What are your Top 3 Knots to learn and why?

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@DPRK

Are you and Chefguy talking about an arrangement like #2151 or #2162 [Ashley’s numbering] where the object is hoisted perpendicular to the ground, or something along the lines of #2170, #2181 where the object remains parallel to the ground? Because what Chefguy described sounds a lot like 2151, but he says the spar is supposed to remain level. I have hung up a spar (for a cat gym) the way he suggests, except with two clove hitches, for easy adjustability, before lashing it in place.

I have no idea what the numbers refer to but I’m describing a method where the pipe would be lifted perpendicular to the ground.

[DPRK]

I meant the illustration numbers from this book; sorry I was not clear. E.g., #2151 is an illustration of a crowbar being lifted perpendicular to the ground by means of a rolling hitch around the bottom and a single hitch on the top. (Just what you said except using a rolling hitch instead of a clove hitch.)

[enipla]

@GreenWyvern

Other good knots to know are:

Trucker’s Hitch - for stretching a rope tightly between two fixed points

Siberian Hitch - quick release knot, can be tied with gloves on

Gnat Hitch - not well known, but small, easy to tie, secure, and non-jamming

The Trucker’s Hitch is EXTREMLY handy. And very, very easy to use.

[sitchensis]

@enipla

The Trucker’s Hitch is EXTREMLY handy. And very, very easy to use.

This is all my opinion but, the truckers hitch is great if the ropes are fixed but if you have one long rope going around something the whole rope can slip as you reef down on it. The solution many people find is to put another loop in the bottom rope and pass the line back through it. If you always haul the same sized loads, you never untie the loops and just reuse the rope.

If you want to improve on that and a make a more versatile rope for hauling different sized loads you can replace the directional figure 8 loops that a traditional truckers hitch has with multiple loops (4-6) that aren’t directional (like a alpine butterfly). You can make a few pre-made ropes for the trailer and always have a loop that is close and can be pulled in either direction.

I hope that makes sense, knots are visual/tactile and hard for me to write about.