One Knot Failed in near Hurricane Force Winds (and other observations)

[Don C L]

The first one you showed was a tautline hitch. On three strand it should work, but when there is so much strain on the standing end I can see how any hitch may be questionable on wet braided line. Glad all you lost was the dinghy!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Don C L

The first one you showed was a tautline hitch. On three strand it should work, but when there is so much strain on the standing end I can see how any hitch may be questionable on wet braided line. Glad all you lost was the dinghy!

No, that hitch will never part. It has held through category 1 hurricane before.

That was the good one of the two. It was the Prusik that failed

I'd never rely on a single point of failure.

A pair of individual 1/2" lines for bridle plus the 3/4" main rode is cleated on deck. Triple redundancy, like I do with navigation

I wouldn't be in danger of losing anything. Not exactly my first day at anchor, so I have things well under control.

These wa6s of attaching a bridle were an experiment from a thread over a year ago. I wanted to see what I liked best. Taughtline hitch it is

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I knew you were somewhere in the path of that big blow. I was wondering how you fared. Glad the boat came through OK, but sorry about the dinghy.

Thanks! I think the gods did me a favor with that one. That dinghy has been an eyesore on deck for a year. I have been keeping it because I was going to use it to float around and fix hurricane damage if I couldn’t find anywhere to haul out. that way I wouldn’t have to wreck my new dinghy by dripping goop all over it or paint.

it’s been an ugly pile of junk sitting there looking awful. And embarrassment really. So the weather cleaned up the place a little. Ha ha.

[JPA Cate]

Ah, but were the dinghy and the planks secured??

Ann

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Ah, but were the dinghy and the planks secured??

Ann

No. The dinghy was deflated and several 2x12 *staging planks* were in it. It has been there for 6 months. Actually pretty unbelievable it blew away. I had a sheet of PVC weighted down nicely for hurricane Ian and the wind snuck under the edges and ripped it into very small pieces and those blew away during the 120MPH sustained winds. Weird things can happen.

Glad the old dinghy wasn't tied to anything actually. It may have damaged something if it were flailing around. Much better that it blew clear

unsure what this has to do with the 2 knots in the test though.

I mentioned it so people could get an idea of the strength of the breeze - very close to hurricane strength. Strong enough to blow a dinghy away that was weighted down with staging planks

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Thanks! I think the gods did me a favor with that one. That dinghy has been an eyesore on deck for a year. I have been keeping it because I was going to use it to float around and fix hurricane damage if I couldn’t find anywhere to haul out. that way I wouldn’t have to wreck my new dinghy by dripping goop all over it or paint.

it’s been an ugly pile of junk sitting there looking awful. And embarrassment really. So the weather cleaned up the place a little. Ha ha.

That’s what hurricanes do: clean up what shouldn’t be there or needs to make room for new.

[MicHughV]

If all else fails....tie the tried and true " granny" knot..

[Benz]

I agree with those who said the prussik needs to be tied with a far smaller diameter line.
It also helps if that smaller line has a grippy cover, like with Technora or Cordura in it.
I keep several varieties of technora-covered Dyneema loops around to tie prussiks or other friction knots with--they are the link between rode and snubber; easily replaceable, inspectable, relatively inexpensive.
There are also more varieties of friction knot, some which hold better in some places than the prussik: the Klemheist; the Michoacan hitch; the Icicle, and others. The arborist industry has taken this sort of thing to new heights, and it's fascinating how much nuance is in a friction hitch.

[Chotu]

Could be True, but there is no smaller line available to do the Prusik with.

It's the anchoring tackle. You can’t go down in size

[rslifkin]

I've seen people use a pre-spliced loop of line intended just for a Prusik (rather than the loop on a longer line), then use a snap shackle or something to attach a line to that loop. But at that point, I don't think it's saving any effort over tying something like an icicle hitch.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

I've seen people use a pre-spliced loop of line intended just for a Prusik (rather than the loop on a longer line), then use a snap shackle or something to attach a line to that loop. But at that point, I don't think it's saving any effort over tying something like an icicle hitch.

Plus, it's a rather enjoyable thing to tie.

It's so simple and straightforward.

When anchoring, I enjoy the restful moment where I tie the snubber on. It's an enjoyable routine and a nice skill to keep fresh for other uses.

[Kettlewell]

It's so simple and straightforward.

When anchoring, I enjoy the restful moment where I tie the snubber on. It's an enjoyable routine and a nice skill to keep fresh for other uses.

Plus it doesn't require another piece of gear. If the end of the line starts to look worn just cut it off. The other thing I like about it is that the knot doesn't jam and is easily untied even after a long hard pull.

[MicHughV]

Btw.....it blew like stink here in Florida as well, so you didn't miss anything.

[merrydolphin]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

You're describing the Prusik loop? On rope there is definitely a limit to how much they'll hold, depending on how many wraps the loop has around the line and the relative size of the 2 pieces of line. If both lines are close in size they may not hold well enough, especially if you can't get 3+ wraps through the loop. On chain, they hold very well due to the shape of the chain links.

Yes, this sounds like a Prussia knot. As a rock climber I have bet my life on a Prussic sling many times. And that is rope on rope. The prussic being a smaller diameter than the climbing rope as it needs to bend around and grip the larger rope. BUT one reason the prussic works so well for climbing is that when you take the tension OFF it will easily slide. Only when you load it does it grip, and grip well. I have used this to go up halyards too while going aloft as a safety back up as long as I keep it in my hand loose it will easily slide up. But if I let go ( I know, counter intuitive in a fall). It will grip and quickly. Again I stress there must be a fairly significant size difference to grip properly.

[sailingharry]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

That’s what hurricanes do: clean up what shouldn’t be there or needs to make room for new.

Wasn't it a nice friendly hurricane that did you the courtesy of getting rid of the old small ugly solar panels?