Seamanship Question #34
 

A sailor wants to climb a mast by himself with two ascenders
made of two lengths of rope each tied into a loop.

What is the name of the self-adjusting friction knot for this
purpose that uses two separate loops of line and resembles a
cow hitch?

It is considered to be "the" climbing knot that everything
else is compared to.

What other ascender knots have you used and how did
they work out?

Seamanship Question #34
 

Prusiks. I have tried the so-called Bachmann knot as well but they did
not work well on muddy rope although easier to "break". I tried one
other but cannot remember its name. I can tie prusiks with my eyes
closed or in total darkness (being a caver) and have climbed many
thousands of feet on them including out of the worlds deepest pit.
BTW, it better be three prusiks, not two. You need one for your chest
and one for each foot although in a pinch you MIGHT get by with a
single one for both feet.

Seamanship Question #34
 

Point to you. Prusik Knot is correct.

http://storrick.cnchost.com/Vertical...notPrusik.html

http://lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prusik_knot.html

A friend of mine used two of these today. They can be also be
used with the second one with two ends instead of a loop--one
to each foot ending in a slip knot.

It's also noteworthy that the ascender line should be smaller
diameter line than the fixed line you are ascending.

For sailors, using a safety line--second halyard, makes the descent
much easier and faster.

It is a very easy knot to tie, and it's always a good idea to
have some smaller diameter, high strength line laying around
for such purposes. I used to carry a coil of small line in
my lifejacket, and used it often when sailing on other peoples
boats--several times they tried to keep it!

In any event, this is another example of the similarity between
climbing and sailing--both sports rely heavily on knots and
line.

wrote

Prusiks. I have tried the so-called Bachmann knot as well but they did
not work well on muddy rope although easier to "break". I tried one
other but cannot remember its name. I can tie prusiks with my eyes
closed or in total darkness (being a caver) and have climbed many
thousands of feet on them including out of the worlds deepest pit.
BTW, it better be three prusiks, not two. You need one for your chest
and one for each foot although in a pinch you MIGHT get by with a
single one for both feet.

Seamanship Question #34
 

Helical knots are used in rope climbing competetitions but as a caver I
feel it is too hard to tie. The prusik can be tied in both a left and
right handed configuration so that it can be "broken" (made to slide
up) by the correct hand easily. Dont use really new rope to tie
prusiks as it has a waxy material that makes it slip.
The best prusiks are made from hard 3 strand rope. They should be made
WITHOUT a slip knot for the foot loop. With both loops made, they
should extend to mid-thigh with one slightly longer than the other (the
upper one). I se why you would use a slip knot but this leads to the
slip knot getting too tight on your foot. The purpose is to keep the
loop from sliding off your foot. Instead, cavers use "Chicken Loops"
which are loops around their ankles. The foot loop runs under the
"Chicken Loop" so it cannot slide off the foot.
How on earth do you use the second halyard to descend without getting
OFF the prusiks, a dangerous thing to do unless you've really thought
it through. Its safer to simply down prusik although slower.
For sailing, Ive used a prusik tied around my anchor line leading back
to a winch to help pull up an anchor. When I pull in some line, I can
slide the prusik along the anchor line to pull in more.
I still prefer prusiks over mechanical ascenders