Page 165 - Adlard Coles "The Knot Bible"

Yardarm knot
KNOT SCORE
This might look like an innocent variation of the sheepshank (page 162), Strength
and structurally that’s exactly what it is. The yardarm knot, however, fulfi ls Security
an altogether more sinister function than shortening lines. Tied to a yardarm Diffi culty Tying
Diffi culty Untying
with a noose at the other end, it was used to hang people. It can however be
Usefulness
used in any situation that requires a preset amount of line to be released.

1 Put an overhand loop in the 2 Put a small underhand loop in the
standing part. The size of the loop working end.
should be about half the distance
required for the ‘drop’.

KNOT KNOW-HOW

Adventurer Bear Grylls caused a stir by
using a variation of the sheepshank to
scale down a cliff in the TV series Man vs
Wild. Instead of using it to shorten a long
line, he used the so-called ‘kamikaze’ knot
to join two short lengths together. When
he got to the bottom of the cliff, he
shook the knot out and released the
lower half of the line. Whatever you
do, do NOT try this at home, folks!

3 Tuck the end of the main loop 4 Tighten the knot. The top of the
through the small locking loop. main loop can be tied to the standing
part with light twine. This will break
once a load is applied, releasing the
line in the coil.

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