line does not come undone while pulling the anchor back up, resulting in a lost anchor. The anchor hitch is a basic anchor cinch tie that creates a snug hold that will not come undone on its own.
Securing a small boat in heavy weather is a matter of preventing the boat from moving forward or backward -- the job of the bow and stern lines -- to keep the boat from striking other boats tied up for weather as well. The breast line, amidships, keeps the boat near the pier to which it is tied, so that those having business aboard or those wishing to go ashore, may do so with ease.
During rock, ice or alpine climbing, rope anchors become a necessary tool. Knowing how to fasten and set these rope anchors up is as much art and technical skill. Because you consider terrain, winds, weather, anchor points such as trees, rocks or other natural objects and the gear you have with you, setting rope anchors is a skill that calls upon improvisational abilities. That said, there are some basic things to keep in mind when setting rope anchors. Keep the anchor points at the top of the ropes, and limit the amount of direct friction on the ropes via the…
Double braid rope has replaced triple blade as the boater's choice in anchoring due to the ease of making a standard eye slice when linking with an anchor chain and passing through the gypsy. There are two types of double braid rope available: polyester and nylon. Polyester is the suggested use in splicing because it will not significantly stretch as nylon often does. However, both types are in common use.
Tying your boat to the dock may seem a simple affair--you drop the loop in one end of the rope over the post on the dock and tie the other to the cleat, which looks like a bull's face with horns, on the boat. It is just that simple until you start to untie the rope from the cleat, only to find that a wave from a passing boat has pulled the knot tighter than the bark on a tree.
An anchor rope splice--also known as a chain splice--splices an anchor rope to an anchor chain. The anchor splice is a variation on the sailmaker's splice, which tucks the strands of a rope back under the length (the standing part) of the rope to "finish" the end without tying a knot. There is no eye, nor is there a thimble to prevent the anchor rope from chafing as the anchor chain and the anchor rope rub against each other.
The anchor rope for your boat is part of a larger system called the "anchor rode." The anchor rode includes the rope, chain--if you attach the rope to a length of chain, and the chain to the anchor--and the anchor. Choosing the right anchor rope for your boat requires you to know something about the anchoring process and how it works and some facts about your anchor. You also have to know something about the qualities of ropes available on the market and some basic facts about your boat.
In order to anchor rescue rope for rock climbing, a person should make sure that there system is solid. Learn about checking on the redundancy of a climbing anchor with help from a certified rock climbing instructor in this free video on anchoring rescue rope in rock climbing.
Establishing a rescue rope system relies on a number of precarious risk factors. A rescuer must trust his metal fixtures, rope, knots and anchor points. Any minute action that can minimize risk in a rescue situation is worth performing. Selecting the proper anchor, loading the carabiner evenly, and even positioning the knots correctly, can be the difference between life and death. Carefully follow the steps below to produce a basic, single anchor rescue system that should hold up under tremendous amounts of strain.
Tying a rope to an anchor chain is not a permanent solution--like turning an eye splice around a thimble baled around the anchor ring. It may, however, be necessary in a pinch if the anchor line has suffered rot, abrasion from embedded sand or grit, or has strand-opening kinks that were not removed before stowage. Any knot that does not readily capsize will demonstrate 80 percent of the strength of a single length of line or rope that has an eye splice turned around a thimble.
Using a clove hitch when you anchor during top rope rock climbing is discussed in this free video series.
