Page 35 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

LASHING response. With these “elements of lashing,” one can
tie confidently in a wide variety of circumstances.
Viking raiders lashed together seagoing dragonships,
but their skill was almost trifling compared to that Pulley, Frap, and Wedge
of their victims in Europe. At that time and through Lashings rely on tension to do their work. A few
the Renaissance, cathedral builders were lashing tight turns put on with the aid of a marlingspike
whole trees together steeple-high for scaffolding. will sometimes suffice, but often the object to be
Smaller buildings, carts, furniture, tools, and many lashed is heavy enough that some form of mechan-
other items of daily life also relied on rope for their ical advantage must be used to provide adequate
construction. And it’s not as if things have changed security. When something is to be lashed down to a
so much, even here in the technical vastness of the deck, car roof, truck bed, or the like, lines are gen-
future. Lashings are still used for scaffolds in Asian erally anchored on one side, passed over the cargo,
shipyards, in the backs of computer cabinets where and cinched down on the other side with one form of
they keep bundles of wire together and out of the advantage—the pulley. (No, not a sheave turning on
works, for the outriggers that anchor suspended a pin, but the principle is the same.) Disregarding
scaffoldings for window washers and masons, and friction, the two arrangements on the left in Figure
at the docks of the most modern superferries, where 1-18 provide a three-fold purchase. That is, the load
electronically aided pilots still dock by caroming off is shared by three parts so that the part you haul
a bunch of pilings lashed together with wire rope. In on gets only one third of the load. Put another way,
recent years, high-tech racing sailors have rediscov- your efforts are multiplied three times; a 100-pound
ered low-tech deadeyes and lanyards to lash their downward pull locks your cargo in place with, in
shrouds to chainplates. And every morning you lash theory, about 300 pounds of force. I say “about”
your shoes to your feet. because we can only disregard friction in theory.
Far from being archaic, lashings still exist in The line on the left in Figure 1-18 is made into
enough profusion to fill a volume of descriptions. a pulley with the aid of a knot called a Trucker’s
No doubt some compulsive cataloger will eventu- Hitch, of which there are many forms. This one is
ally do just that, but for the practical knotter it’s
more important to understand the varying demands
placed on lashings, and the basic techniques used in Figure 1-18. Trucker’s Hitches.

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