Whipping - Lashing 'n getting Knotted?

What type of knotting skills do you have or even like to resort to with whipping, lashings & splicing. Should a Techie get involved, be able to perform, use them &or why?

 Knot site, animated - to help in learning. 

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexboating.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Have fun!

The only ones I can't find, that I use now & then. Is anything on 'Chinese lashing' or  'Snotting'? [ they are possibly under a different name?]

Here is another site which gives some good photo demo's:- http://www.iland.net/~jbritton/index.html

Knots used backstage, generaly in the main hitches. Like the 'Round turn & two half hitches', 'Rolling' & 'cleat' hitch. The clove hitch is not one I use often especially on fly battens, because of the movement In & Out it can become loose & tighten enough to come undone on the batten. Where a 'round turn & 2 half Hitches, is self tightening. If a 'clove' hitch has been used, I lock it with a half hitch on the standing [load] end, using the running end. Which is quicker & easier than redoing the hitch completely for a 'RT&2h hitches. A 'cleat' hitch comes in handy, especially with a hemp line fly systems, although not so much with sash cleating flats together, as the tie off on the tail cleat, is a derivative of a 'Diamond' hitch & a 'Bow' on a bight for easy release. I don't use the 'Bowline' that much or the 'Reef' knot either. As quick release or 'exploding' knots are more useful, like the good old 'Bow' to tie off cloths & drapes headers. The only time the 'sheetbend' is used is when I'm joining 2 ropes of unequal thickness, which is rare. The 'sheepshank' is only sparingly employed, only if there is a need to shorten a line, without cutting it. There is an old story of a small fishing village & the church bell rope, which would mysteriously & instantly disappear every now & then. Which drove the local vicar round the twist, because with the height of the bell Tower, it would have taken some effort to cut the rope, three quarter of the way up tower, which was over 200 feet. This mystery went on for years & became a constant problem replacing it all the time. Until one day an old fisherman, on his death bed, called for the Vicar to thank him & the parish for suppling good Clean quality rope, when he needed it!  The old vicar hot footed to see the old Salt straight away & ask if it was the Bell rope he was talking about? If it was how did he accomplish it so quickly each time. The fisherman said he just climbed up the bell rope, put a 'sheepshank in it & cut the centre rope of the knot. Slid down the rope & jiggled a couple of times, the knot would come undone. He just coiled it up & took the rope to his boat.

All I can say they must have been flaming heavy bell, not to ring, while he climbed Up & then juggled the rope. There again I believe it takes quite some rope haul before the the bell rotates enough  & the clanger actually strike. I suppose if the load was fairly constant, it is possible!

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It is not surprisingly that difficult to do, not that I ever done it with a Bell rope. But as most of us who have been 'Brussel Sprouts' [Scouts] especial Sea Scouts. It was part of training to climb a rope & be able to put a sheepshank in it, with one hand, while holding on above the knot with the other. Well it was when I was a young .

I could only do it these days using a Tallascope or Genie lift. We also could do this tyeing other knots such as the Bowline on a Bite or a Running Sheetbend, again using one hand.

These days of course I doubt it is part of their training, because of OCH&S concerns.

Disclaimer; Do not try this this unless you are suitably trained & are secure wearing a fall arestor harbess &/or least well insured! 

But I do remember falling a number of times before I got the knack of it, as it was only about 6' off the deck, so you learnt very quickly to be able to break fall.

Which came in handy back in the 70's when I did about 3 or 4 break falls per performance, down stairs & off the top of rostra, in 'Irma La Douce', at the Old Theatre Guild in Hay street Perth.

Try tyeing the knot with one hand Craig it is not that hard to do, but you are allowed to climb the rope using both hands, also besides holding on with one hand, you can use your legs to wrap around the rope, which helps with looping the rope.

Joe's posting may sound like a trip down memory lane but it is still VERY relevant in today's theatre world.

I find it amazing that with all the advancements made by modern technology, the most cost effective, safest (?) and most efficient method of flying scenery, props, the house rag or even Peter Pan is still the centuries old use of good old fashioned hemp rope and counter weights. I realise that there are electrically driven winches available, but they are usually too fast/slow or noisy for theatre application and usually also well out of budgetary range for most comeatre (a lovely "Gaafa-nism") groups. Yes, there are speed variable motors available, but these are even pricier than the set-speed types. One company that I know of tried electrics for their horizontal house rag for a while and gave it up because it was temperamental and only functioned when it wanted to (Admittedly this was probably due to it not being used to open the rag every time and people pulling the curtain open/closed by hand).

Heck, even The Maj still uses hemp ropes for it's fly cues and I  would think that if there was a better alternative they could/would be using it.

To be honest the only venues/companies I have seen using electric winches are the modern, Government funded PAC ones, and even there they only seem to be used to lower/raise the overhead rig for the hanging of lights/audio or scrims/blacks.  I have yet to see them used for "flying" as we know it. (Oops! I tell a lie... Cirque Du Soleil springs to mind... but even they rely on manually hauled ropes for their "flyers" safety lines.)

Perhaps this is a prime example of "If it ain't broke - Don't fix it"

"Be nice to your Tech's - or they'll turn out the lights and go home!"

Is one of the oldest & still the best method. [It goes way back to the Greeks & Romans - if not beyond. Yet we are still using a very similar counterweight system today] A person operating hemp lines & feeling the  movement, can't as yet be replicated. Not surprisingly it is also a lot faster to set/adjust the deads, to control the speed &/or feel/avoid foul ups that can easily occur.

Computerised Fly systems tend to worry me. Not having worked one, except a long time a go in a TV Studio, who had a semi automated system. Which was press Button & operating  electrical motors.

There was always the unknown factor of the performers, not twirlies though, they were always in the right place at the right time. Which unfortunately can't be said of other performers & our dear luvvies. I wonder how automated fly's would work with ameatre bods? Even the best programming would not be able to cope with errant warm props. Although if it has an operator who can quickly adjust sequence's & of course the dead man switch would help in these cases.

Great site Logos it was an opener to what is available &/or what we may experience in comeatre some time in the distant future.

Another site;- Halls stage

http://www.hallstage.com/uploads/documents/Counterweight%20Rigging%20Document.pdf

Which has a lot of helpful info when using counterweight systems.