Clever technical knot required

sarabande

sarabande

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I have a large tree stuck on the Hydro Electric station weir. Discussions with the Environment Agency have revealed that it seems to be our responsibility. Present river levels make it impossible for me to perform my-walking-on-water-with-a-chainsaw act, so Plan D is to attach a one end of a length of rope to the trunk, and the other to a big tractor on the adjacent field, then to tow the tree off the weir into the main stream, and release it.

This will require some force, as the drag is high, and I do not want to go swimming in a very expensive John Deere. Obviously the rope can be cut with an axe (the "Borden technique") , but in the absence of a spare Robinson's disengaging gear, what easily released knot would the panel recommend for tying the tree to the tractor please ?

Ashley's is uncharacteristically lacking in good specific advice.

 
Plan E, ver 2.1 means a change to securing one end of the rope to the tractor, then running it round the trunk, and back to the tractor hitch.

I think that any knot on the trunk itself might be impossible to release if the river carries the tree away downstream.. There's likely to be a pull of over a tonne-force..
 
Dunno about a log, but when hauling a thick warp that can't be put on a windlass, I find a line tied to it with a rolling hitch doesn't slip and is easily undone once the warp is made off.

In your case though, I'd have a sharp knife handy.
 
I remember watching a guy trying to move some pipes and his complicated attempts at a knot kept slipping free almost immediately. I wandered over and asked if he'd appreciate some advice. He watched me tie a timber hitch about 1/3 of the way along the pipe and commented that it didn't look like a proper knot. It was pretty obvious that he thought it wouldn't just unravel immediately. It was about 50 years ago but I still remember how happy he was to be shifting the pipes in record time after that. The timber hitch worked perfectly, almost as if it was designed for the job :D.

Rolling hitch or Magnus hitch would grip well but just a little harder to undo.
 
Mistroma said:
I remember watching a guy trying to move some pipes and his complicated attempts at a knot kept slipping free almost immediately. I wandered over and asked if he'd appreciate some advice. He watched me tie a timber hitch about 1/3 of the way along the pipe and commented that it didn't look like a proper knot. It was pretty obvious that he thought it wouldn't just unravel immediately. It was about 50 years ago but I still remember how happy he was to be shifting the pipes in record time after that. The timber hitch worked perfectly, almost as if it was designed for the job :D.

Rolling hitch or Magnus hitch would grip well but just a little harder to undo.
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I agree that a timber hitch would (wood) be perfect but I think the op said he wanted to pull the fallen tree clear and let it float away. I was assuming he wasn’t planning on wading /swimming out to let go of the hitch...
 
Presumably you only want to give the tree a bit of a nudge. The water will do the rest.once it unhooks from the weir.
Tie one end of the rope to the tractor. Then, if you can actually get the rope to the tree, pass under & over the middle of it & back to the tractor.
You do not need a knot to the tree as the rope will snag on the branches long enough, to stop it slipping off
Wind this free end of the rope round the tow hitch 2-3 times , under it & back over the hitch & the end stays under the rope.
Someone can hold the rope, maintaining some tension,whilst the tractor pulls.
When ready release the rope & it will slip free as there is not actually any knot.
 
I would suggest that you use a chain around the tree with the hooks correctly positioned and the rope then attached to the chain eye. Use a double rope pass the central loop through the eye then draw the two tails through the loop, that should preserve the maximum strength in the rope.
 
Why do you have to move it? What is the imperative as it is already down stream of the hydro scheme? The safest job is the one you don't do.
if you have to do it wait until the summer when the water is very low. It's not as if anyone is actually doing anything in the weir area, I assume.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
I would suggest that you use a chain around the tree with the hooks correctly positioned and the rope then attached to the chain eye. Use a double rope pass the central loop through the eye then draw the two tails through the loop, that should preserve the maximum strength in the rope.
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How do you recover the chain when the tree starts going down stream?
 
Is allowing this tree to float on downstream, perhaps to cause problems for someone else, a kindly thing to do?

I would have my estate workers recover it and saw it into logs to give to the needy poor; as an addition to the small bundles of nutritious kitchen scraps I get cook to distribute during this season of goodwill.
 
These days, anything which dumps a 'plastic' rope into the river deserves to blow away the (fairly tenuous) eco credentials of the scheme and the bunny huggers will be all over you nearly as quick as the H&S mafia.
Dumping the tree downstream to do whatever damage might not be the brightest move either.
May even be illegal, just because some rubbish washed up on your patch, doesn't necessarily allow you to throw it back.
OTOH you may not be allowed to remove it either, without making sure no creepy crawlies have taken up residence and might have their yuletide spoiled.
You may think I'm not being serious, at your peril.
 
lw395 said:
These days, anything which dumps a 'plastic' rope into the river deserves to blow away the (fairly tenuous) eco credentials of the scheme and the bunny huggers will be all over you nearly as quick as the H&S mafia.
Dumping the tree downstream to do whatever damage might not be the brightest move either.
May even be illegal, just because some rubbish washed up on your patch, doesn't necessarily allow you to throw it back.
OTOH you may not be allowed to remove it either, without making sure no creepy crawlies have taken up residence and might have their yuletide spoiled.
You may think I'm not being serious, at your peril.
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You're quite right. Sarabande ought to seek legal advice immediately :)
 
I'm with those who say wait until the water level drops. Venturing into the white water below that weir looks to me like a recipe for an early funeral. It only takes a foot of fast-flowing water to sweep you off your feet and that looks like a lot more.

Once the level's dropped to where you can get to the tree safely, you don't need to worry about quick release knots. In any case, if the current did make off with the tree, pulling hard enough to disturb a tractor, I can't see you having time to do more than jump, and I wouldn't want to trust a quick-release knot that would hold a ton or more of force to release after being pulled that tight.
 
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